Coloring Tutorial Thing: The Lazy Lae Way
❁ intro
Well, after fudging around and finally realizing that I'm coloring something that could work in a tutorial (as well as people actually asking), this... ...not-really-a-tutorial-so-much-as-an-explanation-of-how-I-color thing was born! So I'm going to pretty much show you how I go from here:
to here:
to here:
And as the title suggests, this is a really, and I mean really, lazy and simple way of coloring. So simple that you don't even need the exact program I use or a tablet! But you will need a few things, so here's a little list of what I do use:
- Program: Jasc Paint Shop Pro 9
- Tablet: Wacom Intuos 3 (4x6)
- Image: Here
- Secret Ingredients: Love.
And for kicks, this is how my workspace looks like (my screen is huge):
❁ the image
The spread I'm using is from the last special chapter of Koko ni Iru Yo! featuring Nanjou (the guy) and Kurasawa (the girl). This is the scanlated version provided by Nagare Boshi Scanlations (and while I'm at it, I highly suggest you all read it especially if you like cute shoujo romance). Of course, you don't need to use this exact image. In fact, you can use whatever image you want to color!
You could also just crop out Nanjou and focus on coloring him. Even though I'm coloring the whole spread, I'll only crop out the guy (Nanjou) when illustrating each step, so that might actually be useful. However, I do go to the full spread for the final touches, so it's up to you how you want to follow it.
I chose this spread even if it's a kind of "complicated" example for the following reasons:
- My method is actually really simple and can be applied anywhere.
- The image allows me to color all parts of the character.
- It has more than one character.
- I can leave the screentone in without having to fudge with it.
- It has a lot of different elements you might find in other panels:
- Glasses
- Tears
- Speech Bubbles
- Glasses
- It was the one I was currently coloring.
❁ editing the image
Okay, so we have the image. Needless to say, try to find the best quality image you can get it. I personally prefer getting the RAW version of images because scanlators tend to edit those things up the wazoo, especially for SFX. Sometimes, this can actually detract away from the original image, and I want to try and get the most of it as possible. On the other hand, scanlators will also edit the image really nicely, which helps a lot. Regardless, make sure it's at 16 million colors (24 bit) before doing anything. Sometimes it might be saved as Grayscaled, or Black and White, and you can't really have a colored picture when it's not even allowed to have color!
Now I shall explain a little more about what can/needs to be done to the image.
Editing/Cleaning. Now here is where my true laziness is revealed. Some people actually edit out the screentones from the images. Like, for example, Nanjou's hair here:
Me? ...Yeah I...don't. Number one reason is because it's too annoying and I'm way too lazy to do it. I will clean it up if necessary, like if the quality is bad or there are a lot of unnecessary marks. Or if I'm editing the image-for instance editing/redrawing if I'm only working on a certain part. But for the most part, I don't.
If I do need to clean it up, I don't erase or paint over. I actually clone stamp everything I need. It keeps whatever background color consistent and it's actually important to keep the image "whole" rather than have erased parts for the final touches. If I need to redraw, I'll use the bezier line tool. But since I don't need to do any of that here, that won't be covered. There's also the issue that while clone stamping is probably universal amongst the graphic programs, the bezier line tool might be different. Therefore, if you want to try your hand at it, either play around on your own or find a tutorial dedicated to your program. However, I will say that once you figure it out, it's a great tool for redrawing.
Brightness/Contrast. Sometimes, an image might be too light or too dark. In this case, you can either use the simple Brightness/Contrast Adjustment tool, or you can use Levels.
So when you adjust the settings, you'll get something like this:
I'm actually satisfied with what I have right now, and I can always change it later if I want. But some images may need to be made lighter or darker. Again, how the Levels setting works for your program might be different than what I have, so just play around with it and see what's best for you!
NOTE: Whenever I edit an image, I always keep an original default version. This is in case I somehow mess up badly or if I want to see how it would look like without the edits. I personally like having such default backups, but again, that's up to you.
❁ choosing colors
Colors! One of the most brought up comments I've ever received about my colorings are the colors and how they end up looking in the final product. Most of this I attribute to the final filters I use to help make them pop up. Sometimes the pre-filtered version is a bit dull; other times, it could work just fine as is but I still want a little extra pop or shine.
