This is my first tutorial and was requested by miru_says.

We're going from this: to this:

I really hope all the steps make sense. Please leave me a message if you need clarification on anything. I use Photoshop 6.0 to make all my graphics.

1. We're going to be working with THIS image of Usagi (courtesy of The Oracle).

2. Resize and crop the picture so that it's 100 x 100 pixels:


3. Duplicate the layer (Layer > Duplicate Layer) and set the new layer on Screen and play around with the opacity. For this particular image, I set the Screen opacity at 62%:


4. Flatten the image (Layer > Flatten Image) and duplicate the layer.

--- Optional step --- At this point, depending on the image, you may choose to sharpen the image slightly. For this image, I decided to sharpen the duplicated layer and set the opacity to 32% so that it's not oversharpened. Flatten the layer again when you're done:


5. Create a new layer and flood it with a bright/hot pink colour. I used #FF5B99. Set that layer on Saturation and you should end up with this:


6. That's way too bright so tone it down by lowering the opacity of that layer. I set mine to 61% and was left with this:


7. Create a new layer and fill it with a dark blue hue such as #084466 (which is what I used). Set the layer to Exclusion and lower the opacity so that more of the original colours come through (mine was lowered to 35%):


8. Next, flatten the image and take the following steps: Click on Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour. These are the settings I used:

Reds
Cyan: -100
Yellow: +19

Yellows
Cyan: -100
Magenta: -73
Yellow: -68
Black: -15

Greens
Cyans: -79
Magenta: -52
Yellow: +20
Black: -27

Cyans
Cyans: -67
Magenta: +34
Yellow: -29
Black: +10

Blues
Cyans: -70
Magenta: +22
Yellow: +91
Black: -7

Magentas
Cyan: -100
Magenta: -24
Yellow: +42
Black: +2

Whites
Cyan: +100
Magenta: -28
Yellow: -16
Black: -13

The general point of the selective colouring process is to increase the red and magenta shades, while dulling the yellows. The blues should be moving toward a more purple-ish shade as well. The settings I've given are strictly guidelines. Experiment to see what works best on your image :) However, the most important settings for this sort of colouring are the Reds, Yellows, Cyans and Blues.

Your finished product should look like this:


There is an additional optional step if you want to dull the colours just a little more. To do this, flatten your image and create a new Selective Colour layer and input the following settings:

Reds
Cyans: -100

Yellows
Cyans: -100
Yellow: -48

Cyans
Cyan: -65
Yellow: -72

If you take this step, you'll be left with this:


That's it! Have fun experimenting! :)

Other examples using similar selective colouring settings:


I feel : calm