CODIJY Colorizer Pro
CODIJY Recoloring
Drawing
color masks
The technique of manipulating colors in CODIJY resembles coloring with a pencil. Select the pen, choose the color and cover each area with a pattern of strokes and outlines.
Once you’ve stroked all the areas, the program is able to precisely define the area boundary and match the appropriate shade of your chosen color to each pixel of the gray scale inside.
This technology ensures realistic reproduction of the surfaces and textures of the objects in the photograph.
Mark the border
Mark the area boundary with the shape that follows the object border. This guarantees the perfect result even with the large and complex shapes.
Avoid stepping on the edge!
If the edge has a complex shape, follow its curve to avoid mistakes in determining the boundaries.
Add masks to all areas
To trigger border detection in CODIJY, add masks to all adjoining areas.
Outline the edges of internal areas of different colors.
When the border is clear, the result will be neat and precise.
How to
Add Colors
CODIJY presents an intuitive color manipulation technology. In this guide we explain how to draw color masks to get high quality results faster!
Note that no colorized photo is like any other. So we will only explain the key principles. For real examples of mask drawing, check out our tutorials on colorization.
Table of Contents
How to manipulate colors in CODIJY
All color manipulation is done with simple strokes. They are used both to add (1) and to remove (2) or protect (3) the color of an area.
What are Masks
We call these strokes masks. Masks do not apply color as such. Instead, they serve to communicate your color choices to CODIJY.
Masks are visual commands that instruct CODIJY on the type of operation, the color tone and the approximate position of the area boundary.
The color applies automatically, when CODIJY generates the color preview.
How CODIJY produces a realistic color result
The program uses your chosen colors to calculate a matching tone for each gray pixel and then replaces them with their color counterparts.
This allows CODIJY to realistically recreate all surfaces and textures in the colors of your choice!
Before colorization, CODIJY automatically converts all unprotected image areas to grayscale.
How to draw masks
Masks are drawn in the Editor using the Pens (1) and color options (2).
Enable and set up the pen tool
To draw a mask of a certain shape and color, select and set up the Pen tool.
Step 1. Select the Pen tool.
Step 2. Depending on the shape of the area, set the Pen to Line (L) or Freehand (F).
Step 3. Set the brush to 3-5 pixels to make strokes visible and fit into indents.
Pick a color
Select a color using a palette or a corresponding Color Library.
To quickly create your first color draft, use the Color Library on the corresponding theme.
Apply masks to large areas
Draw the first mask. To keep the borders neat, the color stroke should not stray too far from the edge. So, it is recommended to carefully trace large objects and the background along the border.
Step a few pixels aside from the boundary. Add masks on both sides of the border.
As this mask has a sophisticates shape with multiple curves, you can draw it using Quick Draw shortcuts.
Similarly, add masks of corresponding colors to the adjacent areas.
Note that CODIJY defines the boundary between two adjacent areas when masks are applied to both of them.
Shapes of the masks
The mask pattern may vary from image to image.
Generally, it depends on the size and shape of each area.
Photo and masks by Phil Johnson, UK.
Freehand strokes for faces
Although the face is a single object, you may need to apply several shades in order to recreate shadows and blush.
You can do this with simple strokes and let CODIJY create a soft transition between these tones to make them look natural and realistic.
Fitting the mask into the small space
If the area is thin, you can make do with a simple line. This mask will be equally close to both edges, which is enough for CODIJY to interpret the border correctly.
When coloring the foliage, you can get by with simple dots of a light/dark shade of green to accentuate the leaves.
Dots are also useful for small areas when you want to fit masks into the small space in-between other colors.
Get professional in drawing masks
Take the 5 minutes Quick Start guide or Carmen Miranda tutorial to practice drawing masks after us using the suggested photo examples!