I shall tell you my secret of choosing colors: find an official color version and gank the colors from there.
Which. Isn't really a secret |D Just to prove how simple and lazy I am. But yep, even for skin. If there isn't an official colored version of the character, I'll go to one of my other palettes for another character and use those. But for the most part, I take all the colors from whatever colored version I can find. For clothing, I'll try and pick a random color I think would look good, or go through some images and see what might work.
Again, this is a personal preference thing, but I also tend to go for the softer, lighter colors. This will of course also depend on the type of image I'm working with. Your colors may start off a lot brighter, or they might be duller.
Always keep in mind that this is your work, so do what you like. (Exception, of course, is if you're making something for someone else.)
As mentioned before, I keep a little 100x100 palette with just little blobs of the colors, like so:
Why 100x100? Mostly because I was doing icons at the time and my "New Image" settings were already set to 100x100. (I told you, I'm lazy.) You can of course make it any size or have it somewhere else. I also have my own system on how my colors are ordered, which is why it might look completely random/chaotic. And sometimes I end up changing colors if a certain shade doesn't work out. But I do this for every character as it helps keep things organized and I can always pull it out either to steal a color or use for multiple character spreads like this.
❁ layers
Now for what will become your best friend for pretty much any graphic editing. First you need to open whatever Layer Palette or window that your program uses. This box will show all the layers that you're working with, and depending on the image, there will be a lot. Here's a quick step-by-step run-down:
- Duplicate the image. You can rename it if you want, but as mentioned before, I'm too lazy. I used to name my layers but eeeeh. However, for this tutorial I shall name them. In this instance, this layer shall be renamed to "Image" (original, I know).
- Set Mode to "Multiply." For PSP, it's called Blend Mode, but it might be called something else for your program. Whatever it is, set this layer to "Multiply." If you still have the original image beneath the duplicated layer, you'll instantly notice that the image got darker. Don't worry, it won't stay that way for long. What Multiply does is it basically allows you to see everything beneath that image. This layer will be at the very top for the majority of this tutorial thing.
- New Raster Layer. Now make a New Raster Layer. This is our first layer and will be the "Skin" layer. There will also be a "Hair" layer, a "Clothing" layer, etc. As you can guess, each layer will be for certain parts of the image to be colored. Make sure this layer and all other future coloring layers are beneath the "Image" layer.
- Delete the bottom image layer. If you haven't already, get rid of the bottom image layer. You're not going to need it. The only time I don't delete this is if I saved an original version of the image before heavily editing it. In that case, I keep the original and just set the layer opacity to 0%. If you are confused, the bottom line is somehow, either by deleting it or setting the layer opacity to 0%, make that bottom original image layer disappear.
Doesn't look like much, but that thing is going to look huge when we're done with it.
SEGUE! Dealing with multiple characters. I know I'm using a pretty big spread for this example, and technically I'm focusing on the guy, but I thought "Oh why not /COLORS EVERYTHING." But this is a good chance for me to make a note about coloring anything with more than one character:
If you can color on the same layer without having the different colors run into each other, do it.
Otherwise, make different layers for each character. If that means making a "Skin 1" and "Skin 2" layer, so be it. You'll see later on that I try to utilize as much of the layer space possible so I don't have like 50 layers with barely anything on them.
A general tip for coloring different colors on the same layer is just make sure that the areas are far from each other. ...A lot of the time I just color on the same layer anyway if it's small (see: lazy), but if you're more comfortable with different layers, do that.
Make sure you're on the appropriate layer whenever you color, otherwise things can get crazy later on (trust me, you do not want to realize you colored on the wrong layer after you finish coloring something big).
❁ brush settings and other things
Brush settings. In terms of settings, I use the following general brush settings for everything. I'm serious, I haven't changed these settings for the past 6 or so years I've been doing graphics anything-including coloring. That is how lazy I am. Of course, you're free to experiment, but for the most part these settings have worked for me just fine.
Shape: Round
Hardness: 0
Step: 32
Density: 100
Thickness: 100
Rotation: 7 (I...actually do not know what this setting is |Da I think it's supposed to be 0 but eh. /lazy and cannot tell.)
Opacity: 100
Size will always change depending on the size of the area you're working in. But the smallest I ever go to is around 2 or 3. Also, if you were to ask me what all those things do, I would not be able to tell you. I don't think those brush settings were even for coloring. Seriously. Told you this was a lazy way.
