Manga Coloring - Icons
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Program: Paint Shop Pro 9.
Translatable: Yes.
Level: Easy-medium.
These are the tools I tend to use when coloring.
I don't think I have to explain most of these, do I? Probably the only one some of you are not familiar with is the change to Target Brush. What this little thing do is, basically, change your base picture to the color you choose. There are another ways to do it, but since this basically does it in one step, it's one of my favorites.
Now, to the picture.
In this case, I started directly with an icon-sized picture. This coloring can be done for bigger pictures, and I'll show that later. But for now, here's the picture.
(and with the letters erased)
The next step is choose a beige-brown color (the one I always use is #e6c9a6) and put it on screen above your base image. You'll get this:
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Not pretty, right? So then, go back to your original picture, duplicate it and drag it on top of the screen layer. Then, use Change to Target Brush (or whatever it is you use), and change the same beige you had on screen change the coloring of your base image. It should look like this:
Duplicate that layer once more. So now it should be Base image (black and white), Screen Layer (Beige), and two colored-but-basic images. Now, change the one above the Screen Layer to Soft Light. It'll look like this:
It's a bit of improvement, but still, kind of terrible to color it, right? So, now, the layer ABOVE that? Change it to Multiply, but lower the opacity around 50%. (If the lines are too faint you might have to lower it a bit less, or if it's too dark a little bit more. Basically, play around to what works for your scan).
Now, that's more like it, right? But still, the lines are a little too brown, and they might mess your coloring. So, add a dark blue layer (the one that works best for me is #16476a) and put that layer on Soft Light at 100% opacity.
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TADAAAAAAAA. That's actually something that I -and you- can work with, right? The blue with the brown have made a dark bluish tint that looks close enough to black without being black, which softens the general look of your icon.
So now, with that same blue, since one of your character's hair is black, let's add another Soft Light layer to darken his hair.
I know it doesn't seem like much of a difference, but believe you me, it will help you a lot.
SO! Now you can actually start coloring your picture! Create a new layer and set it on Multiply. At first keep it on 100% opacity, and later you can decide if it's too dark for your character. A good idea for this is to keep a colored reference of your character, if only to have a proper idea of the colors. I don't like my colorings to be exactly identical, but it's a YMMV thing.
Depending on the skin of your character, you might have to add a previous layer to set the peach-skin tone. In this case, with Shuuhei, I didn't think I needed it, so I just added the peach (#fcd7a2) directly.
With that set, I smudge everything. I only have a touch-pad so that's why I choose smudging, but if you have a tablet or an easier way, go for it. Coloring things should be done with what you like and what works for you, so keep that in mind.
Anyway, so yeah. Smudging! Don't worry if you smudge out of the lines, you can earse later. So you smudge, keeping in mind light and so, so now your icon should be looking like this, more or less:
Not bad, eh? And now, just do the same with Kouyuu (aka, for those not into the Saiunkoku Monogatari fandom, the other dude). You might want to create an extra Multiply layer just to be on the safe side.
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If you chose to have an extra layer, once you're done with the other dude's skin, you might want to merge the two layers, if only so your palette won't be too full.
AND. Here's where the references I told you about will come in handy. These were mine for this icon:
Since Kouyuu is the one with the troublesome hair -aka, the one with the light hair, and the one that will be more obvious- I started with him. With your drop tool, pick up a blue from the canon picture of his hair, and then, on a new Multiply layer, color it.
It doesn't have to be perfect and you can erase things later. But for now, choose a darker blue on your canon picture for the shadows, and, ON THE SAME LAYER, add it. Then, smudge it. And then, with the Drop Tool, choose a lighter blue again, and drop it on the same layer. Then smudge it too.
You can add the eye-color on that layer as well, since it's such a little thing. Now, clean through the lines, and it should look like this, more or les.
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With Kouyuu done, we can pass to Shuuhei. Go to his reference pic and choose a color from his hair. I didn't quite like the browns that were left on his hair, so I added a Color Layer (50% opacity) simply to keep it more or less similar. It's not that big of a difference, but trust me, it helps.
Since Shuuhei's hair is so dark, it only needs a few touches before it's done. It's basically the same as we did with Kouyuu's hair: add the color, smudge it, then add a lighter color for the lights, smudge that as well.
We're almost done with this icon. So now, go to the reference pic and with the Drop tool get the color of Shuuhei's robe. Create a new layer and color it. You know the drill: color, then add shadows, then add lights. And, remember that little trick: go for the original dark blue we used (#16476a) and work it over the dark details of Shuuhei's clothes and eyes.
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Erase if you have to, and by this point, your icon is pretty much done.
Now, if you want to add a texture, I technically do this. Merge all your previous layers so he icons is flat. Now, considering that the color schemes of these two characters are both blue, so, to add a bit of color, I chose a red gradient and put it on top of them on Multiply, playing with the opacity so it wouldn't clash too much. Then I duplicated the base, dragged it on top, and simply erased the white parts of the icon.
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And with that, your icon is, basically, done! As I mentioned before, this is pretty much how I do all my colorings. Next time I'll do a bigger scan, just to show it, but there's not much difference other than more room to properly smudge things.
If there's any doubts or I didn't express myself clearly enough, please, feel free to tell me so. I'd be happy to explain.