You will need a cleaned graphic with smooth edges and no background, preferabaly a large one where you can see every little bend inthe lines.  As with the Cleaning tutorial, we will be using the freehand selection too, set to 'point-to-point' precision setting with anti-alias off so we can follow the dips an curves of the colors.  My goal is to have three layers:  one will have only the skin;  one will have only the hair and the last will have only the gown.  The gown layer and hair layer are the easy ones.

We will start with the easy one one.  Staying on the very edge of the hair line against the gown and face, click the starting point then trace your away round the hair until you are close to the starting and then double-click to connect to the beginning.  **COMMENT:  When selecting around a portion of an image, it is not necessary to follow the edge when you are in an area where only transparency exists;  you can select around it without following the edge because there's nothing there.   In areas where the portion to be selected is surrounded by the image on all sides, you will follow the area precisely.  Just a little time saver.   Also, when you select into transparency, after the selection is completed, you can click inside the selection to set the selection to the edges.  'Setting' the selection negates the necessity of doing the saving to Alpha and the extra step of deleting on the sub-layer.**

Should look like this.  It doesn't matter that you are using a different graphic, the process is the same.
 

Next you click on the 'Selection' menu and choose 'Promote to layer'.  Next you click on the 'Selection' menu and choose 'Save to Alpha Channel'.

This screen will pop up, click 'OK'. (the non-black portion of the silohette will be the same shape as you have selected at the time)

This screen will pop up;  click 'OK' and the screen will disappear.  Now you use the 'Selection' menu and choose 'Select none'.  The trace-line disappears.

Next you check your 'Layers Palette' and see that you have two layers like this:

By hovering over each layer a couple seconds, you will see what's on that layer.  Next right-click on the 'Promoted Selection' and choose 'Rename';  type in a name for that layer, tap the 'Enter' key.

Next hover over the other layer and you will see that:

the hair area has not been removed from this layer.  We need it removed from thise layer and we don't want to have to select it all over again.  Both layers are visible but it will be har to see what's happening that way, so set the 'hair' layer to invisible by clicking on the glasses of that layer.

You now see a red 'X' over the glasses which means that layer is invisible.  We need to make the lower layer 'active' (highlighted), so click on it.

Next, using the 'Selection ' menu, choose 'Load from Alpha Channel'

This window pops up and since we only have one 'selection' saved to alpfa at this time, there is only one selection to choose so click 'OK'

The selection line appears exactly where it was before we unselected it.  Now, hit the 'Delete' key.

You now have this.  Use the 'Selection' menu and choose 'Select none';  if there are any lines left making a light outline of where the head was, delete them.

From this point on, it's just a repeat of the same steps until you have selected, promored, save to alpha, delsected, name the new layer, activated the previous layer, loaded the selection from alpha, deleted and de-selected each part you want to do.

With this graphic, I want to promote each of the flesh layers and name them 'flesh', promote the dove's eye and name it 'dove's eye'. *NOTTE:  you can also name the selections when you save them to alpha channel but with so few to do on this one, I just left them numbers.  Ive done all this and what I have left is:

and my 'Layer Palette' looks like this:

We are ready for the next step.  When you are smoothing, coloring or whatever, you don't want to have to do the flesh layers one at a time, so you merge them.

To merge them, first you have to isolate them and you do that like this:

X-out all layers but the 'flesh' layers making sure one of the 'flesh' layers is active (highlighted).

This is what I see;  now use the 'Layer' menu and choose, 'Merge', then 'Merge visible'.  There is now a layer called 'Merged layer'.  Rename it to 'skin' or 'flesh' or something like that.  Then go back to the 'Layer Palette', un-hide the layers by clicking onthe 'Xs'.

Your 'Layer Palette' now looks like this.

And, your image looks like this.  Look familar?????  Yeah, right!  The next step I take is to activate the 'flesh' layer because it's the least fun - I mean just how much can you do with the skin!
 

From the 'Selection' menu, choose 'Select all', then go back and choose 'Float'.   Now I use the smudge tool, tints, paintbrush at different opacities to accomplish this.

Next I will activate the dove's eye' layer, from the 'Selection' menu, choose 'Select all', then go back and choose 'Float' and change the color.

Next I activate the 'hair' layer, from the 'Selection' menu, choose 'Select all', then go back and choose 'Float', color and highlight with the paintbrush and then blend with the smudge tool.

Next I activate the 'gown' layer (which I never named but will name it now), and blend, tint, smudge or whatever I choose.  For the moment, I will whiten up the gown a little and smooth blend the color.

Next, I will merge all layers and resize it to the size I want to use in PSP format and sharpen once so I can tube it or use it and save it.  Then I 'undo' the sizing and save it as a template for later use so I can go back in and change the hair color, skintone, colorize the gown or whatever else I want to do.

I ended up with this one this time, this time.

Close Window when Finished
 
 
 
 
 
 

Zipped tutorial in pdf format is a 778KB download.

* I do not generally compress my graphics but for the sake of loading time - the tutorial graphics are compressed!