Background layer. Some colorists (I think I made that term up) have a another base layer at the bottom filled with a different color. This is to help you see what needs to be colored since the original white background can make it easy to miss things. As you probably can guess, I don't. Again, no real reason other than I'm lazy and that for some reason having the background all blue or green or whatnot throws me off a bit. While this does mean I tend to have to go back and edit previously colored layers a bit to cover any areas I missed, I don't mind. However, if you'd prefer having a colored background to help, go for it. Just make a new layer, use the Fill Tool, fill the layer with whatever color you want, and make sure it's the bottom layer. This is because you are coloring "on top" of it, so it won't do you any good if the fill layer is covering anything. Just note that I won't be using it for this tutorial.
❁ coloring "tips"
Before we start diving into the actual coloring process (yes, we're finally there!), I just want to leave a few "tips," or rather tell you what I do.
- Solid coloring. When you're applying color, make sure you make it solid. Cover all areas.
- Go outside the lines. Do not be afraid to go outside the lines! Having excess is actually a good thing and will be useful when you're smudging in the shading. Plus you can always clean it up later.
- Reapply as necessary. If you miss something or feel like something is too light after shading, go ahead and reapply the color!
- Experiment. Sometimes you might need to redo a color. Maybe brushing or shading it a different way makes it look more interesting. This is your work, so add your own flair to it!
- Feel the brush. Okay, that might sound silly, but I'm serious. I always found coloring to be so relaxing because of how the pen feels when it's moving against the tablet. There's a sort of "flowing" almost painter-like feeling whenever I color.
- Have fun. Coloring is supposed to be a fun little hobby. If you're getting frustrated, take a deep breath and step away from it. You shouldn't be looking at your final piece and going "UGH FINALLY DONE I HATE YOU." You should come off feeling proud and happy.
❁ five step method
Okay, I'm just going ahead and saying that what I do from here on out is going to be a basic "rinse and repeat" process:
- Make new layer;
- Put on the base color;
- Shade;
- Clean;
- Move on.
❁ coloring: skin
I always tell people that when I color, it's pretty much like coloring in a coloring book. Just color the parts that match the color. So obviously, for the "Skin" layer you just want to color the skin.
Start with the base layer. Since this layer is one of the ones at the bottom, don't worry too much if the colors go into the other areas like hair or clothing. In fact, I suggest leaving them there. It will help fill in any small places between the two colored layers. The lower layers essentially act as "background" layers for the upper layers. But for now, just go crazy and color! Don't forget to Zoom In so you can see the area better. (For the record, my brush size is currently 22, but I tend to change it around depending on how I feel.)
So you should have something like this:
As you can tell from the crop, I also colored the skin from the other panels on the spread. Also, you may have noticed that I didn't bother cleaning the sides. It's all part of the lazy way!
NOTE: You may notice that I also colored under the glasses. This is more of a "My Technique" sort of thing. When it comes to things like tears or glasses, I still color and do the shading for the skin underneath. The reason for this is because I don't actually color the lenses a solid color, but I do something else. I'll explain more in its own section, so it's up to you whether you want to try it my way or just color the glasses a solid color.
❁ shading part 1: skin
Now to make it less bland and flat. To be honest, when it comes to shading, I probably break all the rules and don't do it right |D As all artists know, when shading, you need to imagine your light source. I try to follow that rule, but I just don't really bother and shade where I feel like it would be shading, haha.../dodges everything thrown at her. So I highly suggest you only read this section to see how I blend the colors rather than actual tips of shading. Really.
Anyway, while still on the "Skin" layer, select the color that you want to use the skin. Now, as I said before, I gank colors. This includes shading. I usually end up going a darker and deeper shade of orange/brown, sometimes yellow. My only tip here is make the shading dark or it won't show up much. I sometimes screw myself over in that department, but I get too lazy to fix. Also, the brush size may be smaller than what you used when coloring the base skin. This is mostly because you're coloring smaller areas when shading.
NOTE: You know another reason why I don't edit out the screentones? They make for excellent shading guides! Seriously, just color over them. Or under, rather. Downside is that if you do some "free shading," some areas may come out darker than others, but don't worry. It actually turns out pretty well in the end, and you might want some areas shaded lighter than others.
