Preserved Topic: "Screen" problem

ok when im using screen, like for example a lightning effect, ill put the lightning like over something but when i hit screen, eliminating all the black, it only shows up like 30%, you can barely see it, like if i want to put some lightning over some clouds and the sky is almost white, i can barely see the lightning when i hit screen (long sentence huh).

also i wanna know if you can change the screen color, like from black to white or blue or something

Try Levels (ctrl + l) or Curves (ctrl + m) to brighten the white up. Or maybe *gasp* hit ctrl + shift + l.

What a, like, semi-coherent question!

Okay, this is the way, like, it was explained to me. Screen is as if two slides were projected on top of each other on a projection, uuh, screen. Darker areas can't make the combined image darker, but lighter areas (anything lighter than black) on one slide will make the whole thing lighter. So if you've done a lighting effect it's no surprise you can't see it well in the already light sky area. An image can only get so light.

Can you change the color of a screen layer. Sure. Try it and see what happens. Black is the screen "invisible" color, so there's no point in that, but other RGB values will make a difference. It gets complicated when you depart from grayscale values, but sorting that out is Photoshop's job.

No No no steve, i mean instead of making black invisible, can i make blue screens invisible color

k i played around with it an nothing happened still , maybe i should email rend

where the hell IS Rend, anyway?

tskull@hotmail.com">
"A kleptomaniac is a person who helps himself because he can't help himself." --Henry Morgan
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Ahh... I think I understand. Like blue screen or chroma key.

Well, not really. Not with just a blending mode. You will probably have to use some extraction techniques and a Layer Mask.

Quick and sleazy example if I got ya:
1) Select > Colour Range
2) One the image, click on the blue
3) Fiddle a bit with Fuzziness
4) Select > Inverse (ctrl + shift + i)
5) Use your favorite method to add Layer Mask (Layer > New > Layer Mask(?) or click the little button at the bottom of the Layer Palette)

god im confused.....

That`s why we`re here. Our work is done. (j/k)

The steps WJ outlines for you select the color in question and make it invisible by masking it. Actually it`s still there, you just can`t see it because of the mask. So, it`s ...like ... the mask is masking the color you don`t want to see, see ?

(and please don`t call him god. It`s just bloats him up.. )



I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.

im still confused..... what do i do again? lmao

There are many useful tutorials on the Internet for a vast variety of Photoshop subjects, but to gain a comprehensive understanding of the WHY of Photoshop, not just the HOW, I'd recommend one of the many books on the program. Go to your local bookstore and skim them until you find one that has a good mix of basic information and advanced technique, then work your way through it, cover to cover. I learned Photoshop from the book "Photoshop 4 Artistry," and although my artistic skills are modest at best, my technical knowledge of the program is pretty solid. I'd recommend a similar approach to anyone.

Sorry is I missed the point. Then I got forced to actualy interact with the analog world and ~people~ last night, so couldn't get back to it.

The color range/layer mask is probably the fastest, easiest, most flexible. No way I know of to set, let's say, blue as the invisible color for a blend mode - it's based on brightness values, not color. As soon as R+G+B add up to something more than zero, screen will add it to the composite.

BUT - there is one fiendishly powerful and generally overlooked tool you might want to mess with: layer options. My example shows all the blue being dropped out by saying - "blend the bottom layer into the top layer where the top layer is blue". The drawback? Well, I stacked the deck in my example by making sure there was no blue at all in the yellow circle - otherwise, bits of the background would have blended into the circle too.

Still - it's something to try out, get to know.