Hair Textures - Dyed tips

If you haven't done so already, take all the layers that make up your hair image as it is right now, and put them into a group. Do this by ctrl-clicking them in the Layers Palette, to select them all, then drag them down to the "Create a new group" button at the bottom of the palette (third button from the right, the one that looks like a little folder).

You'll now see all your layers have been put inside a new node in the layer stack called "Group 1". You can rename the group if you choose, just like you can with any individual layer. If you want to see the layers inside, simply click the little triangle to the left of the group's name to expand the view. You'll see all your layers listed, and you can access them and work with them exactly as you did before. To collapse the view, just click the triangle again.

Now make a copy of the hair by dragging the group down to the "Create a new layer" button. You'll now have two identical groups, each with copies of all your hair layers inside. The new one will be above the old one in the layer stack by default. If you didn't rename the first group, the new copy will be called "Group 1 Copy" by default. You can rename either or both at any time if you choose.

Masks allow you to hide parts of layers or of groups so that you can see through to what's beneath them. They're really great because they're completely non-destructive. Unlike the eraser, masks don't actually destroy data; they just cover it up with invisibility, so you can't see it. You can remove or change the mask at any time and all your image data will still be there.

In the Layers Palette, turn off visibility on the lower of the two groups for now (by clicking on the little eyeball icon to the left of the group's name), and then click on the name of the upper group to activate it. Now click on the "Add layer mask" button at the bottom of the palette. It's the one that looks like a little gray square with a white circle on top, third from the left. You'll see a new white image thumbnail appear next to the name of the group, indicating the presence of the mask.

Click on the mask thumbnail to activate the mask so you can paint on it. The logic of the mask is just like that of an alpha channel. White = opacity, black = transparency, and shades of gray = translucency. Grab a soft paint brush, and paint one end of the mask black. You'll see the parts of the image you're painting start to disappear, just as if you were erasing them. Continue painting to mask off the ends of the hair to your desired length.

If at any time during the process, you want to turn the mask off to see everything as it was before, shift click the mask-thumbnail. Shift-click again to turn it back on.

If you want to actually see the mask itself, alt-click the icon.

Adjustment layers are another great tool for making non-destructive changes to your images. Unlike the color replacement tool you were using before, adjustment layers don't make any permanent changes. They're kind of like gels on stage lights. They alter the properties of the lighting while they're in place, but you can remove them at any time to change the lighting back to normal. You haven't messed with your actual light bulb at all.

Turn visibility back on for the lower group, and click once on its name to activate the group. Now on the "Create a new fill or adjustment layer" at the bottom of the Layers Palette. It's the one in the middle that looks like a half black, half white, circle. In the menu that appears, choose "Hue/Saturation..."

You'll see a new adjustment layer appear in the stack inside the lower group, above all the other layers inside, and the Hue/Saturation dialog window will pop up. Use the sliders to change the coloring of the adjustment layer, and the coloring of the entire bottom group will appear to change along with it. When you're satisfied with the new coloring, click OK.

If you want to change the coloring later, you can, as many times as you want. You can either create another adjustment layer, or you can alter the coloring of the one you've already got by clicking on its name to activate, and then going Image->Hue/Saturation to bring up the dialog again.