Alrite, this is going to be a simple rim colour photochop modification. If you have certain colour rims in mind, but can't seem to find them, this tutorial might come in handy.

Here's the photograph I'm going to be working with:

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6811/cropped8ne.jpg

Obviously, I've cropped the image, but that's just for simplicity's sake, and so it'll fit easily on the page.

I'm going to be using PS CS2 for this, so if you have a different program, it might be somewhat different.

First, I want to select the entire wheel, so I'll be using the magnetic lasso tool. To select this, hold the lasso button until a box appears, and select Magnetic Lasso.

Click once on the edge of the wheel for the starting point, and just outline the shape of the wheel. You don't have to be precise, because it will automatically comform to the shape of the wheel. Once you've outlined it, double click, and the wheel will be selected.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/5695/allselected6na.jpg

Well, this just wont do. We have the entire wheel selected, but we're not changing the colour of the calipers and disks. To remove these, we have to unselect them. So, we're going to inverse the selection. To do this, click the Select menu, then Inverse. Now, we have everything but the wheel selected. Now, what we want to do is add to this selection to do so, we can use the same process of selecting the wheel, or you can use a different type of lasso, so long as it gets the job done. The only difference this time, is we're going to hold SHIFT as we select each area. This will add to the already selected area, without creating a new selection.

When you're done, it should look like this:

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/558/inverse4bq.jpg

But wait, remember, we inverted the selection. So, we have to invert it again, so all we have selected is the wheel. Do this the same way as before (Select >> Inverse).

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/6742/justwheel6pt.jpg

From here on, it should be pretty easy. To make white rims, I simply adjusted the brightness and contrast (Image >> Adjustments >> Brightness/Contrast)

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/5208/bcwhite8sd.jpg

ANd it was the same idea for the Gunmetal look.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/9973/bcgm5ng.jpg

Now for colour, it's a little bit more complicated. You want to go Layer >> New >> Layer via Copy. Now, with the copied layer selected (it should be just the selection of the wheel), right click on it, and choose "Blending Options". Click Colour Overlay, choose the colour, and set the opacity to about 65%, so the details of the wheel stil shine through. Remember, this isn't supposed to looks completely real, it's just to give you an idea of what it might look like if it were real.

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/1240/colour3ln.jpg

And, at least it'll save you some money from buying it and finding out you don't like it.

I hope this was an informative tutorial how-to. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

And, for kicks, here's the final products (except for the coloured versions. You get the idea).

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/1762/white8gv.jpg

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/2712/sidedorgunmetal5kz.jpg

If anyone has any feedback, etc, please let me know.

Cheers!

Nice work, I'll 'sticky' this.... [thumb]

Cheers, thanks!

one more thing i'd like to add....

when i changed the color of my brake calipers in photoshop i sed the same technique, but i used the satin blending option.... if you play around with the size and stuff, it'll work perfectly, without having to play with the opacity.....

just my $0.02


here's an example of what im talking about....

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a231/fucusmasta13/car2003.jpg

and after...


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a231/fucusmasta13/paintedbrakes-front.jpg

very nice write up man

Originally posted by cruzstyle
very nice write up man

Thanks.

Adjusting color of a selection is a lot simpler with the Hue/Saturation tool. Just click the Colorize checkbox and you can easily adjust the hue, saturation, and brightness of the color you want your selection to be.

I actually use Corel myself and use a similar technique as mentioned above.....

thankslol it is bright where you are

dont let any buddy tell you differant[grinking]

good stuff!!

THis is reallly cool now how do you properly paint those wheel covers// I mean for real I have those smae plastic ones and would like ot know how to do this with out it looking cheesey

Nice car, is it yours?

I use the paintbrush after it's selected like here:

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/6742/justwheel6pt.jpg

And then I add semi=transparent layers, usually 50-70% transparent.

Ends up essentially the same as this, just can't do too many layers or the wheels lose their details and it begins to look botched.