# Photoshop! (fix this problem, get free art!)



## Obsidian Wolfess (Mar 23, 2011)

*If anyone can help me figure out this problem, I'll offer you a free digital bust portrait!*

The problem:
For the past few months, I've been dealing with Photoshop CS4 distorting  colors when I try to paint/shade. It doesn't seem to matter which brush I use  (default or custom, alike). This is a SFW example of my problem. Even on the flat colored part of the image, the pixel grid is obvious. I do not see these distortions when I view art by others.

My settings:
The print AND screen resolution are both set to 300 pixels/inch.
My monitor display is 1920x1200 (highest res possible).
% zoom does not seem to make a difference. Even at 100%, it looks like crap.
Brush is set to normal, 100% Opacity/Flow. Airbrush doesn't make a difference.
(EDIT - I am using an Intuos4, however this problem happens regardless of whether I use a mouse or tablet. All drivers are up to date.)

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks, techies.


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## SilverDeni (Mar 23, 2011)

I am not sure where to start, those issues can be caused by multiple factors. It can either be some minor issues with Photshop (e.g. settings badly put), or your OS/system. I won't poke on your system yet, but first try either of these things:

1). Open a file, then go to Image -> Mode -> RGB. And make sure it's 8-bits channel or maybe 16-bits.

In case you're using an earlier version: When you open Photoshop and create a new image (the windows where you decide the size of the canvas) make sure you have "RGB" selected as your 'Mode'.



2). If that doesn't work, then you might have to try renewing the Preferences.

Go into C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop\<version>\Adobe Photoshop <version> Settings. 

Find the file Adobe Photoshop <version> Prefs.psp. Rename it to something like Adobe Photoshop Prefs_old.psp just in case this doesn't work for you so you can revert to the original; minimize the window and open PS. It will recreate your pref file and should work. 

If this does work for you close Photoshop and reopen the C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop\<VERSION>\Adobe Photoshop <version> Settings file. 
Delete "Adobe Photoshop Prefs_old.psp" though, it's useless. And now you're done. 

If it doesn't work (hope this won't be the case), just go back and rename the modified Adobe Photoshop Prefs.psp back to the original name (Adobe Photoshop <version> Prefs.psp) and you will be back to where you were before you tried this. 


Good luck.


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## SilverDeni (Mar 23, 2011)

I forgot to mention that I'm an XP user for the moment and using PS 7.0


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## Obsidian Wolfess (Mar 23, 2011)

I'm on Vista. /fail


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## Obsidian Wolfess (Mar 23, 2011)

Closing out the thread. Photoshop doesn't seem to band the colors as much when I use lighter colors. I guess I'll just have to do that from now on. x.x


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## Runefox (Mar 23, 2011)

Mm... The problem seems to be that the opacity of your brush is low enough that the differences between each colour on screen is so little that it can't actually have a smooth enough transition between them for the size/softness of the brush you're using. If you zoom in and look with the eyedropper tool, the bands of colours are actually only one step off from each other. Unfortunately, that's something that can't be helped unless you raise the opacity and/or lower the size/softness of the brush. You could try a brush that isn't as smooth, something that peppers the colour a little more; That would break it up enough that it shouldn't be noticeable. You could also increase the contrast between the background colour and the colour you're putting down.

It's a phenomenon known as colour banding. Usually, you only see it with low-colour images (256-colour/indexed colour mode, like GIF's). However, even with the 16.7 million colours available to us with our 24-bit/32-bit displays today, there are limitations, and this is one of them.


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## Aden (Mar 23, 2011)

I had to stare at my monitor at an 89-degree angle to even detect the problem, so methinks you need to calibrate your monitor because it might be a bit bright on the low end. As Rune said, that's called banding and it happens when there's no in-between colors that can be used to smooth the transition.

Or just step up the difference between the brush color and the base color, that would be a lot easier.


