"Rubylith" overlay Affinity equivalent

[mike21]

The latest issue of Photoplus has an article showing how to change an image to black and white and then reveal part in its original colour, such as a red pillar box. The article gives the method in Adobe Elements. It is easily transferable to Affinity except for one thing - it refers to activating the rubylith layer to reveal areas missed or overpainted; this name does not appear in Affinity help, how do I activate the Affinity equivalent.

[h_d]

You don't say how the Photoplus/Elements method works, but if your "transferable" version involves a selection and a Black and White adjustment layer, then with the adjustment layer selected, you can pull down the Select menu and choose Edit Selection as Layer. This gives a temporary "Rubylith" effect which you can paint on with black (to add) or white (to subtract). Clicking on the background layer will remove the "Rubylith" and take you back to the selection marquee.

 

 

[PaulEC]

10 minutes ago, h_d said:

you can pull down the Select menu and choose Edit Selection as Layer.

A shortcut is to hit "q" to toggle the quick mask (aka rubylith).

[GarryP]

I haven’t seen the article in question but, if I understand what you are looking for (see quickly-done attached image), there are probably loads of way to do this (one is shown above) but the simplest I have found is:
* Apply a Black & White Adjustment layer;
* Move the adjustment layer inside the image layer (not necessary if you only have one image you are processing in the document);
* Change the adjustment levels to suit;
* Make sure the adjustment layer is selected;
* Select the Erase Brush Tool;
* Draw over the part of the image you want to be in colour.
It’s quick and simple, with no selection needed.

Note: The same procedure will work in Designer too but you need to switch to the Pixel Persona to use the Erase Brush Tool.

Edited November 28, 2019 by GarryP
Added note about Designer.

[v_kyr]

The whole is better known under the name/term "Selective Color" and the net is full of variants how to apply this.

• selective color

[mike21]

The method in the article is simple - use HSL saturation to produce a black and white image, use paintbrush tool in black to reveal underlying colour or white to remove overpainting. This works fine in Affinity but the article also showed the "rubylith layer which showed in red the areas missed or overpainted - accessed in Elements using a "\" shortcut. That shortcut has no effect in Affinity whereas the other shortcuts given do.. I seem to remember seeing an Affinity video showing such a facility - it is that which I should like to know.

[v_kyr]

After a search after rubylith I think you mean this one here ...

• Step to step how make colors pop

Well that's part of Quick Mask, or more specificly the Refine Mask function in APh, see for example:

• Seeing the mask in red or other color
• Refine Mask after it was made

Interesting that they call that red overlay masking "rubylith" in english for PSE.

[R C-R]

15 hours ago, v_kyr said:

Interesting that they call that red overlay masking "rubylith" in english for PSE.

FWIW, I had never heard the term "rubylith" until I read this post, but a quick web search took me to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubylith, where I learned it comes from the now generalized trademarked name of a brand of lithographic masking film.

[h_d]

12 minutes ago, R C-R said:

I had never heard the term "rubylith"

Where have you been? 

[v_kyr]

Seems to be here then for rubylith similar to like we use the term Tesaband or Tempo vicarious in german.

[h_d]

And Hoover here.

[Old Bruce]

For what it is worth, in my opinion, the Ulano brand was the best, not just the trademark holder. Rubylith was great, yet I don't miss having to work with it at all.

[mike21]

Thank you everyone - the post from V-KYR has provided the information. The Photoplus magazine has articles and videos describing certain tasks in either Photoshop, Elements, DP4 or Affinity. It is usually fairly straightforward to "translate" procedures into Affinity but I was stuck with the rubylith overlay in Elements.