QuickAdvice: Selectively Colorize Your Photos With ColorBlast!
ColorBlast! ($1.99) by East Coast Pixels, Inc. is a cool selective photo colorization app. You can make a photo black and white with just a shot of the original color, like ColorSplash, but ColorBlast! takes it a step further. You can change the color of the highlighted area to an entirely new color. You are also not tied to a black and white background -- you can use the original background color, or sepia, cobalt, and more.
ColorBlast! is easy to use. Choose a photo from your library, from Facebook, or take one in-app.
On the bottom left, the stacked squares icon allows you to choose how you want the whole photo tinted. You get six choices of monochromatic shades, basically black and white or sepia but with tinges of different colors, like bluish or greenish or reddish.
The next icon, a rectangle, contains a Color Saturation slider. Slide it to the far left to keep the majority of the photo in the realm of black and white (or one of its monochromatic siblings). But if you want the natural color back, go ahead and slide it to the right.
Next, tap the spray can icon. Here you pick your tool of choice. Paint brush, spray can, soft-edged eraser, trim brush (for small areas or extra precision), roller brush (for large areas), and hard-edged eraser. I found the regular paint brush to be surprisingly accurate. Even with the jagged edges of the tree, there was no bleeding into the sky. You can double tap or pinch to zoom in for even more accuracy.
Once you have colored the area you want to highlight, you can really have fun with the color -- you’re not stuck with what nature gave you! Tap the paintbrush icon on the bottom right. You’ll get two sliders: Hue and Exposure. Slide the Hue knob, slowly, to see your highlighted area traverse the entire rainbow! Slide the Exposure knob to make your selected color darker and richer or lighter and brighter. If you like, you can go back to adjust the background as desired. Then save, text, email, or send your results to Facebook.
I can think of so many uses for ColorBlast!, in addition to its obvious artsy appeal. You could take a photo of a room in your home and “try out” different wall paint colors, or sofa colors. Take a photo of yourself and “try on” different hair colors, or shirt colors, to see what suits you best. Find out what color car you’d look best driving!
If you’re still not sure you want to spend the money for ColorBlast, you should at least download ColorBlast! Lite to try it for yourself. You won’t get full resolution photos or quite as much control, but you’ll get the idea.
Check out the first video below for instructions; the second video for the app in action.
