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Need help with this coloring

novaninja555novaninja555 Posts: 836 Arc User
edited December 2014 in Off Topic
Hey guys! I recently got onto drawing humans (yeah I never really drew HUMANS till recent) and right now mechanon is angry with my liking for drawing organic creatures and won't make it easier for me to digitally colour them.

So basically here is my greatest problem, how do I do these:

- Colour skin using photoshop

- Do shading using photoshop

Special shout out to Alex, Biff and Jerax ; who I have seen to be great at digital coloring!
"Good can be found in heights, even in the deepest pits of evil" but "The valleys of evil always exist in the mountains of good."

~me
Post edited by novaninja555 on

Comments

  • spinnytopspinnytop Posts: 16,450 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Have you tried searching the youtube for video tutorials? I'm guessing there are some really great ones out there :3
    Squishy DPS builds that can solo QWZ w/videos.
    My super cool CC build and how to use it.
  • novaninja555novaninja555 Posts: 836 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    spinnytop wrote: »
    Have you tried searching the youtube for video tutorials? I'm guessing there are some really great ones out there :3

    I have. The ones on digital colorin becomes difficult to follow.
    "Good can be found in heights, even in the deepest pits of evil" but "The valleys of evil always exist in the mountains of good."

    ~me
  • jerax1011jerax1011 Posts: 966 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    I can't really give specific advice on what effect you like, but when I'm looking into learning new techniques or refining others I look up tutorials in several places. Youtube is good if you are familiar with the program they are using, so be specific in looking up tutorials for photoshop. You'll have to pause and rewatch videos a lot, but it's still worth a look. I also look for and have found lots of step by step tutorials at deviantart. There you'll have still images that walk you through in a similar manner to reading a book on coloring tips. As far as specific colors I have a TON of color/texture/lighting/material/real world references to have open with my various projects. That's as simple as a google image search for skin tones and using them to draw colors from or be inspired by. I recommend keeping all your references saved on your computer to use over and over again when you need them.

    All in all my biggest tip is practice, the best part about digital coloring is that you can erase and undo your work till you get it looking in a way that makes you happy ^.^
    EU5doX8.jpg
    @Aleatha1011 in CO | Keeper of the Cheesecake since Nov. 2011| Bunni BOT is on PRIMUS! | Come check out my deviantart page!
  • biffsmackwellbiffsmackwell Posts: 4,739 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    jerax1011 wrote: »
    I can't really give specific advice on what effect you like, but when I'm looking into learning new techniques or refining others I look up tutorials in several places. Youtube is good if you are familiar with the program they are using, so be specific in looking up tutorials for photoshop. You'll have to pause and rewatch videos a lot, but it's still worth a look. I also look for and have found lots of step by step tutorials at deviantart. There you'll have still images that walk you through in a similar manner to reading a book on coloring tips. As far as specific colors I have a TON of color/texture/lighting/material/real world references to have open with my various projects. That's as simple as a google image search for skin tones and using them to draw colors from or be inspired by. I recommend keeping all your references saved on your computer to use over and over again when you need them.

    All in all my biggest tip is practice, the best part about digital coloring is that you can erase and undo your work till you get it looking in a way that makes you happy ^.^

    The bolded part is really important, for amateurs and experts alike. A good set of reference photos is a must.

    As far as specific advice, coloring and shading skin, you'll want to set up a light source, and you'll need to know the muscles of the body, because these will define where you want to put the shading.

    I highly recommend this book for coloring techniques. And this book is great if you need help with anatomy.
    biffsig.jpg
  • novaninja555novaninja555 Posts: 836 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    Thanks for the advice! I found some really good tone palettes but how do I make the skin tones mix in with each other? As in like what effect do I use? Cuz if I am gonna use blur I have to put all of them on one layer instead of separating them...
    "Good can be found in heights, even in the deepest pits of evil" but "The valleys of evil always exist in the mountains of good."

    ~me
  • biffsmackwellbiffsmackwell Posts: 4,739 Arc User
    edited December 2014
    novaninja555 wrote: »
    Thanks for the advice! I found some really good tone palettes but how do I make the skin tones mix in with each other? As in like what effect do I use? Cuz if I am gonna use blur I have to put all of them on one layer instead of separating them...

    Hmm... It would be nice to see the actual piece you're working on. Visualizing this is a bit tough since everyone works in different ways. Also, are you using Photoshop or something else?

    In my pieces that you've seen, 95% of the colors go in one layer, but it's very flat shading, since my style is kind of old school. I don't blend colors together, and any airbrushing I have to do goes on a separate layer to preserve the solid lines of the main layer.

    If you're putting all your colors on separate layers, what I would do is make my shading layers all Clipping Masks, so you're only coloring over that base color layer (in Photoshop, alt-click between the two layers). This makes it so if you're using the airbrush (well, any brush, for that matter, but airbrush is messiest) any colors that fall outside your base color will be hidden.
    biffsig.jpg
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