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This is a simple tutorial on how to isolate lines in photoshop. This is especially useful for anime style art when using lines that you are taking off a webpage (with permission from the line artist, of course!) or if you forget to do your lines on a transparent layer. I will try to over-simplify to make sure even semi-beginners (like myself!) can do it. The image shows the locations where to find tabs/buttons/etc that are mentioned.
1) Copy-paste your lines into a new layer.
2) Go to the Layer tab at the top, then to Layer Mask, then Reveal All.
3) With the ALT key held down, click on the Layer Mask thumbnail. This is in the little box that has Layers/Paths/etc.
4) Paste the lines onto this layer, then press CTRL-I to invert it to black and white.
5) Check your info panel to make sure there are no grey areas. (Or very little, though none is preferable!) If you see any grey areas, click Ctrl-L to get to the Levels panel and adjust the sliders until it looks all black and white and clean. You might have to play with this a bit to get it right.
6) Now click on your actual image (not the mask) and push CTRL-A to select the whole piece. Fill the layer with black. If you want thicker or darker lines, you can sometimes click fill several times.
If it looks messy or jagged, ALT-CTRL-Z (undo) until you get back to before this step and return to Step 5 and play with Levels.
7) Right click on the Mask thumbnail and select “Apply Mask”.
This should work! I have used this method with several different types of line-art and it has worked so far! It’s rather simple, but I find it very helpful to know.
