Brazilian artist Marina Amaral has not only successfully colorized a number of historic photographs, she’s built a career out of it.
A lover of history who decided to try retouching photographs herself after seeing examples online, the 21-year-old Amaral spends hours, and sometimes months, on the photos she chooses. What takes the most time, she says, is research.
“I never start a job without having gathered as much information as possible,” Amaral told Business Insider. “That’s what makes the colors historically accurate.”
The work is primarily done in Photoshop, and each photo accumulates hundreds of layers that capture not only accurate coloring, but tone and mood as well. Much of her work often focuses on historic images of conflict, whether they’re soldiers, portraits of activists like Martin Luther King, Jr., or her now-famous colorized images of 14-year-old Auschwitz victim Czeslawa Kwoka.
Amaral’s work can be found on her website and Facebook page; scroll down to see some examples of her work.
—RealClearLife
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