Motivation: Use Overlay Effect 2 to reduce the contrast in images
Features: Painter IX use of Overlay layer to reduce harsh contrast

The Overlay effect used to precisely control contrast has been explored already in this tutorial. In this case we are trying to do the opposite - reduce contrast while bringing out the dark tones and preserving details in the highlights. Yes, a formidable task.

The screenshot at the left is typical. The sky is roughly right in exposure but the result is that the tree trunk is badly underexposed. Using brightness and contrast tools will brighten the trunk at the risk of too much movement in the sky including loss of the fine branch detail.

Since the Overlay 2 effect is so easy to apply we try it here. The Overlay 2 effect requires a 3 step process. First as in the case of the simple Overlay Effect duplicate the background layer. This is a three step task in Corel Painter:
1)Select | All; 2)Edit | Copy and then 3)Edit | Paste in Place.
The duplicated layer immediately appears in the Layer palette. Click on this layer and then with the Effects | Tonal Control | Adjust Colors command a dialog box will appear which allows the user to change the Hue, Saturation and/or Value of the image. Using the Saturation setting, slide it to -100 and the image will desaturate to a grayscale.

At this point we have settings appropriate for the Overlay effect - that means the contrast will be increased in the image. To reduce contrast we reverse the B+W Overlay layer with Effects | Tonal Control | Negative Image. Now adjustments will reduce contrast.

But first we have to set the Blend option of the layer to Overlay and slide the Opacity setting for the layer into the 30-80% range. Unlike the simple Overlay effect, the Overlay 2 effect is distinctly non-linear. The bright tones move slowly; the darker tones move more quickly. And the movement is opposite of what you would expect. As the Opacity increases the contrast reduces along with some brightness as well. So be forewarned - the Overlay 2 Effect is much more sensitive and subject to personal preference.
In fact it is so much dependent on the brightness and contrast of the Overlay 2 layer, we found that, unlike in the case of the simple Overlay effect, we had to adjust the brightness contrast of the Overlay layer 2-3 times before we got close to satisfactory.

When doing this correction, make sure that the Overlay layer not the background one is active. Also expect the dark tones to reveal their underlying tones but the light tones not to move much without starting to eliminate any contained detail. Its the old argument - dark tones often conceal real details where as light tones reveal that they have washed out all traces. And without a trace, no program can invent the missing detail. So be patient with the Overlay 2 Effect.

As you can see from the final image the Overlay 2 effect was able to bring out the dark tone details while ferreting out a few more cloud wisps in the sky without moving it to far to the bright side as would have happened if we had used a Brightness + Contrast correction on the whole image. The other alternative of masking out all the sky areas is formidable because you cannot use a simple color or brightness keyed-mask because different feathering has to be applied for each area. Let me assure you the Overlay 2 Effect, even with its somewhat finicky controls, is much easier than the hand masking exercise. Just look at those tiny branches and think of trying to mask around them.

Finally using an Overlay 2 Effect combined with an Orton effect (see Orton here)can produce some very subtle yet outstanding images. Using Corel Painter IX with some of its nifty tone control tools added anew layer of sophistication. But in general, these layer based effects have their own built-in advantage - they are easy to fine tune and control with precise gradations and simple slider movements for changes. Try them - you will like them.