This tutorial is going to be about creating duotone with the use of Krita to generate beautiful Duotone based on LAB color space. Once you set it, you can literally copy and paste any image you desire, and then automatically apply the duotone to the image. Wanted to do something before I start my next day, so a tutorial.
Original Image -
Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-wearing-white-dress-holding-electric-guitar-164909/
After -
Note: Yes, I was using another image.
Step 1: Open your image, and convert to LAB color space.
Step 2: Group your image (This is needed to automatically apply duotone adjustment with maximum flexibility)
Step 3: Create 2 Group layer above the grouped image.
Step 4: Group the newly created groups.
Step 5: On the Bottom Group, create a black layer.
Step 6: Create a clone layer using the grouped image.
Step 7: Move the clone layer to the bottom of the group, and make sure it is top of the black layer.
Step 8: On the clone layer property, disable A*, and B* Channel. This is your luminosity channel. It is used to create the duotone effect, and recovery of black and white due to the LAB property.
Step 9: Create a clone layer using Step 8 Group Layer. Move into the group above. (Actually, you don’t actually need the group layer, but moving on…) Assign gradient map filter mask (Not filter layer) to the clone layer. Make sure that alpha for every section of the gradient is in maximum. Create your 2 colors that you desire.
Step 10: On the clone layer you just have edited or the group layer where the clone layer is used on, please disable the L Channel.
Step 11: Now, create a new clone layer using the luminosity group layer.
Step 12: Move that to the top.
Step 13: Assign Filter Mask - Cross Channel Adjustment. Channel should be Alpha, and Driver should be Lightness. Create a U curve where the middle is at 0 (always). Now you have recovered some of the light/dark areas.
Step 14: If you’re not happy with the dark areas or light area. You can always assign another cross channel adjustment, and in here, you can create a curve only affecting the dark or light area. Same setup as above, but the left, middle, and right is at the middle. The curves between those are only to be less than 0.
Step 15: The duotone effect is finished here. But, if you feel that there’s just too much of that duotone effect. You can always tone down the opacity. If the original colors bother you. You can always clone the luminosity group and place it directly above the original image group layer, but not on the duotone group layer to get rid of the original color to have a certain clone effect. Alternatively, you could combine this with GIMP using C2G for even better effect, and getting the most out of open source software with the most flexibility possible for duotone effect.
Layers should look something like this
