Fade from Color to Grayscale in Paint Shop Pro

Digitally altering images and photos can take many different forms. From adjusting color balances to removing red eye to blending a numbers of elements into a composite, the possibilities seem endless. One technique which can give interesting effects is fading a colored image to gray. These steps are adaptable in Paint Shop Pro versions 7 and up.

Open Paint Shop Pro, then open any image (that you own, have permission to use, or is in the public domain) that you would like to fade from color to grayscale.

Create a new layer on the image by clicking on Layers, and then clicking on New Raster Layer. You can also create a new layer by right clicking on Background in the Layer Palette, and then clicking on New Raster Layer. Leave the Name as the default Raster 1, the Blend Mode as Normal, and make sure the Opacity is set to 100. Keep the Link set at 0. Place a check in the Layer is visible box, and do not place a check in the Lock transparency box.

Select the Flood Fill Tool by clicking on the paint bucket icon or hitting F on your keyboard. Now look at the Materials Palette. Change the Foreground Color to white and the background color to black. Select Gradient from the options below the Foreground.

With the Raster layer active, click on your image with the Flood Fill Tool. This should render the image black at the bottom. Go to the properties for the raster layer by clicking on Layers, and then clicking on Properties, or by right clicking on Raster 1 in the Layers Palette and then clicking on Properties. In the Layer Properties Menu, change the Blend Mode to Hue (Legacy), Saturation (Legacy), or Color (Legacy). Click OK to close the menu.

If you're not happy with the amount of fading, undo your changes until right before the flood fill. In the Materials Palette, click on the Foreground to bring up the Material Properties menu. Click on Edit to go to the Gradient Editor. In the Gradient Editor, click on New and give the gradient a name in order to avoid saving over the selected gradient, then make adjustments to the Gradient and Transparency until you are satisfied. Click Close, and then click Yes at the prompt to save changes. Use the altered gradient with the Flood Fill Tool.

Once you are satisfied with the faded image, merge the layers by clicking on Layers, going down to Merge, and then clicking on Merge All (Flatten). Save your altered image with a different name from the original so that you can use it again if you like.

Of course, don't feel constrained to only fading your images or photos from color to grayscale. Use different gradients to achieve a variety of color fades. Have fun!