Now, you should have something that looks like this:
Or rather, you should have colored the parts you want shaded. Remember, don't use me as a shading tutorial. I suck.
❁ shading 2: skin
But that doesn't look very nice, does it? This is where the Smudge Tool comes in. Again, like the Brush Tool, the settings for this baby have never changed:
Hardness: 0
Step: 25
Density: 100
Thickness: 100
Rotation: 0
Opacity: 100
When it comes to Size, this is kind of a hit or miss. But I suggest making it the same size as the brush size and going smaller if working in small areas.
Now, there is really no easy way to say this so it'll make more sense with the screenshot. But basically, you'll be smudging, or rather blending, the two colors together so that they flow into each other rather than look all choppy. You can also use the smudge tool to help clean up and get rid of the excess. You can also use it to help fill in any spots you might have missed instead of having to go back and using the brush. Remember when I said it was okay to leave the excess? Yep, this is one of the reasons why. Just try to blend the two as much as possible so that the shading color looks more like it's flowing into the base color.
Once you're done with that, it should start looking a lot better than before. This is what I have:
Compared to the above, doesn't it look cleaner and nicer? You can really start seeing the image now.
SEGUE! Blush marks. I used to actually apply a lighter pink color on the blush marks, but I got lazy and realized that just keeping the shaded are works just as well (for my purposes anyway). So I don't bother with applying a different blush color. You of course may think differently, so you can go ahead and either apply a blush color on this layer, or do it on a different layer (I suggest different layer, but that's just me).
❁ cleaning
When cleaning any excess color from outside the lines, either use the Eraser or Smudge tool. I tend to use the smudge tool because it blends the edges nicer than with the eraser. That, and I am that lazy to not want to flip my pen around to erase. Also, go ahead and erase any excess that bled into areas that may be colored white or a lighter color. However, as mentioned before, if another solid color is going to be colored over it, leave it be. Especially if it's in a really small, tricky area.
❁ interlude
I just want to point out that you have now completed the basic five step process:
- Make new layer;
- Put on the base color;
- Shade;
- Clean;
- Move on.
❁ coloring: hair
Hair is honestly my favorite to color. Not sure why, but it is! Depending on how lazy I feel, the hair will usually just have two colors: base and shade.
Now, sometimes I'll add highlights depending on the character. Sometimes I'll have more than one shade color. I usually don't decide until after I finish the base and the shading.
You, on the other hand, may go for more flair. Add more colors to highlight or shade-completely up to you! When choosing colors, again I just go to the official color reference. However, you can also always go up or down in the shades if you're choosing your own colors. I have no particular "style" or "technique" in how I shade or highlight-I actually try and mimic the original artist. This is why my coloring style doesn't always stay the same with each different series I do (Examples: Ace, Tamaki, Zen & Shirayuki).
Anyway, first step is make a New Raster Layer above "Skin" (so it should be between "Image" and "Skin") and color in the base color. Again, don't worry about coloring in the lines. Excess is fine and can be cleaned out later either by smudging it in or erasing.
Base
Shading
Final
As you may notice, like in the "Skin" layer I went ahead and colored the girl's hair on this same layer. There's enough distance between the two where I can color and not worry about blending the colors together and making a mess. Also, notice how the second image is all just crazy before it's blended it? Amazing what a smudge tool can do, right? Notice that I didn't do any highlights. Too lazy. Would it look better with them? Probably, but with this particular image and how the hair is, I'm not bothering with it. Again, this is just me being lazy. Though sometimes, the base color can serve as highlights on its own.
TIP! When smudging, follow the line of the brush first. If you see weird dot things (that is, it doesn't look smooth), just go over it again at a different angle. Sometimes you have to mess with it to hit the right angle, but you'll get! Push come to the shove, you can always Gaussian Blur the layer at a low setting, like 2 or 3. Just enough to get rid of any "rough" smudging. Again, it's good to have excess if you go this route, otherwise you'll have to re-smudge around the edges where it gets lighter.
TIP! Don't be afraid to reapply colors or just completely redo a section by adding more base color or smudging a color/shade over. I do it all the time, and the results can sometimes be very surprising!
