Merging Layers Discards Colour Information

[diplomat]

Just wondering if anyone can help me as it's probably a simple thing I'm missing (or more likely doing wrong).

Basically I'm doing this;
1. Open a photo
2. Making a layer from background and duplicating it (two have two copies of the image on separate layers, both editable)
3. Apply 'Graphic pen' filter to the bottom most layer
4. Changing the blending mode of top most layer to 'Color'

The resultant image looks like a hand drawn / coloured image which is exactly what I want.... until I try to merge the layers / flatten the image.

As soon as I do this the colour information is discarded leaving me with the original black and white 'graphic pen' created layer.

Like I said, the two layers when separate look perfect. As soon as I try to save as a JPEG / Flatten / Merge them it all goes to buggery. I checked the image properties and it's definitely still in RGB mode.

Any help would be appreciated!

[Medley]

Yeah, Photoshop is funny that way with the color blend mode. But there's a simple fix, so long as you still have the background layer intact:

1) Delete the color layer entirely. You don't need it.

2) Set the blend mode of the Graphic Pen layer to luminosity. This gives you the same effect.

3) Merge/ Flatten.

The Color blend mode merges the color of the top layer with the detail of the layer underneath it. The Luminosity blend mode merges the detail of the top layer with the color of the layer underneath it. The only difference in the two techniques is how the layers are stacked. As long as you understand this concept, you can avoid using the color blend mode, and eliminate difficulties when merging the file.

-Medley.

[tombothetominator]

I always use the CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+E method, which creates a new layer which SHOULD look like a full composition of all your other layers merged into one (the only problem that i have with it is that i have to have a visible layer selected before hitting all those keys otherwise it doesnt create the layer and i dont know why). That way i dont have to fiddle with finding other ways to save it correctly. Hope that helps.

[Medley]

It doesn't in this case tombo. You'd still get the greyscale version. It's something about the way Photoshop treats the color blend mode.

-Medley.

[tombothetominator]

See below - moderator: please delete

[tombothetominator]

See below - moderator: please delete

[tombothetominator]

Okay, I finally figured out what is causing this, and Medley; you were half right. It does work your way for sure, but not because photoshop does weird things with the color layer, it is because of how photoshop creates zoomed versions of your image

This is what i found:

- When you apply a graphic pen with pure black and white as your colors it essentially turns your image into a 2bit image (black or white).

- the color blending mode does not have any effect on pure black or white pixels so photoshop doesn't actually apply any color to any of the pixels in the image (what you see after you flatten your image)

- when zoomed at anything other than 100% photoshop has to take some 'creative liberties' to create a preview that looks decent, and to do this it is creating artificial grey pixels that dont exist, which causes the 'appearance' of a functioning color layer. (what you see before you flatten your image)

- when you merge the layers, it processes the image without these 'artificial' grey pixels, and thus it removes the color from your image.

Try zooming into the image to 100%, and suddenly the color disapears. So this is a preview 'bug' that is kind of unavoidable to be able to work on a zoomed out file.

If you do the graphic pen filter with non-pure black and white (90% grey, and 10% for example), then the color mode has something that it can color, and you get much more accurate zoomed out view of what your image looks like.

Does this make sense?

~Edit: removed unecessary previous posts

[diplomat]

Ahhh... It all makes sense now.

Thanks to Medley for the fix / workaround and to tombo for the explanation of what is going on behind the scenes.

It does indeed appear that PS is applying the layer blending calculations to what is visible on the screen rather than the actual data itself.

Anyway thanks again to you both!