HOME | DD
secret-pony β Tutorial: Coloring inside lines (layer clipping)
Published: 2013-08-20 17:03:33 +0000 UTC; Views: 79366; Favourites: 920; Downloads: 448
Redirect to original
Description
This is probably the question I receive most: "How come you never color outside your lines?"Well... here's my secret...
There are other (simpler) ways, e.g. using 'preserve opacity', but this is just the method I use and prefer. Why? Because this way, if you spot you made a mistake somewhere when you're done with your drawing, you can easily navigate to the layer where you made your mistake and fix it without any risk of accidentally messing up other parts of your drawing.
Don't ask me how it's done in Photoshop, Ilustrator, GIMP... Because I don't know. I have never used any other program but SAI.
If you're looking for more resources for drawing (ponies), check out my other tutorials .
Related content
Comments: 214
π: 0 β©: 0
Just curious, how different is it from Sai 2? It appears that my options are different yet similar to yours.
Β
π: 2 β©: 0
Oh my goodness! Thank you sm! I've been trying to find this because I'm such a messy color-er! Thank youuu!Β
π: 0 β©: 0
Thank you soooo much! I'm a very messy colorer (is that a word? probably not...) and this was super helpful!Β Β Β
π: 0 β©: 0
This. helped. me. so. frigglefraggling much thank you so much ily x.x xD
π: 0 β©: 0
im getting back into digital art after abandoning it for like 2 years and this is going to save me from giving up, thank you
π: 0 β©: 0
So I tried to follow this with about 20 different pieces of lineart and after looking at most of them there are no holes and the program refuses to let me color in just the lineart. I have no idea what's wrong at this point and I was hoping to color my OC there are absolutely no holes anywhere and it's just selecting the whole thing. ;-;
π: 0 β©: 1
Okay, so this is for you and anyone else having this problem: it may be your setting. Like it's shown above, you want to select your lineart as "Selection Source" by the layer, and MAKE SURE that your lineart is set to detect your lineart, the selection source, as shown below.Β Β Make sure that the target is the selection source and that your transparency difference is not too high!Β Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Did all that an even at 0 it was having the same issues.
π: 0 β©: 1
Yiikes. Perhaps it's another factor then. I'm sure there are articles concerning that...
π: 0 β©: 1
I couldn't find anything, I figured it was something else but idk what and it has me worried. A friend drew my OC and we were both going to color her. but I was using SAI to do it. He used something Sketchbook Pro, but I can't get SAI to do what I need it to...and GIMP I tried a little but then I got annoyed with what it was doing and it's not for coloring lineart as opposed to other programs. I love GIMP but I hate using it for coloring.
π: 0 β©: 2
If your using Paint Tool Sai 2 your option will named Specified Layer in the selection box instead of Selection Source like in V1 of PTSAI (the version being used in this tutorial). V2 also has whats called Sandbagging while attempts to clog open holes for you by skipping over holes X pixels wide.
Another issue you may have is incorrect layer management, like if you have a selection source running that is keeping you from drawing where you want. I've done that a few times and it always confuses the heck out of me until I realize that lines are actually being made, they are just hidden from view.
π: 0 β©: 1
I'm pulling up lineart drawn within another program then brought into SAI for coloring. I know for an absolute fact there are no holes I've ran it through programs such as Gimp and Photoshop to figure that out and just the fact that the lineart is thicker then normal. I'm not sure how I'd have layer management issues it's literally lineart is one image/layer and then I'm following the tutorial to color in some lineart a friend drew of my OC. Was going to color her my own way after he had done his own style but I've been able to due to limitations of programs like GIMP that are not present in SAI....however SAI isn't picking up lines correctly, I've also checked with other pieces of lineart and the exact same issue happens.
π: 0 β©: 0
Rip... on my old computer I used firealpacaβs magic wand tool when my magic wand tool was not functioning correctly on SAI. Firealpaca is a free program thatβs pretty good so you could try that.
π: 0 β©: 1
I have looked at it and while nice not really what I'm looking for I might have to give it another try.