SEGUE! Eyebrows. If you have an image where the eyebrows are actually defined and more than just a line, go ahead and color them the same as the hair. I just usually smudge it over because I'm lazy and I usually forget when coloring the hair.
❁ coloring: whatever else that fits
Once you've finished with the hair, you're now in the "Fit as many things on one layer as possible!" stage. For me, I usually end up having the eyes, mouth, and parts of the clothes in one layer, usually accessories. Then the rest of the clothes are in a new layer above it. How you do your layers is completely up to you.
So, create your New Raster Layer above the "Hair" layer. I'm calling it "Stuff 1." First I'll start with the eyes, then the mouth, then the glasses frame, and probably the tie.
❁ coloring: eyes
Eyes are a little different from the rest of the image in that there's no actual "shading." So this is what I do. First, apply the "base color." For my purposes, this means the lighter color that you see around the pupil. So you should have something like this:
Now, take a darker shade and color in the darker pupil area. So something like this:
Now it's smudge time! Even though most of the darker color is in the pupil and depending on the art, you might not think you need to smudge anything. But as you can tell from this style, especially for the girl's larger green eye on the lower left panel, smudging the two to make the two colors blend together will make it softer and nicer. So now you have something like this:
Normally that's pretty much the end of the process because depending on the style and size, there isn't much to work with the eyes, and we already know this is the lazy guide. However, this particular spread and style actually give me more room to add a few more things. For instance, for Kurasawa's eye, I could make the center of her pupil even darker. I can also add some "highlights" to their eyes because they're larger. So in the end, I get something like this:
It might be hard to tell, but you can see it a little better for on Kurasawa's eye.
❁ coloring: mouth & glasses frame
Still on the same layer (Stuff 1), next I go to the mouth. For this particular image, I am actually not using the colors from an official coloring and instead using a favorite set that I've used for some other colorings instead. Technically I have two different color sets for the mouth. At any rate, this is going to be the exact same process as with the "Skin" layer: base color and shading.
And since that's a small area, I'm going ahead and coloring in the glasses. Honestly, I have no real tip for coloring glasses frames other than go with the tried and true base coloring and shading.
Oooh now it's really shaping up!
❁ coloring: tie
Since I'm still on my "Stuff 1" layer, I'll finish it off with the tie. Once again, the standard: base color and shading.
Shading. When it comes to shading, my only tip is to follow any screentones given and the folds.
We are now finished with this layer! Hooray!
❁ where to go from here
Now here's the hard part-at least for me. As you know, I like to try and fit as many "things" on a layer as possible. If there are any other accessories, I'll go ahead and do those. However, all I have left for this particular spread are the white shirt and the green blazer (and Kurasawa's sweater in a different panel). Now, the shirt and blazer are really close together, so having them have their own layer might be best. Usually in this case, if there's a kind of undershirt I'll tack it on with whatever layer the eyes and mouth are. However, I had a tie in this image, so that kind threw a wrench.
But after looking it over, and seeing how small the undershirt would be, I'm just gonna bite the bullet and do what I usually end up doing: putting it in the same layer. Of course, you can make it separate if you feel more comfortable.
I'll start with the blazer.
❁ coloring: blazer
Whether or not you're sticking the shirt with the same layer as the Blazer, we're going to need a new layer regardless. So New Raster Layer, and I'll call this "Stuff 2." If you're just coloring the blazer in this layer, you might call it "Blazer" (or jacket or coat or whatever you want to call that thing).
Now, I'm going to ramble a bit. I have two techniques for coloring clothing:
- Traditional. As you would guess, this would be the base color and then shading.
- One Color Smudge. That's not really its name but I do not know how else to call it. To put it simply, I only color the darker shaded areas and leave the main body blank. Then I smudge out the color from there, creating the lighter "base" color. Example can be found here. Notice how light Tamaki's and Haruhi's clothing are. Yet it leaves a very, very soft and pastel touch to it. This was achieved by just coloring in those dark areas and smudging out the rest and filling it in. So if you're dealing with light clothing, I highly suggest this method. It's really fun and you can get amazing results with practice (or dumb luck, as was the case here).For this particular spread, I'll be taking the traditional route.
So first apply the base color:
Then add the shading and smudge it around:
Notice how very little of that light green I have left. That can happen. Also, you can probably tell I kind of went all over the place. It's not really very "solid" in coloring. That's kind of my own "style" there, so yours might look more "hard edge" like actual cel-shading, or it might be blended more and soft.
