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JNetRocks — Tutorial: Digital Painting
Published: 2010-10-02 13:12:10 +0000 UTC; Views: 88579; Favourites: 1364; Downloads: 3048
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Description
Got some requests for a more in depth look at coloring techniques, which have changed for me a lot in the last year or so, so I decided to do a new tutorial. Hope that you guys find it useful.See the finished image here: [link]
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Comments: 229
You have an incredible talent for digital coloring!
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Daww, thank you so much. 
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"No, no, thank YOU" she says.
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JUST when I was about to beg you for a color tutorial, I find this. Amazing tutorial!!! I think it will help a lot with my colorings.
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Haha, thank you so much. 
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Yes it does! The black and white thing will especially help me. I've been trying to figure out shading and that would make it much easier.
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Very helpful, this is gonna get me started in my digital painting endeavors. Thank you.
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My absolutely pleasure, I really hope it helps give you an idea of where to start. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
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I may be misunderstanding the first step of shading. Do you mean you set image mode to Grayscale then paint in that layer with black and whites, then set the image mode back to RGB, set the shading layer to Luminosity and then add basic colors beneath that?
I'm using Photoshop CS5, btw.
Thanks in advance!
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Oops, guess I should have clarified that a bit.
You are spot-on about the next part, set the "grey" painting layer to Luminosity mode and then create a new layer beneath that just has the flat colors.
The grey scale layer will apply the shading to your colors. Painting in grey scale allows you to focus completely on defining light and value rather than worrying about color right off the bat.
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Ah, I see. Great, thank you very much. You've been a great help! Very much appreciated
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My absolute pleasure!
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I kiff her boots! Congratulations for the job
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Hey, my pleasure, I hope it was helpful!
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is it alright if i use that to do my next drawing for halloween? coz i rly wona start colouring in my pictures better and i can find little to no good tutorials anywhere
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Of course, that's the reason I shared it on Deviant Art, to help people who want to see how I do my paintings.
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ah ok, well just wondered something while im thyping this, how did you get to the settings like shatter to 30% coz the most common problem i keep finding is mostly pictures, and not much on how to get to these settings without making my laptop melt or they scribble circles and arrows across everything making things more complicated then it should be.
In short im horrable at this >.>
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Haha, it's difficult to include every piece of information in a tutorial just because you're never sure what program people are using. Photoshop, Painter, Sai, all have different types of settings, and the tutorial is more about the overall methodology than the specific programs.
However, changing brush settings is a handy thing, and in Photoshop it's pretty easy!
Here's an image of the windows: [link]
And here's a brief explanation:
In Photoshop, hit your B button to activate the brush and select a brush type you want to modify.
Press F5 or go to Windows > Brushes
The first window "Brush Tip Shapes" will allow you to change the basics of the brush, the diameter, roundness, and spacing.
To turn on scattering go to the third option to the left, it's called "Scattering".
The very first option is labeled "Scatter" and has an option for Both Axes (which I usually have on), and a slider 0-100%.
If you want to save the new brush settings so you can quickly access it, Go to Windows > Brush Presets and click the white page icon called "Create new brush".
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I think i'll stick to my usual colouring, plain... its the mixing colours for...well colouring and shading thats my main problem, i mannaged to get to the settings with scattering and what not but instead of getting a smooth mix in colours it ends up getting splatteres across a much wider ares then i origionaly wante-
im just useless rly -_-
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Don't say that! Everyone takes time to learn, there's nothing wrong with not getting it right away. The settings on the brush will need to be tweaked depending on how large your image is. I usually work at a minimum of 3000x3000 pixels, sometimes up to as high as 10,000x10,000 so a large brush works for me. If you need something smaller, then adjust the diameter and make the scatter setting smaller.
The scatter isn't really used for a smooth air brush look, I use it for a more textured random feel.
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i cant work on a higher pixles then 2500 (im on a laptop you see)
all im rly after is to find out how people can mix colours smoothly, i tryed just about everything i can with the settings on all brushes and that didnt even work D:
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I'm on a laptop myself. Laptops aren't really the problem, just the quality of the machine. If you have a small amout of ram and a slower hard drive and processor, then yeah you'll have to limit yourself.
Are you using a tablet or a mouse to color?
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I did ask for a laptop specificly for photoshop usage...maby they didn't quite get the idea >.>
i use a tablet for my drawings
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If you have the buttons and touch strip on your tablet, what I do is map one of the buttons to "Alt". I'm sure you know, but in Photoshop Alt lets you select a color with the eye dropper tool. basically as I color I am constantly pressing Alt to sample colors between the colors I'm using.
So if I want to fade black to white and blend it together I'll start with pure black on top of the white, then sample the grey tone, then apply that a bit to blend. Then sample the new grey tone, and blend again. I press the alt button sometimes dozens of times within a minute or two.
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sounds massively complicated, well not rly actually i'll just have to mess about with what you said and see if it works out for me
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Hehe, it's pretty easy to set up. Usually the tablets come with some kind of preference thing in the start menu. I have a Wacom Intuos 3 so mine is found at:
Start Menu > All Programs > Wacom Tablet > Wacom Tablet Properties
Then there's a menu that says "Functions" and it has arrows that point to each of the keys on the tablet. And you can just change what the button does. Just set one to "Alt" and use that while you're painting.
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i just have...a plain basic tablet ._.
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So there's no touch strip or buttons on the side of the drawing area?
In that case, when you're drawing, keep a hand on your keyboard and press your Alt button to color sample. Blending is all about color sampling.
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well i think that can wait for later, i just posted my latest pic already
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Mmm I've been struggling to dump my lines, this could provide me with a different way of going about it, the luminosity tip is excellent! Thank you!
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My pleasure, I hope it helps out! When you say dump your lines, do you mean you're trying to skip doing linearts?
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I cant draw without hard lines, and I've tried overpainting but I find it really difficult so hopefully this can give me a hand up to doing it right!
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This is an amazing look at your process. I've been curious at how you approach your art. I have similar methods but I'm still trying to nail down my own digital style. This is going to help me refine.
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My pleasure, hope it comes in handy.
And it's great to see you outside of class I hope we can stay in touch!
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thank you so much
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My pleasure, I hope it's helpful!
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Great use of complimentary colour and a fantastic tutorial- will certainly be looking this up as a guide on my next pieces!
thanks
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DO MORE TUTORIALS! This was awesome
I have been searching for a grayscale coloring technique and I randomly stumbled upon this post, many thanks to you (for the luminosity coloring layer)
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haha I'm so glad that you enjoyed, I hope it helps you out. I love greyscale painting because it really lets you practice light and form without having to worry as much about the colors.
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Thanks for the tutorial! I didn't really give the "glow" any justice in my piece but it helped me out a lot since I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to this digital thing. Thank you!
Linked on my art here: [link]
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For a piece on this level how long does it usually take you to finish?
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Hm. I'd say maybe 8-10 hours, give or take. Hard to remember exactly since I was doing the tutorial simultaneously.
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Beautiful work, wonderfully written tutorial. Thank you!
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Thank you so much, I hope it was helpful!
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