Open your image up in Photoshop. You will notice that in the layers palette there will be one layer named Background. To unlock the layer, double-click on the word Background. In the dialog box name the layer or keep the name Layer 0. The layer now has the ability of being transparent.

Do a select all and copy the image. Add a layer mask by clicking on the icon at the bottom of the layers palette.

Make the mask visible by option + click (on the PC, alt + click) on the mask thumbnail. You now see in your image area what is on the thumbnail, just solid white.

Paste the image into the mask thumbnail by choosing Edit\Paste from the menu or using the keyboard shortcuts command + v (on the PC, control + v). Both thumbnails look identical.

Choose Image\Adjust\Invert from the menu. The mask thumbnail is now the opposite or negative of the image.

Click back on the original hand thumbnail in the layer palette to see how the mask of the hand knocks out the white background. You see a checkerboard pattern to indicate the transparent area.

Create a new layer by choosing the new icon at the bottom of the layer palette or by choosing New Layer from the menu. Name the layer Painting. Change the stacking order by dragging the Painting layer underneath Layer 0. You can now paint on the Painting layer without the worry of covering any of the black pencil sketch of the hand.

To merge the layer mask: >Menu>Layers>Remove layer mask>Apply

Now create additional layers and add colors using the paintbucket tool

Checkout this link: http://designdsk.com/Tips/Tips7.html

BTW this is in PhotoShop 6.0 / Win.

Also, for those who are e-mailing me saying this doesn’t work for them: my instructions are for PhotoShop CS3 and keyboard shortcuts are for the Mac. Sorry, I don’t have earlier versions of PhotoShop anymore to see how to do it there.