❁ dealing with white areas
Now, you're probably wondering what I'm going to do with the white color, especially if I'm going to be adding a texture to this. To put it simply, I deal with it last. I'm only sticking this section up now because the shirt is white.
If you're using a background fill instead of just leaving it all white, now would be a good time to create a New Raster Layer just for the white areas. This layer will have all the white, so there should only be one. But I'll go ahead and say now that the "White" layer will be the last coloring layer, meaning it should be beneath the "Skin" layer.
The reason why I tend to do this last is because I use the white to fill in any light areas or missed spots. When smudging, the colors might be a little more transparent instead of solid. By using the white as a sort of "background color" behind already colored areas, it will give those more transparent areas a more solid look.
Whatever you do, do not do any shading on this layer. This is just white color. Do all of your extra coloring and shading on a separate layer.
Confusing? It'll make more sense in the following sections, so just bear with me. Basically, you can either deal with the white areas now or later. Completely up to you. Now, let's get back to that shirt.
❁ coloring: shirt
Now you have the option of either making a New Raster Layer "Shirt" or stick it on the same layer. Whether or not you have a "White Layer," all you have to do when shading white areas is, well, shade. When it comes to shading white clothing, I usually vary between gray tones or soft colored tones. It actually depends on the rest of the color scheme what I use, and this again is a personal choice. Most of the time I use gray, but sometimes I like changing it to have the shading match the color scheme of the rest of the clothing.
In this case, I'm using a very light green:
It might not stand out too much, so feel free to make it darker.
❁ coloring: lenses & tears
All right, now for the glasses lenses and tear. Technically you could just finish it off like that, but that's no fun.
Create a New Raster Layer and I'm titling it "Lens + Tear." Now, color those specific areas white. I'm pretty much guessing where Nanjou's lenses are since they're not really outlined all the way.
So you should have something like this:
Okay, now go to your layer palette and change the Layer Blend Mode from Normal to Overlay. Then change the Layer Opacity to 45.
The result will be very subtle, yet still noticeable. You're also free to change the opacity to make it darker or lighter. You can even change the color of the lenses to a different color if you want. But this is what it will look like with the current setting.
❁ finished?
If you've been using a colored background, now is the time to either delete or reduce the opacity to 0. Now take a gander at what you've accomplished!
This should be the final product (I'm including the whole spread):
Now, you can just call it quits here. But that wouldn't be very fun. Plus it looks pretty bland, you know?
All right, time for the final steps, one of which may be ignored if you've done this already.
❁ final steps: get the white!
If you haven't colored the white areas yet, now is the time. Just make a colored background fill layer, make sure it's the very last layer, and then create another layer for just the white color. As I said before, do NOT be shy with the white.
❁ final steps: background textures
I don't use textures on the image. Instead, I use them as a background. So all textures should be beneath the "White" layer. These will also help you figure out where you might need to go back in and edit certain layers or put on some more white.
I'd tell you what textures to use, but since these are being used more as background images, quite honestly this is where it's really up to you on how you want the textures to work. You might want a little, you might want a lot. You might want it to be light, and you might want it to really pop out. Also keep in mind what colors you've used for the image. You don't want them all to blend together too much.
Another thing is that you might use a lot of different ones. Always experiment with the Layer Blend Modes. I'll go ahead and say now that "Soft Light," "Hard Light," and "Overlay" tend to be my most used types. But again, it depends on the texture and a lot of the time, what comes out is an accident.
My most used textures come from erniemay and soghislaine.
This is what I got after playing with textures:
Not too bad, right? But hmm...something's off. Oh, those dialogue bubbles! Maybe we should make them stand out more.
❁ final steps: dialogue bubbles
It's easier to work with actual defined speech bubbles rather than the shoujo bubble text that we have in this example. But we can make do! The reason why this is part of the last step is because it's easier to work with them once you've figured out what your background colors are. You wouldn't want a purple speech bubble when your background is already purple, right?
Anyway, create a New Raster Layer and you can set it either near the top (but below the "Image" layer) or right under the "Skin" layer. Whatever floats your boat. I'm setting mine near the top and titling it "Bubbles."
