Preserved Topic: ps 5.5 assistance request

The latest PCPhoto mag presented an ideaon page 98 that is supposed to give a negative background with a color foreground object. Basically the steps were this:
1. Select the entire color image.
2. Use "copy" and "paste" commands to create an identical layer on top of the original.
3. Convert the top image to grayscale.
4. Use invert command to make it a negative image.
5. Use eraser tool to remove areas from the negative layer, exposing the color image below.

Seemed like a nice idea...until I tried it.
Every time I do step three, both images (layer 1 and layer2) convert to grayscale, not just the top (layer 2) image.

What am I missing? How can I keep the bottom layer (layer 1) as a color layer?

Any ideas.

Thank-You,

Mark Grenell

yup, dont convert the image using MODE-->grayscale!

Instead, use IMAGE ADJUST DESAT or

IMAGE ADJUST CHANNEL MIXER and check monochromatic



MODE effects the whole documents colour space, whereas IMAGE ADJUST is layer dependant

Sounds like you converted the image to grayscale. What you want to do with that 2nd layer is desaturate it.. under image>adjust I think. Don't remember 5.5 very well but I think that was the same.

edit: uh, yea- what VP said.



[This message has been edited by cyoung (edited 05-10-2002).]

You might just want to try desaturating the layer (Image

geez people! Three responses in a span of two minutes, all saying the same thing. And, of course, I'm the last one to chime in.

cyoung, we definitely have something freaky goin' on here...

Of course, you could make a copy of the file, change it into greyscale, and then copy it back into the original file...and there you have it.

Heh. Ctrl + shift + u

Thanks everyone for the prompt replies and the kind assistance. All the suggestions were helpful, but the ctrl+shift+u is the ticket. Thank-You again.

*slaps WJ with rather large trout* heh

Hey! I hope that's a cookie flavored trout, mister.

For those of you that don't know, Image > Adjust > Desaturate = ctrl + shift + u. VP did beat me to it, but I'm not in the mood to share.