Changing Wheels in Photoshop
by addnon

Chopping rims in Photoshop is one of the easiest things to do once you learn how. It seems that a lot of people have their own way of doing this, so I figured I'd post mine.

STEP 1: As with all chops, you want to start out with a clear, high-resolution picture. For this tutorial, I chose the Z4 coupe concept (for obvious reasons :D ).

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/1.jpg

STEP 2: Next you open up the rims you want to put on. I chose CSLs, because I knew there are dozens of high-res pics of the M3 CSL with the angle I'm looking for. It is essential the picture of the rims you are putting on is the SAME res or bigger. Making big rims smaller is okay, but making smaller rims big will result in distortion.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/2.jpg

STEP 3: To help you select the wheels effectively, we will use the guides and snapping. Make sure rulers are showing (checked) and make sure you select Snap to > Guides.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/3.jpg

STEP 4: Click on the ruler on the top and drag a blue guideline out of it (click and drag). Position it a fraction above the top of the rim. Do the same thing vertically.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/4.jpg

STEP 5: Now select the circular selection tool.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/5.jpg

STEP 6: Click where the two lines meet and drag around the wheel.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/6.jpg

STEP 7: Copy the wheel, and then switch back to other file.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/7.jpg

STEP 8: Paste the wheel (should automatically put it into a new layer) and position it. Resize if necessary.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/8.jpg

STEP 9: Now we are going to fix the colors on the wheel to make it match better. You can do this in a variety of ways: photo filter pass, brightness/contrast, levels, saturation, etc. I'm going to de-saturate it a little bit in this example. Because I’m going to "take away" the color and I want to retain the emblem color, I'm going to select around the emblem. To do this I first select the emblem, then I right click and pick "select inverse". This will now select everything around the emblem.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/9.jpg

STEP 10: There is no set rule on how much to de-saturate. Just do what you think looks good.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/10.jpg

STEP 11: I am also going to decrease the brightness a bit.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/11.jpg

STEP 12: Duplicate the layer (CTRL + J) and position it over the rear wheel.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/12.jpg

STEP 13: To make it look slightly more realistic, we want to rotate the wheel so it looks slightly different from the front. Press CTRL + T to go into transform mode. Move the cursor to the corner and you should see a little curvy arrow pop up. Turn the wheel to your liking.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/13.jpg

STEP 14: Done! Now resize your work and add any finishing touches.

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/14.jpg

Original:

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/original.jpg

CSLed:

http://www.rsiwerks.com/addnon/chopped.jpg

NOTE: This tutorial is just a starting point for beginners who want learn basic wheel chopping. Obviously, this one was pretty easy as the photo was taken by professionals; hence it is very high quality. Therefore it’s very easy to work with. Working with photos you take yourself is a bit trickier as you will have to make sure the two images (the rims and your car) match in quality, color, etc. In addition, this chop was done on a side picture. Working with 3/4 shots will require finding a picture of a rim in the same exact or reverse angle. It’s harder, but not impossible.

Well I hope this helped. Good luck!

Good Job.

I never did it that way but I will now :buttrock

Thanks for the time :)

Great job!

ahhh damn, everyone hold up I'm trying to fix my server..

pictures dont work for me. my computer most likely sucks though.

pictures dont work for me. my computer most likely sucks though.

no, its my host. apparently they suspensed my account for no reason. It should be back up within an hour or so...

no, its my host. apparently they suspensed my account for no reason. It should be back up within an hour or so...
if you can't get them up, e-mail them to me for hosting.

the mad hatter 323 at yahoo dot com

if you can't get them up, e-mail them to me for hosting.

the mad hatter 323 at yahoo dot com

thanks so much, email sent.

Well heres the story: Apparently my host didn't recive my yearly payment and they decided to suspend my account. I paid them today and it was supposed to be back up at like 4:30ish, but I guess they didnt follow through.

thanks so much, email sent.

Well heres the story: Apparently my host didn't recive my yearly payment and they decided to suspend my account. I paid them today and it was supposed to be back up at like 4:30ish, but I guess they didnt follow through.
I PMed you the URLs, they'll be hot in a few minutes when they are done uploading.

can you tell me if your tutorial works for us users with photoshop elements?

thanks for typing up the tutorial.

-Ron

I PMed you the URLs, they'll be hot in a few minutes when they are done uploading.

can you tell me if your tutorial works for us users with photoshop elements?

thanks for typing up the tutorial.

-Ron

I'm not too familar with photoshop elements, but I am assuming it contains the same tools. Try some of the steps and if you run into a problem let me know. I'm almost 100% it will still work.

PS: thanks again for uploading the pics

I'm not too familar with photoshop elements, but I am assuming it contains the same tools. Try some of the steps and if you run into a problem let me know. I'm almost 100% it will still work.

PS: thanks again for uploading the pics
I'll give it a shot in the AM and report any obstacles when/if I come across them.

np with the hosting, thank YOU for the tutorial. :D

I appreciate the tutorial would you plan on doing some more and maybe having them stickied?

hot tutorial man

Very nice tutorial. :thumbup:

The only thing I could add is to rotate (there are a lot of other ways to do it - horizontal flip) the wheel so that the brake calipers are in the right positions...:)

I appreciate the tutorial would you plan on doing some more and maybe having them stickied?

sure, is there anything specifically you would like for me to show how to do?

awesome. thanks!

I used to always just free hand select the wheel, thanks a bunch!!

:buttrock

Oh yeah, I've never been any good at changing the colors of white or black cars, if anybody wants to PM me or make a tutorial, feel free. :D

how do I let it let me resize it? I had to redo my photoshop and i dont remember how.

addnon. I didnt know you did pshop so well! Hook it up!

Nice tutorial... I've always wanted to get into it, but never really took the time. Thanks for making a thread

addnon. I didnt know you did pshop so well! Hook it up!

lol, i've won a lot of contests too ;)

how do I let it let me resize it? I had to redo my photoshop and i dont remember how.

It is Image > Image Size or simply Alt + Ctrl + I

awesome,

thanks

thanks for the tutorial

I was on last night and all the pics were there and today they won't load? Is the problem on my side? :help

nope! i can't see them either. i'll check back later hoping they'll be there when i come back.

hmm thats strange, I can see them.