ImagesMagUK_July_2021

www.images-magazine.com JULY 2021 images 35 TIPS & TECHNIQUES STEP-BY-STEP: SEPARATING AN EIGHT-COLOUR DESIGN First screen – underbase white The underbase white is by far the most important screen: not enough and your image is dull, too much and your image loses definition. Most separation programs give you a couple of white options. Once Photoshop had run, I altered the Curves and Levels [adjustment tools in Photoshop], pulling back one of the white options and then combining them both to capture the most detail. Fourth screen – Pantone 186c Another tricky colour with skintones: too much of this and you've got some embarrassed-looking characters! I enhanced aspects in the hair, wings, skirt and the anarchy symbol. I also used aspects of the magenta channel, especially in the skirt, and then combined them. Seventh screen – highlight white There weren't many areas that needed a highlight, mainly they were just on Lola. I did use some highlight in the wall, but pulled it back in Curves and Levels, which added to the light and shade. 1 4 7 Second screen – Pantone 3945c Yellow can be a tricky colour, especially with skin tones: too much and you get The Simpsons. With Lola, I enhanced the lamp light, as it needed to be a solid colour. The font has a lot of halftones and solid parts, so not too much enhancing was needed. Fifth screen – Pantone 444c There's a lot of grey in this design, mainly the wall, lamp post and vines, but also in Lola. I pulled the grey back in Lola by using Curves and Levels, while enhancing areas in the wall, vines and lamp post. Eighth screen – black I don't always use black on a black shirt, but some designs just look better with it – with Lola, it adds more depth and definition. There are no solid areas of black as it can overpower a design. We also used a higher mesh count of 140T so we didn't incur build-up. I created this by using two black channels, pulling back the areas that didn't need too much black, while enhancing the other areas. I then combined the channels. 2 5 8 Third screen – Pantone 2935c Most separating programs give you two blue options: one royal, the other cyan. I used the royal blue, but also used some aspects of the cyan channel and then combined the two. The blue is used in the wall, which when blended with the grey (fifth screen) gives a slate grey appearance. I enhanced the boots and wings in Curves, as these needed to be quite vibrant. Sixth screen – Pantone 600c The soft yellow was used as the glow from the lamp. I removed the underbase white in this area, as I wanted to create a consistent glow. For this colour I created a new channel, selected the areas for the glow then reduced the levels until it resembled light. The print order was underbase white, flash, 3945c, 2935c, 186c, 444c, 600c, highlight white, flash, black. And here it is, the finished design. 3 6 9