Now, I'm going to go traditional and use white. But again, you're free to make the bubbles whatever color you want. You can also change its layer effects just like we did with the glasses so they're not as solid. (I think I'm going to color the surrounding bubbles, too. Normally I'd just leave them be, but it might look more interesting this way.) So after some playing around, I get this:
That is with the Layer Blend Mode at Overlay with the Layer Opacity at 40. While I'm at it, I think I'll color the inside of the those two right panels as well.
Now for the final, and somewhat complicated step.
❁ final steps: filters
Actually, I am very happy with how this turned out as is. You could call it finished right here. But, there's still one final trick that I shall tell you about. And this deals with a very interesting set of filters that I use.
Now, it varies with each image, so once again, I can't tell you exact specifics. However, I can tell you the various ones I use and how to use them.- Copy Merged. First of all, you need to copy all the layers as one image. If you have the Copy Merged function, use it! It should be under your Edit menu.
- Paste on top. Paste it as the very top layer.
You are going to need this later. For now, set the Opacity to 0 so you can see what's going on.
You're going to need these:
(#051429)
(#beb0b0)
Now, if you want to get the same effect that I got, this is what you have to do:- New Raster Layer: Exclusion. Make a New Raster Layer above the "Image" layer and set the Blend Mode to Exclusion. Fill this layer with the #051429 color. Your image should now look something like this:
Interesting right? This filter would be great for old, faded out type things, and you can fiddle with it. But for now, keep everything the way it is.
- New Raster Layer: Overlay. Make a New Raster Layer above the "Exclusion" layer and set the Blend Mode to Overlay. Fill this layer with the #beb0b0 color. Your image should now look something like this:
Whoa, who turned on the lights! But doesn't it look so soft? Again, this is something that you could use depending on what type of tone and feel you're trying to achieve. Personally this is a little too light for me, so...
- Copy Merged Layer: Soft Light. Remember that Copy Merged Layer we made earlier that's been sitting on top for a while? Bring it back to full 100% opacity and change the Blend Mode to Soft Light.
Too bright, you say? Don't stop now! Of course, you can go ahead and play around with it to see how it looks if you decrease the layer opacities. But I'll get to that later. I tend to save opacity fudging for last.
- Duplicate: Overlay. Okay, remember that Overlay layer we made? Duplicate the layer (or copy + paste) and set it to the very top. Very bright right? Keep going, keep going! [not including screencap because I think you get the idea.]
- Duplicate: Exclusion, change to Soft Light. Do the same thing with the Exclusion layer. However, change this copied layer to "Soft Light" and set it so that it's at the very top. Now your image should look something like this:
Subtle difference from the third step, but look at those colors. Really stand out, right? Still needs to be worked on, but as a check, this is what your layers should look like right now:
- Edit Layer Opacities. This is the fun part: figuring out what layer opacity combination to set these layers at. This is going to vary from image to image, as well as your own personal taste. I can say that the Exclusion layer and the Copy Merged layer usually stay at 100%. The blue Soft Light layer is usually at 85% at the most. What usually changes the most are the Overlay layers since they're the ones that really bring out the brights.
❁ final product
After all that, I finally have my final product!
(click image for full size)
If you're curious, here all the layers I used and their settings:
(Notice how I stopped naming everything? Told you I was lazy.)
And that is the "Lazy Lae Way" to color. The textures and filters are probably the only complicated part of this...tutorial thing, really, and most of that is up to the person. I still recommend everyone to use Jan's coloring tutorial if you want true works of art. And she did that tutorial with a goddamn mouse. YES JAN, I SHALL FOREVER PIMP YOU OUT.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you managed to take out something from it! If anything, just remember the mantra:
Base color and shading.
That's really all there is to the way I color.
Also, I refuse to make another guide again. You're making a lazy person work! For the record, I usually finish my coloring within 3-4 if it's a large spread, and obviously less if it's smaller. This tutorial took most of the day, but I was also kind of distracted in the process.
Feel free to leave any questions or comments. I'll try to help answer questions about specific tech questions, but remember I only know how to use Paint Shop Pro. I don't know anything about the Photoshop line. Also, I kind of suck at explaining things, but I'll try my best. - Copy Merged. First of all, you need to copy all the layers as one image. If you have the Copy Merged function, use it! It should be under your Edit menu.
