Old-fashioned blueprint technique needed

[bkuchar]

Using Elements 4 on a Mac...

I want to take a scanned black and white drawing of a steam locomotive and make it look like an old time blueprint. I'm starting with a black drawing on a white background, and want to end up with a white drawing on a blue background.

My first step is to Invert (Cmd I)... gives a white drawing on a black background... looks good.

How do I change ALL the black to blue in as few steps as possible?

BTW, I can accomplish this using the Fill Tool, but it takes forever because there are a zillion individual spaces to fill. I need a technique to fill all the black with blue in a minimum number of steps.

(I get a great old time blueprint effect by adding Noise.)

Thanks.

[David Asch]

Hi, bkuchar,

Try this:

Double-click the background layer's thumbnail to make it a regular layer.
Create a new layer beneath it (Cmd+Click the new layer icon)
Fill it with blue
Invert the sketch layer as you did before
Change the layer blend mode to Screen

[bkuchar]

One more step is required after your last step... another Invert.

Then it works great!

Thank you for your help.

[David Asch]

I'm not sure why you inverted again as that would give you a blue drawing on white but as long as it's working for you.. :)

[bkuchar]

You are right. I started with white on black this time. If you start with black on white, the process works as you stated.