π: 0 β©: 0
hello, i was just wondering--I don't use a tablet or anything but when I use the magic wand and I want to select a certain part of my lineart (eg the hair) it selects the whole canvas so I can only colour it by tenaciously using the brush tool rather than the bucket tool. Is there anything I can do so that I'm able to select a certain part rather than the whole thing?
π: 0 β©: 0
when i color the 2nd layer the actual lineart doesnt get filled in like urs does? only the background gets filled in
π: 0 β©: 0
oh my goodness bless your soul! I only got sai yesterday and used to do the select option but this just saved me!! thank you so much!!
π: 0 β©: 0
But what if u are gonna use a base and when u try to use the select tool wand it fills in everything. I tried to get help by searching this up and i found this
π: 0 β©: 0
oof, slight problem.
whenever i make a new layer to put it under the lines,Β
i use the bucket tool (usually) to fill it in bright red,,
and it comes up on the thumbnail, but not canvas?Β
prntscr.com/gke7ql
π: 0 β©: 1
i have the same problem :C
π: 0 β©: 0
This is very helpful, but what if your lineart is devided in multiple layers? like, for example: one layer for the face, one for the hair and so on. The magic wand just selects the whole canvas. is there anything I can do about that?
π: 0 β©: 1
just group the layers up
π: 0 β©: 0
just one question, can you make another layer so you can color some part inside the lineart without needing to erase any color out, like for shading etc
π: 0 β©: 1
Absolutely, you can make as many layers as you like.
The maximum number of layers you can have in Paint Tool Sai is 255.
π: 0 β©: 0
my question is, how do you make your line art visible when coloring? Every time i color in Sai the colors are over the lines, so i have to retrace my picture.Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Sorry for the late answer
Make sure you're not coloring on the lineart layer and the lineart layer is over or on top of the color layer(s).
you can switch the order of your layers by clicking and dragging them.
π: 0 β©: 1
the issue is, that's not always the problem, it just does it at random no matter what the order of layers is. i think it might be my program glitching, but i'm not sure. thank you though! I'llΒ check for that next time to make sure. Also, love the icon, it's adorable.
π: 0 β©: 1
Thank you.
If you have time for it, feel free to post a screenshot.
It might be easier for me to understand the problem and see where it goes wrong.
π: 0 β©: 1
I'll try, i don't really know how to take a screenshot on a laptop, but i can try.
π: 0 β©: 1
You'll have to look for the printscreen key on your keyboard, it's often abbreviated as "Print Scr" or "Prt Scr" or something similar.
Paste the screenshot into your image editing software of choice, save the image and upload.
π: 0 β©: 0
I'm sorry, I have never used Photoshop before.
π: 0 β©: 0
I have a problem, when I fill in the layer UNDER my linework, it doesn't fill in my linework. Everything around my linework becomes whatever color i used for the bucket tool. But everything inside my linework stays white. Help?
π: 0 β©: 1
When you select the bucket tool, check the settings that appear below your toolkit.
Under the "Target" section: If "all image" or "selection source" is checked, change it to "working layer"
π: 0 β©: 0
First time using SAI and I think this helps a lot. Thank you!
π: 0 β©: 0
When I do Ctrl + X it says selected stroke does not exist
π: 0 β©: 1
This error message suggests you are using a lineart layer or your lineart layer is still active.
Make sure your color layer is active or use a regular layer for your coloring.
To make a regular layer, go to 'Layer > New Layer (N)' or click the blanc sheet icon (without the pen) in the layer toolbox.
π: 0 β©: 0
bless you man, this was super easy to follow and I now got a new tech under my belt
thank you!
π: 0 β©: 0
awesome! thanks I just started using sai cause I like the blending tools, but it is so different than illustrator and Photoshop.Β
π: 0 β©: 0
I just started using Sai and this helped a ton to simplify what I'd have done in PS 
π: 0 β©: 0
wow this is far better then what I was trying to do before thank you so much for this guide! very helpful
π: 0 β©: 0
Simple, yet very helpful. Thank you very much.
π: 0 β©: 0
| Next =>