HOME | DD
LauraHollingsworth — A Lostie's Tutorial - Coloring Method
Published: 2013-08-10 16:40:24 +0000 UTC; Views: 71768; Favourites: 2444; Downloads: 1116
Redirect to original
Description
Here is my coloring method! Also on Tumblr and has a bonus section on Coloring from Reference: thesilvereye.tumblr.com/post/5…This technique can be done with any drawing program that has Layers, a Polygonal Selection tool, a Gradient tool, and a Paintbrush (and most drawing programs that I know of have those tools). I used Gimp for this.
More tutorials by me: lostie815.deviantart.com/galle…
Color Scheme Designer: colorschemedesigner.com/
For a more in-depth look at shading with gradients, you can look at Global Lighting Tutorial by Angelus-Tenebrae: angelus-tenebrae.deviantart.co… and Gradient Tutorial by damie-m: damie-m.deviantart.com/art/Gra…
Related content
Comments: 119
This is absolutely my favorite color tutorial out there. Every time I need a refresher, this is the one I look up. Thank you so much for this tutorial!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
OML IT'S NICO ASJAFKSJKJSJSJSJS- *ahem* *coughs* sorry, fangirled a bit. this is awesome and super helpful, thanks sm!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Lol didn't remember you did PJO fan art and was all "IS THAT PERCY" ah wait Percy and Annabeth okay.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
That's great ^^
Could you tell me which version?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
2.8, it's the latest full version, I think.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks, I need to check this version out
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I've never heard of that site before?! It's really awesome!
Thanks for sharing you wonderful tutorial~
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I tried to download Gimp on my laptop and it didn't work. Is there any way that you could work with another program?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
This should be able to work with most drawing programs.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I have a program on the iPad called Procreate, and its tools are so limited that it's never compatible with any coloring tutorials or stuff of the sort.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I heard you hate the smudge tool, what do you use for shading instead?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Just the paintbrush with help from the color picker/eyedropper tool. It's easier to show than tell and it's sort of covered in these two tutorials: 1) natasha2808.deviantart.com/art… 2) natasha2808.deviantart.com/art…
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks! I think I'll try this out right now actually!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
You must be really skilled to be able to use the polygon select so precisely; I never managed it. ^^
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
This is sorcery... o___o I wish I could draw as amazing as you do!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
you wouldn't happen to know anything about painting chainmail would you?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I would: 1) Shade it as if it were normal fabric. 2) Find or make a brush that makes a general chain link texture. 3) Make a new layer set to overlay and use the chainmail brush set to dark grey, just to make the texture. 4) Merge the texture layer to the cloth-like shaded layer and then go over some of it with a tiny paintbrush to add highlights/shadows/definition to some of the links to make the pattern look less generic.
That's what I did in this drawing , though I do think the chainmail could have used a little more definition so it didn't look as pasted-on. When you use a specific brush like a chain link brush, it's important to go over most of it with the normal brush you used in the rest of the painting, because otherwise the chainmail is going to stick out and look like it doesn't match with everything else. However the chainmail brush does make a very very helpful guide, so you don't have to go in and draw out every single link!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
oh wow XD i was only kidding on the off chance you had advice. thank you so much...
yeah i've done the drawing every single "link" though really i was doing the opposite and marking everyplace that wasn't chain. putting dots all over. fav.me/d6zf73s it didn't turn out so well
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
i reall love to know how u blend the pink and the lights with the skin? like what brush/tools you using for it?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I just use the default round brush and the color picker, sort of like in this tutorial: www.deviantart.com/art/Blendin…
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
thank you so much hope i will make it ^____^!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
oh and when i say lacking i mean my drawings not yours. this is awesome
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
it sometimes amazes me what people can do with gimp and i'm just...blarg. lacking
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I just started digital art a few weeks ago, so I'm sorry if these questions sounds ridiculous. But when I put my outline layer into overlay, it disappears. How do I fix that/ what am I doing wrong?
Also do you use the smudge tool?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
The overlay mode doesn't effect solid white or solid black, if your background is white, then the lines won't show up. After I finish my line art I fill the background with a light to middle valued color so the lines will show up. I think that's probably what's happening, but let me know if I'm wrong.
I never use the smudge tool (though I used to). I do not recommend it at all! It makes everything look dull and blurry, and I think it's better to just get used to using the paintbrush tool for rendering. It gives you more control and looks better in the end. This is a good basic tutorial for how I blend with the paintbrush+the color picker.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It works! Thanks for the quick response.
Thank you a million time! Before this tutorial, I had no idea how to start coloring really. I just filled in the colours and hoped it made sense somehow lol. Thank you sooo much.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I'm new to photoshop, so may I ask a question? If I'm using photoshop, how do I lock the opacity of the layers?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
If you look in the layers section, it should say "Lock" followed by some tiny icons. The icon for opacity looks like little checkers and if you hover over it, it says "Lock transparent pixels" You click that icon to lock the opacity for the layer.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Okay, thanks!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Superb! What a great concept, to use gradients first and then select shades. Basically, do you create those gradients for each item on separate layers then merge them together before shading? Also, as I am new to working with gradients, do you select your colors and then draw a line in whichever direction the item, like a shirt or hair, is aimed? Heheh, I appreciate any explaination you can offer me
Marvelous work, I am so impressed by these and the way you presented the material made me feel at eased instead of overwhelmed by complicated advice
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Normally I'll sort layers bottom to top like this: Clothes, Skin, Hair (+whites of eyes), Black (meaning outlines of eyes, mouth, nostrils, eyebrows--details that stay solid black while I shade the face), and Outlines. I merge the layers together at I finish shading them. And of course you can use as many layers as you want, like if you want to shade pants and shirt separately and not have to worry about going out of the lines as much.
You're right about using gradients, you just try to have it work with the light source. So the lightest part of the gradients would be coming from the same directions.
Hope that helps! Thank you!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
This is incredibly helpful, thank you. I love the drawing too, it's very beautiful
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Another brilliant tutorial! I'm mostly a black & white artist who's made a few stumbling steps into colour. I'll definitely give this method a go.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
thanks alot for these tutorials, i have one question tho. For your colour palette do you choose all the colours before hand or do you choose a couple but also add some as you go along?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I have a general idea for what I want at the beginning, like what color the light and shadows should be or what I want the overall mood of the drawing to feel like, but I'd say most of it is adding colors as I go. Sometimes I'll have to change my initial palette choices to make the color scheme work better as a whole.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Oh yes! Painted-bees really makes those gradients work with their style!
Thanks!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yeah. So do you! And you're definitely welcome. ^_^
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Awesome tutorial!! 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
This is so fast, I don't think I'll ever be using the old method again. Thanks!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
| Next =>