PSP Basics - Using RGB Channels for FX

Now, what happens if you apply one or more effects to the individual channels and then re-combine them?

Answer you get effects that were not possible using standard colour schemes.

Step 1:

Full Colour

Red

Green

Blue

1. Create a new image, or select an existing image
2. In our example, the text is grey with our standard cutout effect applied
3. Finally, select Colors, Split, RGB

Hot Wax

Hot Wax

Combined

1. Set the foreground colour to white
2. Now select one channel picture
3. Apply hot wax to your single channel (we chose Red here)
4. Select Colors, Combine, RGB to re-combine a single picture
   I especially like what it has done to the text here.

5. At this stage remember, you can apply the effect to any of the channels, or even 2 or 3 channels.
6. Also, don't forget just click on the channel image and Ctrl-Z undo, will restore the channel to its original state so you can try a different effect.

Deformation: Wind

Wind

Combined

1. Apply Deformation Wind (in this case the Blue Channel)
2. Re-combine

Three Way Motion Blur

Red Blur 30 degrees

Green Blur 150 degrees

Blue Blur 270 degrees

Combined

Re-Layered

1. Apply Motion Blur to each of the three channels, but select different directions for each of the blurs. These are set at 3 points of the circle, 120 degrees apart. I've used a 20 pixel strength to give a strong effect.
2. Now recombine them, this gives you the starry/prismatic effect. However, this image is pretty blurred
3. Now, cut your original image (Ctrl-C) and add as a new layer (Ctrl-L)
4. Finally, adjust the transparency of the new layer until you get the right mix of original, sharp image and the prismatic image below.
5. Re-combine

Partial Negatives

Standard negative

Red negative

Green negative

Blue negative

Blue & Green

1. Our first image is a standard negative
2. But if you apply Colours, Negative to just a single channel and recombine you get something completely different.
3. And of course you can apply the negative effect to two channels at the same time
4. But don't bother doing it to all three since that brings you back to the beginning again!

Trace Contours

Standard Contour

Red only

Green only

Blue only

Blue & Green

Find All

1. Our first image is a standard Edges, Trace Contour
2. Again, if we apply the effect to only one channel and re-combine we get quote a different - and much more useful - effect.
3. And of course you can apply it to two channels again.
4. Remember, with most effects the channel you effect tends to lose its effect on the final image, with trace contours this is reversed, so effecting the red channel gives you a red image.
5. Our final image is the effect of applying Edges, Find All to all three channels

Alternative Re-Combinations

Histogram

RGB=GBR

HSL=GBR

HSL=BGR

HSL=RGB

1. Histogram image has had the histogram equalised on each channel and then re-combined, interestingly this does not do the same thing has apply histogram equalise on the combined image.
2. In our next images we have re-combined using different methods. RGB-BGR image is a standard combine RGB, only we have rotated the colour channels, so that the Red channel is taken from the Blue image etc.
3. The next three images have been re-combined using HSL, Hue, Saturation and Light, but using the RGB channels in different combinations. So for example Red determines the Hue, Green the Saturation and Blue the lightness.