Texas Prairie: Color Grading by Alex Hogrefe

由专筑网小R编译

我一般不会太多地说到怎么给图像调整色调，因为处理图像的范围太广了，相较于色调比较深的画面，在白天的图像中应用的方法是不一样的，除此之外，我也想要尝试一下色彩的层次，同时保留一些微妙的内容。但是，在我的作品中我所注意到的一个趋势是，我用于调色和雾面效果的方法很简单，图层位于顶部，有一些雾气图层和滤镜。我把方法经过了简化，这是因为我发现调色之前的底图更需要设置，这样调色之后效果才更好。比如在这张图像中，我需要把画面调暗一些，这样上方的色彩层次才更加清晰。

在这张图像中，我觉得它会比我往常的作品看起来更深一些。我希望能够构成比较强烈的对比，让天空、室内灯光、蜿蜒的溪流来衬托出建筑的轮廓。最终的色彩层次在最后能够很好地调整画面的色调，但是每个步骤都很微妙，并且相互衬托，然后构成了最终的效果，以下便是制作过程的分解步骤。

I don’t often discuss in detail how I tone images because the process ranges so much from image to image. Daytime images use different techniques compared to overcast images or dusky images. On top of that, sometimes I am in the mood to really experiment with color grading while other times I keep things subtle. However, a trend I have been noticing with my work is that my techniques for toning and creating atmospheric effects are becoming less and less complicated. It used to be adjustment layers on top of adjustment layers with many additional layers of fog and Topaz filters. The simplification of my technique is in part because I am realizing that the underlying image prior to toning needs to be setup in such a way to properly accept the toning. For example, in this image, I had to really darken parts of the illustration so that the color grading on top would read properly.
For this latest image, I had an idea in my head of where I wanted it to end up, which meant taking things darker than I normally do. I was going for really deep contrast that silhouetted the building and ground plane against the sky, interior lights, and meandering stream. The final color grading really shifted the tones of the image at the end, but each step was subtle and built off of one another to get the big effect at the end. Below is a break down of this process.


1、草地的色调


变暗前的草地
Prairie Grass Before Darkening


草地的调整
Prairie Grass Levels Adjustment

在变暗之前，我首次展示了草地，它由四到五种不同的肌理构成，并且有着类似的灰绿色。我把肌理结合在一起，并且需要让草地变暗一些，我分成了两个步骤，首先，我调整了图层，强调对比度，加深阴影，但是草地的深色部分会由于阴影的加深而失去一些细节。

1. Toning the Grass
I am first showing the the grass before it was darkened. The grass is made up of four or five different textures and toned to have a similar desaturated grayish green. Once I had the textures stitched together, I needed to darken the grass significantly. I did this in two steps. First, I adjusted the levels to punch up the contrast and to deepen the shadows. In some cases, the darker parts of the grass started to lose some of the detail in the shadows.


蓝色图层
Solid Blue Layer


将蓝色图层设置为“正片叠底”
Solid Blue Layer Set to “Multiply” Over Prairie Grass

接下来，我想让草地变暗一些，同时给它们一些微妙的蓝色，那么我一般习惯创建一个蓝色图层，然后将图层混合模式设置为“正片叠底”。

Next, I wanted to evenly darken the grass while giving it a subtle blue tint. My favorite way to do this is by creating a new layer, painting it a dark blue, and setting the Layer Blend Mode to “Multiply”.


2、额外的细节


增加树木和小溪
Addition of Trees and Stream

我在画面上添加了树木和溪流，在目前的状态下，它们要么变暗要么变亮，对比比较极端，那么针对水流，我设置了蒙版，翻转天空，这样水流就能反射同样的色调了。

2. Additional Details
I added in lots of trees and a stream cutting across the image. In both cases, they are either shifting really dark or really light continuing the extreme contrast. For the water, I setup a mask and simply flipped the sky so that the water reflected the exact same tones.


3、最后的调整


蓝色图层
Solid Blue Layer


将蓝色图层设置为“滤色”
Solid Blue Layer Set to “Screen”

这样我就有了基础图像，然后开始色彩的调整。整个色彩都有着基本的色调，那么这就说明，我需要调整树木、草地、建筑，以及天空，加大它们的区别。接下来我会把这些图层放在最上方，对整个画面产生影响。

首先我想让画面提亮一些，因此给蓝色的色调添加了一些黑色的投影，于是我制作了一个深蓝色图层，其图层混合模式设置为“滤色”，然后调整图层的不透明度来柔化效果。

3. Final Adjustments
Now that I have the base image where I want it, I can begin setting up the final color adjustments. Up until this point, the toning was happening on an elemental basis meaning I was toning the trees, grass, building, and sky separately. These next round of adjustments will be happening at the top of the layer stack and effecting the entire image.
I first wanted to lightly wash the image and push the pure black shadows to something a little more blue in tone. I did this by creating a layer, painting it a dark blue, and setting the Layer Blend Mode to “Screen”. I then tweaked the opacity of the layer to reduce the strength of the effect.


蓝色图层
Solid Blue Layer


将蓝色图层提亮
Solid Blue Layer Set to “Lighten”

接下来，我复制了那个蓝色的图层，但是这次我会把图层混合模式调整为“变亮”，这种变化比较微妙，“滤色”和“变亮”都是让图像的阴影更加柔和，不同的区别就在于“变亮”影响的是画面最暗的部分，而“滤色”对于画面的亮部和暗部都有影响。

Next, I copied that same blue layer, but this time, set the Layer Blend Mode to “Lighten”. The change is subtle and both “Screen” and “Lighten” are softening the shadows of the image. The difference is “Lighten” effects only the darkest parts of the image whereas “Screen” is effecting both the dark and light parts of the image.


色彩平衡应用
Color Balance Adjustments

我不想让草地看起来太绿，因此我调整了“色彩平衡”，打开“色彩平衡”选项框，首先选择“色调”一栏中的“高光”，然后我把滑块向“青色”的方向移动了一些，让高光部分变得冷色一些，然后选择“阴影”，但是我又不想让画面完全没有暖色，因此我把滑块往“黄色”方向移动了一些，但是总体保持在冷色范围内，我想要说的是，在达到最终的效果之前，我们需要不断地尝试。

I wanted to move away from the grass feeling too green, so I next adjusted the “Color Balance”. With the “Color Balance” dialogue box open, I first selected the “Highlights” in the “Tone” drop-down menu. I pushed the highlights of the image to a cooler blue tone by moving the “Cyan” slider to the left. I then chose the “Shadows” in the “Tone” drop-down menu. With the shadows, I didn’t want to lose all of the warmth, so I stayed in the purple ranges by pushing the “Cyan” and “Yellow” sliders to the right. I should point out this took some testing and experimenting before arriving at to these final settings.


单独的雾气图层
Haze Layer Isolated


图像叠加雾气
Image with Haze Applied

最后，天空到山的过渡有些突兀，因此我在地平线上画了一些薄雾，让画面更加柔和。

Finally, the transition from the hill to the sky was a little to harsh, so I painted in some haze that focused on the horizon, and softly washing the entire image.


最终成图
Final Image