Coloring tutorials?

[AnnaLandin]

I think that looks really nice! You have a lovely subdued colour-scheme; the grey and the red works really well together.

Learning how to colour well is basically a mix of experimenting, learning colour-theory (which colours are complimentary, which colours clash, how to coloured lighting and shadows work) and getting comfortable with whatever software you're using. I think you're well on your way here!

I do my colouring in Manga Studio 5, but most of what it can do can be done in other software as well. The method I commonly use is to colour in the flat colours on one layer, and then do most of my shading on another layer on top of that, with the layer-mode set to "multiply" - this allows me to fudge around with the shadows and change where they are, and what colour they are, without disturbing the layer below. I also use "overlay"-layers to adjust the overall tone/atmosphere of the page, and do highlights - and sometimes I do really sharp highlights on a glow-dodge layer.

Don't be afraid to experiment with coloured light and coloured shadows! If the overall lighting of a page is yellowish (like streetlights at night, or a sunset), the shadows are going to be a bit purple, as yellow and purple are opposite each other on the traditional colour-wheel. Working with blues, greys and greens will result in a more subdued, moody atmosphere, while the yellows, reds and oranges result in a more warm and bright feel.

My one top-tip for colouring comics is to colour the backgrounds first. Colouring the backgrounds/environment first will make you think about lighting conditions and atmosphere and overall tone of the page - and let's be honest, most of us find drawing the characters more fun. If you put off colouring the characters to the last step, that means you won't get bored and wander away from a page before you've coloured the backgrounds properly.

[fanyart]

I would suggest trying several tutorials (cell-shading, soft-shading, many other unnamed techniques) and then choosing what works best for you. After a while, you might find yourself creating your own techniques. Some people stick to the same technique for years, some experiment with other tools to find the workflow that suits their style best.

When I was in highschool, the anime-like cell-shading technique was really popular, almost everybody including me used it because it looked so nice and clean. Nowadays there is a tendency to stray away from the sterile digital feel - if you look at screenshots from various recent anime (I like http://randomc.net/ where many people blog many recent anime with screenshots), you can see that the designers like to get away from the simple cell-shading with various little details that make it feel organic (highlights on hair, gradients etc.).

We comic creators are not restricted by the coloring limitations of animation and I really love looking at comics done in various techniques (my hobby is trying to guess the process of creating other people use to make their comics and paintings ).

For my bachelor thesis on digital painting I did some video tutorials, this one has English subs so I'm posting it for inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkZz6-6L6n4 - this technique may be harder to understand at first but it was one of my most favorite techniques for its efficiency and attractiveness (until I got Art Marker pen from Wacom which literally adds another dimension to the drawing process and speeds it up a lot).

From experience I can only say that coloring every page is very exhausting and time consuming. After nearly 50 pages I did of my comic Names I dream of doing a black&white comic.

But wasn't it really fun to color it? To me, painting is real joy - sometimes I feel I put quality over quantity too much But what to do when it's so enjoyable!

For a while I have been thinking of making a comic tutorial series covering various aspects of comic-making (things that are not covered in Tapastic Guide) as well as art techniques, but I'm not sure people would be interested in it - would anyone welcome this?
... At the same time, for example one technique I use in the process for Trivia from Nature has been used by many creators (I can tell that) but I have never seen a tutorial for it so I hope it's not a national secret or something like that >_>

[winglesscomic]

For a while I have been thinking of making a comic tutorial series covering various aspects of comic-making (things that are not covered in Tapastic Guide) as well as art techniques, but I'm not sure people would be interested in it - would anyone welcome this?
... At the same time, for example one technique I use in the process for Trivia from Nature has been used by many creators (I can tell that) but I have never seen a tutorial for it so I hope it's not a national secret or something like that >_>

yes!
I'm also interested in that process

[ghostnxs]

That's precisely I was asking for tutorials so I can figure out what works best.
I have no interest to do what's popular/stay away from something because that's what everyone does nor do I have the time. I prefer things to be simple. I don't actually follow tutorials I just take things from them that I like and I'm not aiming for realistic .
Thanks for the tutorial.

[villainesayre]

I have loads of other work related to drawing, so after many hours of doing illustrations etc I sometimes cry while colouring my comic. That's why it's exhausting. I know that I'm doing it mostly for myself but I often want to shot myself for the idea of full-colour comic.

Also I'm writing from a perspective when drawing isn't only pleasure for me, it's mostly work and I'm a really tired person.

Sorry for making an offtopic, just to be clear - if you you know that the comic will be short - full-colour is a nice thing, if the comic will be long and you don't know when it will end - I recommend doing it in black&white.

