[Beginner] Need help coloring a paper model template

[Nite]

Hi,

I'm pretty much a complete beginner.

I have a paper model template which I'd like to color.

This is a sample of it :

 

 

And this is the result I'd like to achieve :

 

 

Basically my goal is to fill the whole sections with a somewhat transparent (??) color (just in light gray basically), in order to preserve the lines and information written inside the shapes.

Also it would be great if it was possible to fill the shapes with some sort of an edge on the outside, as in the sample result picture I attached.

 

Is this doable ? How should I proceed ?

 

Thanks !

 

 

Edited September 6, 2018 by Nite

[lynxster4]

Hi @Nite and welcome to the forum.  

 

I'm going to make the assumption that you have at least rudimentary skills in PDN.

 

Open your image in PDN.

Select 'Magic Wand' at a tolerance of about 40%.  Click on white background (not one of your shapes).

Hit 'Cut' to erase all white background. Use 'Eraser' to remove any border coloring.

Add a New Transparent Layer above your image.

Fill New Layer with a gray color (about 96,96,96).

Set 'Blend Mode' on the new layer to 'Multiply' and play with 'Opacity' slider to get the transparency you want.

Use (1) 'AA's Assistant' (Effects-->Object) on top layer.

Merge layer down.

Use another 'AA's Assistant'.

Use 'Outline Object' (Effects-->Object) set at whatever thickness you desire your outline to be.

Voila, done!

 

 

[Nite]

@lynxster4

 

Thanks a lot ! I managed to make it work !

The only thing I had to do different was to apply the "AA's Assistant" two or three times after the layers merge down, otherwise the "Outline Object" would just fill the whole image.

I assume the AA's Assistant was the plugin found in the "dpyplugins8.1" and the Outline Object the one in the "BoltBaitPack47", I used both with the default settings.

I also struggled with the Outline Object because I couldn't understand how to make the outline thicker.. then I figured you could just apply it a second time to make it bigger ?

 

Thanks again !

[lynxster4]

Glad it worked for you @Nite  

 

TIP:  the first slider control on 'Outline Object' controls the thickness of the line.  

 

[Nite]

@lynxster4

 

Yes, I got that, but I wanted it to be thicker than the maximum the slider allowed, so I just applied the plugin twice. Thanks again !