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## ToeClaws (Mar 24, 2011)

Well, I sort of have an explanation of the issue, and a partial fix.  The problem is that Photoshop's brush system actually doesn't do a very smooth fade when you have a really big brush, and it's worse at darker colours than light ones.   There is no way around it - it's just the way the brush system is.  HOWEVER... there is a way to mask it rather nicely.  If you go to the brush options (the advanced options box usually in the upper right of the toolbar) you can turn on "Noise".  Noise applies a dithering effect to the brushes blur, and manages to hide the banding between the colour tones.


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## albercroc (Mar 25, 2011)

I'm with Runefox and ToeClaws. This happens when you are using really similar colors. Some tips I use:
- For doing shadows and lights, its better to use "the real color" instead of a black or white transparencies. Transparencies usually produces that kind of banding frequently.
- If you have an entire drawing affected by this and don't want to redo, apply a subtile noise filter to the drawing (maybe using a new layer and blend modes). You can use also Edit > Transition to control. Adds dirty, but sometimes it removes the banding.

I hope this helps!


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## Obsidian Wolfess (Mar 29, 2011)

Runefox said:


> Mm... The problem seems to be that the opacity of your brush is low enough that the differences between each colour on screen is so little that it can't actually have a smooth enough transition between them for the size/softness of the brush you're using.


 
That's strange, because my brush was at 100% opacity, and the shades of cool gray I was picking were a pretty good distance apart. :\

As Aden suggested though, my monitor IS bright. I don't like working on dark screens. It's just something that has always bothered me. Maybe that was part of it? I'm not sure.

(Edit - I do know about the add noise/dithering trick to blend bands together, however I was trying to avoid that, because it's not a total fix.)


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## ToeClaws (Mar 30, 2011)

Obsidian Wolfess said:


> (Edit - I do know about the add noise/dithering trick to blend bands together, however I was trying to avoid that, because it's not a total fix.)



That's just the thing though - there _is_ no fix that I'm aware of because it's the way the brush "softness" system works in Photoshop.  For the most part, brushes are usually quite small, so that banding isn't an issue when the soft-fade takes place only across a few pixels.  With a large brush, it has to take place across dozens of pixels and the banding becomes apparent.  It would be fixed if Adobe would change the brush soft-fade to more complex sliding scale based on pixel numbers but it's been the way it is since Photoshop 3.0.  :/  At least give the noise thing a try - you might not mind how it looks at all.

The only other fix is to use an alternate program for soft-fades with a brush, or to try overlapping multiple layers of fades in Photoshop to create fades between the bands.


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## Runefox (Mar 30, 2011)

Actually, there are literally zero shades available in between the bands. They are incrementing in the smoothest possible way for these colours, exactly 1 RGB step per band.


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## ToeClaws (Mar 31, 2011)

Runefox said:


> Actually, there are literally zero shades available in between the bands. They are incrementing in the smoothest possible way for these colours, exactly 1 RGB step per band.


 
Doh, which definitely means the noise feature is the only fix.


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## Riley (Mar 31, 2011)

Runefox said:


> Actually, there are literally zero shades available in between the bands. They are incrementing in the smoothest possible way for these colours, exactly 1 RGB step per band.


 
If that's the case, what about turning the Smoothing value down as low as possible?  It reduces the space between each step, and fixed a similar problem I had.

I know the size of the brush factors in a bit, and I'm not sure if the OP may already have that setting configured, but I'm just tossing that out there.


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## ToeClaws (Mar 31, 2011)

Riley said:


> If that's the case, what about turning the Smoothing value down as low as possible?  It reduces the space between each step, and fixed a similar problem I had.
> 
> I know the size of the brush factors in a bit, and I'm not sure if the OP may already have that setting configured, but I'm just tossing that out there.


 
I tried that when testing the OP's problem; with smoothing/softness turned way up for the best possible fade, the banding is obvious.  With it turned down to make the banding less obvious, the ton changes are too abrupt for the image and a nice gradual fade is gone (looks more like a cell-shading effect).  Enabling the noise feature was the only way to scatter the banding effect and make the fade look smoother.


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