Some colour advice, please?

[punkarsenic]

So TWAW is returning to a setting that I haven't drawn anything in for a loooong time. ive done two pages so far, and im unsatisfied with the shading. ive experimented around with different methods, but im still dissatisfied. can anyone have a go at figuring out what is bothering me? and how i can fix it?
here are the two pages, each coloured a little differently. i wanna cut down to a very limited palette to save time, but i also wanna keep contrast up and not lightwash cath (who's got dark skin, a shade or two lighter than her hair)

this ones a screenshot so disclaimer for low quality

i tried remaking them last two panels, here:

but im not sure if thats much better lol

am i just being a Dissatisfied Artist, or is there smth im missing?

[IdiotWithPencil]

maybe your saturating the colours to much?

[punkarsenic]

mmmno, i dont think so, its all pretty desaturated, and fiddling with the saturation didnt help

[NDmangaka]

Nice, I like it. But have you tried grey scale shading.
That's what I use and it tends to look nice here a link to my comic so u can see how grey scale looks in action. Maybe u should try it.

Rune Symbol | Tapas

[punkarsenic]

ive actually been really hankering to try greyscale lately, ive been really inspired by fishing lure, but that wont work for this comic - colour is very important. during the creative process i tend to put everything in greyscale to check my contrast though

Fishing Lure | Tapas

[insomniascrawl]

Does it only do this once you upload? I used to feel like the shading on my old colored comics looked weird once I uploaded because I wasn't using web colours or exporting it for web. If that's the case maybe try using webcolours strictly so that once you upload it looks the same.

[punkarsenic]

noo, i still hate it when looking over it in paint tool sai. its something about the colouring itself thats really pissing me off, i think it might be the shading - its coming from a very harsh angle, and im struggling to get the contrast right to make things readable. luckily, though, ive never had any problems with colours coming out wrong when i post them

[insomniascrawl]

Oh okay, I went and looked at your comic to get a better feel for the over all style. I guess the contrast is a bit high, but I don't think that's a bad thing, it makes it come off as stylistic and stylistic is memorable. I suppose you could play around with cell shading if you're super unhappy with it.. But I don't think the comic's shading looks bad. I def know the feeling of changing the shading style though. I did it with mine a few times until I found a style I was happy with.

[punkarsenic]

mmm yeah, a big part of the problem is probably how different this scene is being coloured to the rest of the comic. its supposed to be that way because the scenes being lit by a very harsh blue light and nothing else, and the colouring is supposed to be really stylised because scenes here are kind of a break from reality. hopefully as i keep working with it itll feel better

[orchidesyl]

this doesnt really apply to you fut i feel i should say it anyway
DO NOT USE MULTIPLE OVERLY INTENSE / WEB COLORS IN ONE PLACE IF YOU LOVE YOUR RODS AND CONES.
now web colors look something like this

I'm not advising that you don't use them at all, you can be subtle with them, or use them as highlights.
BUT, I am saying not to use so much, where it's at the point of trying to compete with other colors, with is visually straining.

[punkarsenic]

o man, this looks like the palette of some 80s stationary. what even are webcolours? how do i even know if im using them?

[insomniascrawl]

Ah, okay. Idk, I like it, it has a cool moonlit feel I think, but I hope you find a way for this scene to feel satisfactory to you

[punkarsenic]

ty! which version of shading do you think is best, though? out of the three i tried

[orchidesyl]

The second one. It's less intense on the eyes and softens the overall appearance of the page.

[orchidesyl]

Web colors is a term that means that it can't be printed from a printer.
RBG (Red green Blue) makes web colors, but that doesn't mean they can use normal colors.
CMYK (Cyan magenta yellow key) refers to the colors that are printer friendly. These tend to be easier to see.

[punkarsenic]

ahhh i see. thank you!

[dawgofdawgness]

Ok i suck at color theory and I can't help you here but I just want to drop by and say that it's gorgeous

[punkarsenic]

awww ty!! thats really encouraging actually, so thanks.

[TheThoughtfulBoxful]

/proceeds to sound like a nerd

I honestly like how the colors emphasize the glow of the bacteria in the pool. It's pretty to look at
Not really sure how you could improve... i think maybe adding more lighting to the background could potentially improve the pages (like dappling the cavern walls with tinges of blue light or someting like that)

and that is all.

[punkarsenic]

ooo, thats a nice point, defo what i was going for. my reservation abt lighting the background is like, compositional, i wanna keep emphasis 100% on the characters