Change Eye Colors in Paint Shop Pro 9 or X

Though Paint Shop Pro has included a Red Eye Removal Tool for a number of versions now, sometimes it's not as subtle as you would like it to be and only includes natural eye colors. If you're trying to create a fantasy image, that may not what you need. Fortunately, there is a way to change eye colors manually that allows for any color you can imagine without the end result looking badly manipulated.

Open Paint Shop Pro, then open any image (that you own, have permission to use, or is in the public domain) that you would like change the eye color on. It's a good idea to use a photo where the person or animal is looking directly at the camera, at least while you are getting familiar with the technique.

Click on the Selection Tool and change it Freehand Selection. Set the Selection type to Point to Point and change the mode to Replace. Set the Feather and Smoothing settings to 0. Put a check in the box beside Anti-alias.

You may want to zoom in on the image before starting the selection, as it can be a bit tricky.

Choose a starting point on the first eye, and then click with your mouse to start the selection. Move carefully and closely around the edges of the eye, clicking to add more points. Be careful to keep the pupil out of your selection. Go around the pupil without cutting the eye color out. Once you have the eye selected, right click to end the selection.

To select the other eye, you will need to hold down the Shirt key while making the selection. Follow the previous step again so that both eyes are selected.

Click on Adjust, go down to Hue and Saturation, and click on Colorize. In the Colorize menu, move the right preview pane until you see at least one of the eyes if necessary, and adjust the zoom if you like as well. Now play with different Hue and Saturation settings until you are satisfied with the result, and then click OK.

Save your altered image with a different name than the original, and you're done.

This method does require some time and attention to detail to get the selections right, but the effect is worth it. These steps are adaptable in Paint Shop Pro versions 7 and up. Can you imagine yourself with violet eyes, or orange? Give it a try!