[ghostnxs]

I always feel like my black & white is lacking and gray scale looks a little weird. What I did for my picture above is just picked colors that looked okay that I wanted to color the character, then placed a layer over it changed opacity and the layer type to screen so it would change the color of the line art and that was it. It took less than ten minutes to finish coloring. My comic is long...really long, but I wanted to make the process less monotonous by adding color.

[fanyart]

That's precisely I was asking for tutorials so I can figure out what works best.I have no interest to do what's popular/stay away from something because that's what everyone does nor do I have the time. I prefer things to be simple. I don't actually follow tutorials I just take things from them that I like and I'm not aiming for realistic . Thanks for the tutorial.

Yep, that's the best approach It just takes a lot of time to explore the possibilities of techniques other people use and combine them into your own technique. As it has been pointed out, searching "coloring tutorial" etc on deviantart is the best inspiration, it just needs your time investment to go through the tutorials.

What I did for my picture above is just picked colors that looked okay that I wanted to color the character, then placed a layer over it changed opacity and the layer type to screen so it would change the color of the line art and that was it. It took less than ten minutes to finish coloring. My comic is long...really long, but I wanted to make the process less monotonous by adding color.

I think it's a good and quick technique that you can color your comic with. You probably know but it's goo to try varying the contrast between the shaded and lighted parts according to the atmosphere - sharp contrast in extreme situations, subtle in quiet scenes. If one screen layer doesn't do enough contrast, you can duplicate it several times.

For some enhancements you can try adding a line of highlights along the outline where the lightsource comes from (see the red scarf):

It pushes the character out of the background, doesn't take too much time and I think it would be perfect for your characters in suits.

Also I'm writing from a perspective when drawing isn't only pleasure for me, it's mostly work and I'm a really tired person.

I understand it too well, don't worry I work on commissions all the time, I get sent to animation studios.... so I know pretty well what it is not being able to sleep for two and a half days (that's my limit), having to sacrifice some details just to meet the deadline... Some time ago I did a comic for a commercial campaign and for the last few episodes I had to sacrifice highlights because I just had to sent it in and I still regret it.
But when I can do a thing for myself, I love to immerse myself in the process

[ghostnxs]

You probably know but it's goo to try varying the contrast between the shaded and lighted parts according to the atmosphere

I actually did that and hated it so I reduced the contrast to this.

Drawing currently is a hobby so, I doubt I'll have a problem with becoming exhausted.

[GouFigg]

I really do sometimes think of making a black and white comic too. It's immensely tiring to do writing, plus, work on the comic, plus working on the art and then the coloring, and not to forget you have to make sure everything is making sense!

But at the same time I feel that since I started the comic in color might as well go the whole way through with it. Also I want to learn how to color properly and even though it's tiring, doing a comic has really helped me improve on my coloring and color palettes

[ghostnxs]

I decided to do my comic in black and white because it was taking too long.

[punrai]

The color looks good to me! But, anyway, I have this feeling you use black /gray for shading. It's ok, but I find it boring. You should try using purple or brown on a multiply/shade layer, it will make it look more interesting! (I think, I'm not an expert)

Also, you should be aware of the color theory. This can be used when you're designing your character's color palette, but also at shading and making lights! For example, if you use cold colors for the shades (like purple. Sorry, I love purple for shading), you must use something like yellow or light orange for the highlights!

And then, you can really mess up your colours as I do hahaha

[jonufele]

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[scythe]

This one is very helpful: https://youtu.be/9kQllLy_X4I

[jonufele]

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[yvettegustafsson]

I like the coloring, actually! And the shading too, but I understand if you want to try something new

For tips on tutorials I use
Imagine FX - a print magazine but is also available digitally (I read it on the iPad). They also have tutorials on the website, so that's nice
Smith Micro Graphics on YouTube. You may or may not use Manga Studio, but there might be some handy tips and tricks there anyway.

I haven't found much that can help me not color my comics like they're church windows, that's just wiring in the brain. Your internal color pallette is connected to your personality, so own it!

[ghostnxs]

I don't even know what you just did? If this was an illustration fine, but it seems rather odd its like you neglected where the shadows are. all that textures/glows seems a little unnecessary and just wastes time.

[jonufele]

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[ghostnxs]

more what? I'm not sure what you're referring to? I more concerned with how everything looks together rather than detail.

[TetheredComic]

If it helps, I do actually do my own tutorials, I've done a couple of colouring ones http://tapastic.com/episode/145754

Let me know if you have any specific questions, I am going to continue making tutorials, so it's always good to know what people would like to see! Good luck with it all dude!

[noreth]

TetheredComic> very good tutos and nice comics too.