Gimp Tutorial #4 - How to make a more realistic looking coloured manga scan
(Okay, that was quite a long title o.O)
I played a bit around with Gimp and discovered a way how you can colour your manga scans in a more realistic looking way.
So I thought, why not share it with you? :)
You need:
- Gimp
- a digital manga scan of your choice
- my Gimp tutorial #2 ("How to colour manga scans")
Step 1:
Open Gimp and open the manga scan of your choice. Then follow steps 1 - 6 of my Gimp tutorial #2.
Step 2:
At first, we are going to create shadows to give the picture more depth. Select the layer where only the black outlines of the manga scans are visible (the one with the grey squares) in the toolbox on the right side ("Layers, Channels, Paths, Undo") by clicking on it. Now click "Filters" -> "Light and Shadow" -> "Drop shadow".
When a new window appears, just click "Ok". Gimp will automatically create a new layer with the shadows of the black outlines. You can change the "Opacity" of the layer with the help of the slider bar in the toolbox "Layers, Channels, Paths, Undo". Just play around with it a bit and choose the opacity that you prefer. Remember: the darker you make the shadows, the more dramatic your picture will look.
Step 3:
There are most likely grey squares again all around your picture since Gimp has created the shadow. To remove them, use the tool "Rectangular Selection" from the "Toolbox" on the left side.
Select only the picture with it, not the grey squares, and then click "Image" -> "Crop to Selection".
Step 4:
Create a new layer by clicking "Layer" -> "New Layer" -> select "Transparency" -> "Okay". In the toolbox on the right side, pull the new (transparent) layer under the layer "Drop Shadow".
With this new layer, we will intensify the shadows that are already given in the manga scan. In my example, it's the shadow in Dee's face. Choose a colour that is slightly darker than the one that you used in this area. Now use the Pencil or the Paintbrush to paint out the shadows (but only draw on the new transparent layer! Make sure that you have it selected in the right toolbox).
Step 5:
As a next step, we have to soften the shadow that we have just drawn to make it look more natural.
To achieve this, click "Filters" -> "Blur" -> "Gaussian Blur". In the new window that will appear, you can choose how much you want to smudge your shadows.
Step 6:
After that's done, you can of course change the opacity of the layer with the newly drawn shadows, too. Again, you will notice that the more you increase the opacity, the more dramatic will your picture look.
As soon as you're satisfied with the result, click "File" -> "Save as" and choose a name. Make sure the name of your picture has ".png", ".jpg" or ".gif" in the end, but not ".xcf"!
Step 7:
Done! :D Have fun with your new picture!
___________________________________________________________________________________
And this time, I even have some pictures for you to illustrate the work process:
Original manga scan Coloured +shadows (50% opacity) +shadows (100% opacity)
I played a bit around with Gimp and discovered a way how you can colour your manga scans in a more realistic looking way.
So I thought, why not share it with you? :)
You need:
- Gimp
- a digital manga scan of your choice
- my Gimp tutorial #2 ("How to colour manga scans")
Step 1:
Open Gimp and open the manga scan of your choice. Then follow steps 1 - 6 of my Gimp tutorial #2.
Step 2:
At first, we are going to create shadows to give the picture more depth. Select the layer where only the black outlines of the manga scans are visible (the one with the grey squares) in the toolbox on the right side ("Layers, Channels, Paths, Undo") by clicking on it. Now click "Filters" -> "Light and Shadow" -> "Drop shadow".
When a new window appears, just click "Ok". Gimp will automatically create a new layer with the shadows of the black outlines. You can change the "Opacity" of the layer with the help of the slider bar in the toolbox "Layers, Channels, Paths, Undo". Just play around with it a bit and choose the opacity that you prefer. Remember: the darker you make the shadows, the more dramatic your picture will look.
Step 3:
There are most likely grey squares again all around your picture since Gimp has created the shadow. To remove them, use the tool "Rectangular Selection" from the "Toolbox" on the left side.
Select only the picture with it, not the grey squares, and then click "Image" -> "Crop to Selection".
Step 4:
Create a new layer by clicking "Layer" -> "New Layer" -> select "Transparency" -> "Okay". In the toolbox on the right side, pull the new (transparent) layer under the layer "Drop Shadow".
With this new layer, we will intensify the shadows that are already given in the manga scan. In my example, it's the shadow in Dee's face. Choose a colour that is slightly darker than the one that you used in this area. Now use the Pencil or the Paintbrush to paint out the shadows (but only draw on the new transparent layer! Make sure that you have it selected in the right toolbox).
Step 5:
As a next step, we have to soften the shadow that we have just drawn to make it look more natural.
To achieve this, click "Filters" -> "Blur" -> "Gaussian Blur". In the new window that will appear, you can choose how much you want to smudge your shadows.
Step 6:
After that's done, you can of course change the opacity of the layer with the newly drawn shadows, too. Again, you will notice that the more you increase the opacity, the more dramatic will your picture look.
As soon as you're satisfied with the result, click "File" -> "Save as" and choose a name. Make sure the name of your picture has ".png", ".jpg" or ".gif" in the end, but not ".xcf"!
Step 7:
Done! :D Have fun with your new picture!
___________________________________________________________________________________
And this time, I even have some pictures for you to illustrate the work process:
Original manga scan Coloured +shadows (50% opacity) +shadows (100% opacity)