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<< 2.4 Advanced Tips & Tricks >>
This section provides some 'neat' tips on how to get the most pleasure & productivity out of using your BlackMagic software. However, remember that these are not rules cast in stone; always feel free to explore and experiment, and develop a strategy that works best for you. There are terms used in this section that assume familiarity with the BlackMagic tools and palettes; make sure that you have read the previous sections before delving into the following tips; if you do not understand a particular concept, check out the "Reference" section, then revisit the following text.
1. Always try to cover the maximum ground in minimum possible steps. Approach each colourization project in a systematic manner; a good strategy can be outline as follows:
If majority of the image is comprised of an object type that fits into a single colour category (e.g. a forest scene with a tiger visible through the bush, or the shot of a plane in the sky), you could bathe the whole scene with the appropriate colour scheme by drawing a big rectangle using the "Select Paint" tool, then overwrite or layer the 'exception' categories in appropriate colour schemes using the "Smart Brush", either in "Layered" or "Overwrite" mode.
With the above exception, colour the most significant objects before others. For Example, render all "human skin-tone" areas first, followed by the dresses, then make-up, then the background objects.
Think of how items appear in real life. As an example, its the make-up that goes on top of the skin, and not the other way around. Hence it would make sense to colourize skin areas before layering make-up on top. Actually, this is quite important as BlackMagic automatically sets various pixel attributes based on the object you are colouring. So if you were to layer skin after applying the make-up, the results could end up being less than what one would desire.
Use the right tools for the right job; if you are doing a large area of the same type which is not rectangular, or is obstructed by other objects in the front, use the "Select Paint" tool to colour as many rectangular regions as you can draw to cover the majority of this area; then fall back to the "Smart Brush" tool to fill in the remaining portions. As long as you use the same colour category with any combination of tools, the colours should blend perfectly into each other.
Use the "Magic Touch Paint" tool to automatically colour objects with similar gray scales across the image, in the same colour scheme; you can always "erase" the areas that get coloured un-intentionally; you can also limit the scope of this tool by selecting the "Local" scope, or by first drawing a rectangular area with the "Selector" tool around the area that you want to colourize.
You may always leave one colour category (that's spread over a large area), un-done till the very end; then select the "Select Paint" tool, un-check the "Overwrite" mode for this tool, select the correct colour scheme to use for this area, then drag and select the whole image within the bounds of a rectangle. All remaining portions of the image (not yet coloured) will be rendered automatically, while the areas you have coloured before will remain un-touched.
2. Save your colourized work often.
3. Do a rough first cut colourization first; save this; then continue attending to the finer details, such as colour merging, edge clean-ups, etc.
4. Use the most appropriate size and shape for the "Smart Brush" tool; if you have a steady hand, and like free-hand drawing, you may prefer using just this one tool for all colourization, small or large. When you select the "Smart Brush" tool, controls show up next to it on the tools palette that allow you to have a "rounded" vs. "rectangular" brush, and vary the size of the brush head in terms of 'height' and 'width'. You can also choose a value for the selectivity, which gives you the freedom to move your brush more freely without inadvertently colouring unwanted surrounding areas. Practice this with various values till you get a hang of it. Basically, a value of "255" colours everything that you move the brush over, where as a value of around 10-15 will only colour areas that are VERY similar to your reference point. You establish the reference point by carefully picking the precise point on the image where you want to begin colouring; i.e. where you click the left mouse button, to begin dragging the brush in colouring mode. You may vary the reference by letting go of the left mouse button, then moving the mouse to the new area which you want to use as a reference, and begin 'dragging' from there. For a detailed description of the "Smart Brush" and other tools, plus their parameterization, please refer to the Operations, Tools & Palettes Reference section.
5. Send us tricks and tips you discover that help you work smarter, so that we can incorporate these into this section to share with others. Also send us your feedback at: support@neuraltek.com, regarding new features and capabilities you would like to see in BlackMagic.
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