OK HOPEFULLY you won’t have to do this but if you have to create the lineart preparation macro from scratch, here’s how you do it. Note: This is for the LAYER based lineart method so if you prefer channels this won’t work for you. The goal of this is to end up with a lineart on a tranparent layer, that you can perform color holds on.
Open any BMP image. Now in your actions menu, hit the option to create a New Action -
Actions are automated scripts you can use to streamline complex procedures. Change the “name” to Lineart Prep”. Hit the “Record” button. Go to Image/Mode/and change the image mode to Greyscale. Open Image/Mode again and change it to CMYK.
(You may work in RGB for all of your image creation but for this macro it MUST be CMYK. I change my image mode to RGB after all of this is done but do it separately from the macro)
Open your channels, right click and duplicate the black channel and name it Black Copy. On every channel except for the Black Copy and the CMYK main channel - fill with white. On the Black Copy channel it may appear a bit gray. To be absolutely safe, with the Black Copy selected to go to Image/Adjustment/Levels, and input 25 in the first box.
This will make sure your blacks are 100% black or K. Click on your CYMK main channel, and then click on Layers. Go to Layers/New/Layers and create a new layer called “Lineart”, normal opacity which should be the default. Go to the menu bar and choose Select/Load Selection. This will default to the Black Copy, hit OK.
This next part will create your “trap” to create your undercolor.
Go to Select/Modify/Contract, and enter 2 and hit OK. Hit your color selector, and create a color C-60, M-40, and Y-40 K-0 and hit OK. Select Edit/Fill and fill with the foreground color we just created at 100%. Go to Select and Deselect. Now again to go to Select/Load Selection - change it to black copy channel and hit OK. Change your color to C-0 M-0 Y-0 and K-100. Go to Edit/Fill but change it from normal to Multiply and fill. Go to Select and Deselect.
STOP RECORDING.
Personally I toss the Black Copy manually as a precaution, so you can do that after this, but ALL this work means you have now created a macro you can use on every picture. You will see tutorials, or read tutorials online that DO NOT F’N TELL YOU TO MAKE A MACRO TO SAVE YOU TIME but hey Rusty’s your friend. Literally every image after this will be a matter of opening a BMP and hitting the Lineart Prep action then going right into coloring, good luck everyone!
***note - while changing PC’s, on photoshop 5.0 i noticed that it may or may not output at 100% black on the last step. Worst case scenario - with transparency lock set on your lineart layer, fill with C 60 M 60 Y 100 K 100. This makes your visible line art layer 100% solid black if Photoshop’s color settings are still off.
