More color practice...and a few questions

[Demy]

I decided to try using only brushes to color this vase instead of using an airbrush. I also colored in the same layer and I used the magic wand to test how it works.

Speaking of vases, it really is a pain to get both sides to look the same. Heck they still look sort of uneven to me, which is odd since I don't have the same issue with human figures. Maybe that's where the select tool comes in handy but I decided not to for the sake of improvement.

The left side of the vase looks a bit flat to me, along with the middle-ish portion with the oranges. I kind of half-assed the cast shadow which explains why it looks off. Though I'd like to hear your guys's thoughts.

Also, how do you guys go about coloring digitally? I am particularly referring to how you go about coloring characters and making it look the way they do? I know its broad because there are a ton of different styles, I'm not really sure how to describe what I'm really asking.

[phen]

Hey, that is very nice. The textural, painterly approach really brings a solid feel to this and it looks like you take the negative space into consideration while crafting the form. The values are nice, just a delicate touch of the darkest dark toward the mouth, and the colour matching's tight (assuming you went from observation and not dropper, heh). I think the illusion of unevenness comes from the mouth. Just pushing that are a smidge more by refining the opening and rendering the edge cast in shadow a little deeper would benefit heaps. It's a stellar display of observation!

Colouring digital for me has been a roller coaster of instruction, heh. But essentially, I do flats and build up from them. Here's a rough break-down of one of my recent comic pages.

Sketch>Lineart>Flat Colours>Values+effects

I treat the figures the same way I treat the backgrounds (which definitely needs visiting since I've been told my characters get lost in the backgrounds sometimes). Essentially, after refining the lineart enough, I go in with flat colours, build the lighting to the scene with very basic gradients for reference, and paint layers of values in over the flats until the figures' volume and position is established. In lieu of dark to light, I work in reverse and it seems to be okay for the less dramatic scenes.

[Demy]

Ah, thanks for the criticism.

Negative space? As in making the whole thing black and white to see the contrasting values? I completely forgot to do that actually. I'll have to try that next time since i know how important it actually is.

Interesting how the style is painterly, yet i consider myself pretty bad at traditional paints besides watercolor. Though then again, maybe i can apply what i learned about color mixing/blending to that as well.

And yes, i actually did paint this by using only observation instead of using the eye dropper. I felt like i would learn more if I did it that way. Also i see what you mean on the uneven mouth of the vase, i probably could have erased up to the highlight and it would be fixed. And yeah, i should fix the cast shadow. In fact, i should probably reflect my understanding of cast shadows in general.

Also thanks for telling me your approach to how you color your characters. It's probably going to help my attempts at doing so. Just a few questions though. For the characters and the backgrounds, do you usually use a brush to color in the flat colors and to shade? Or do you use something else or a different tool for each?

And how did you get that glowing effect on those red eyes? Also, out of curiosity, what do you mean that the characters get lost in the background? Like, do they not stand out?

[phen]

Negative space as in the space the figure cuts itself from. When painting with respect to delineating a figure from the area around it, you can often gain a better grasp of its form by focusing on the contour in lieu of the mass within the object. From your work with the vase, it appears to me that you've got a nice handle on that contour trace. And I believe the painterly look comes from the brush technique you used to develop the values, it's very organic.

For the characters, I use the lasso tool and fill for the flats. For the values (shading/highlighting) I use standard brushes and adjust opacity on each layer.

The glowing effect is my favourite part, heh, and achieved very simply! I duplicate the layer I want the colours to glow, bring it above the lineart layer, and use the filter box blur (at about 15-40). If I want the glow larger, I'll duplicate that layer and apply the box blur filter again.

And you're exactly right about that, it's been observed that the characters don't stand out from the backgrounds. Sometimes the backgrounds are too busy but I really believe it's because I need to change up my approach all together. And paying attention to tangents, something I never, ever do. X]

[Demy]

Ah, i think i understand that bit about negative space. I never really try to take it into consideration though, i just kind of do it.

Yeah i just tried to think of my pen as a brush (which is ironic since i'm not amazing at traditinal paints) and it seemed to help with my coloring and blending digitally.

I guess i could probably use the Magic Wand tool on SAI to do that. Not sure how i would get the blur effect however. Then again, i should probably try other digital art programs.

Sorry if this is a silly question, but what are tangents? Also, i'll probably check out your comic, the art looks pretty nice.

[phen]

Heck yes, even more rad that taking the negative space into consideration is a reflex of yours, good habits to have.

It's also really interesting that traditional skills have only certain bearings with digital applications. You don't necessarily need to be well-versed in one to succeed in the other (though it's inherently beneficial to keep practise in both if you have time).

Magic Wand tool was my go-to for years in Photoshop -- I just started using the lasso tool a few months ago to cut down on my time flatting. The magic wand's a totally viable option.

Tangents (with respect to illustration/comic work) are intersections in lines that can create visual confusion. This site touches on pointing out some compositional tangents | http://emptyeasel.com/2008/11/18/avoiding-tangents-9-visual-blunders-every-artist-should-watch-out-for/

(also just noticed your kind words on the art of my comic, thank you so much!)

[Demy]

Haha, thanks. I guess i'll keep that habit.

Yeah i have mostly been practicing in digital art lately. I try to practice my traditional art by doi g most of my gesture drawings on a sketchbook, since i try to do those every day.

Oh wow i had no idea about those. And i don't tend to notice them either. I suppose i could start. I guess i'll bookmark the site when i eventually get to working on backgrounds and landscapes.