Coloring or Lining?

[kip]

so. tale as old as time, every artist has a favorite part of the process
for some coloring, for some lining
(we’re leaving sketching out of this now because that’s a very different Type of step)

what’s your fav? why? do you dislike the other or just like it less?

for me, i Hate Coloring. I dunno why exaclty but i find it incredibly boring. Lining is my jam, it’s just the right amount of actively thinking about what i’m doing and muscle-memory work i can do it forever probably

[KoreanTacos]

Lining for me is more stressful than coloring. When I'm lining I feel like I have to do everything in my power to make sure the lines are perfect, and it don't help that my hands get shaky from time to time. For me coloring is more relaxing as I can just smoothly swipe the tool and it's generally easier to hide mistakes when I do coloring than small details in lining. It's about the same level of relaxation I have when I sketch, just that feeling that this is an easy fix if that makes sense.

[TheFalseVyper]

I'm actually surprised to find someone that doesn't like the coloring process lol.

Coloring is my absolute FAVORITE part of the drawing process! I find line art stressful and far too time consuming.

[kip]

that’s rly interesting !
i have heard most people prefer coloring, but i never heard about lineart being too time consuming. i find coloring takes me about twice-three times the amount of time lining does??

[Rodimus13]

Hubby says "Hard to say, lining I suppose. It goes a little bit quicker and it sorta is what I always do when I am drawing I suppose. It's easier basically. I suppose that makes me sound lazy but... yeah."

[imiogri]

I'm a cheater. I only color
I find lining incredibly tedious. When I realized I can make lineless comics I could finally make comics at all because I felt lining would eat so much time out of the process I wouldn't be able to keep up.

[joannekwan]

I prefer lining!
I'm quick at it and it gives me instant results.

And it can get by with a simple wash to suggest shadow.

The only time I truly enjoy coloring is outside of my comics, when I'm doing a piece in my line-less style or just faffing about with a digital painting.

[dawgofdawgness]

Hmmm I am absolutely terrible with color, which is why my entire comic is done in monochrome. I love lining, I think my lineart brings out my style the most. And practically all the artists that inspire me have distinctive inking styles (most make black and white comics

[Reign]

I used to hate lining, but now I'm getting more confident in it. The aspect of messing up is still there, but not as loud as it once was. I love lining because it helps me see what the finished product will look like. I love the contrast of the black against the white. I have done so many sketches in my lifetime that were never finished and lines were never solidified. So to now see finished line work is thrilling for me. I hate coloring right now, and that's probably because I'm still learning how to use Copic Markers. I do the majority of my coloring by hand, and the fact that they cost SO MUCH, HOLY CRAP, is a bother for me. Just coloring 6 pages for my comic has depleted many of my Ciao Markers. (Because I couldn't quite afford the bigger markers, I have those ones). And it's time consuming, and sometimes the colors don't blend all into one solid color. So, I enjoy lining much more.

[JeanGuillet]

I prefer coloring. It's about half the time for me (believe it or not, based on my weird style). Lineart seems like it is taking longer and longer these days....of course anatomy is getting better and better

I wonder if the people who say lineart is quick for them are doing highly stylized comics?

[qwerty]

This varies for me as I learn stuff and try different techniques.

Clean linework is my enemy XD, I just find it difficult and unpleasant. But recently I did some stuff while trying out a looser/sketchier lining style and it was surprisingly way more enjoyable.

Coloring... I kinda like coloring things in a somewhat messy and painterly way on one layer... sometimes. I dislike using the fill bucket tool, it's so tedious and having to go back and fill little pixel gaps especially bugs me. And recently I've found that I usually like coloring in black and white better than coloring with actual...colors.

Overall, lining wins for me (for now at least).

[kip]

I dislike using the fill bucket tool, it's so tedious and having to go back and fill little pixel gaps especially bugs me.

oh you should try using the magic wand select tool instead, then widen the selection so it covers a Bit of the lineart and color underneath the lineart layer, that way it covers everything and u don’t need to go back and fix small stuff like that !

[silverraven0]

I don't color enough to say how much I like coloring, but I mainly dislike it because it took much more time than me doing lining, and as someone who's obsessed over perfect lines, I of course obsesses over 'if the color getting out of lines' too. Plus I still need to learn about color theory, so.

[qwerty]

Thanks for the advice

In CSP the bucket tool already has a setting to automatically expand the selected area to color by a certain number of pixels. But I find that if I set the number low, it leaves gaps, while if I set it high, the color bleeds outside the lines and/or ends up filling areas that shouldn't be filled. I haven't found a balance, but I think it's because my lines are too thin or too messy ^^;

[edbe]

I like the result of lining but not the process so much (I'm somewhat starting to appreciate it sometimes tho)

On the other hand, I love the process of coloring but the results... well I'm not good at colors lets just say that haha

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Both. I dislike both. Pixel art is super demanding. But I love the final product so it is worth it.

[VibrantFox]

i used to hate lining with all my being but over time ive come to make peace eith the beast. i cant say its as calming as coloring is for me but its not as stressful as it used to be.

as for colors i love it but its probably because i dont force myself to put a lot of though into it unless its absolutely necessary. it's probably why i love working on experimental pieces where i can try all kinds of crazy coloring styles. i s'pose thats why i chose the name vibrant

[Luminosophy]

Hmm these two are kinda my faves. There's other areas that I hate and struggle with more. Of the two I guess I'd say colour. I worked with line for a really long time now, have that down to a T. Colour I can end up struggling with sometimes, especially for more atmospheric palettes.

[Kura]

Hate colouring with every fibre of my being. Started a full colour comic thinking "if I get better and more used to it maybe I will like it more" Got better at colour, but hated coloured five times as much.

Love line art and inking, always have since I was a kid, wish the picture could just be done after that step honestly.

[LortiaMJB]

Inks all the way, but then again it shows in most of my work. I end up just making high detailed inks and filling in the blacks with just flat coloring.