Girl for c/c on coloring in (UPDATE 6/DEC/04)

[aussie]

Hi. I colored in this picture with Photoshop 5.5 and I'm interested in feedback on coloring in techniques (not so on the sketch itself).



I used four layers:

1. Top: Pencil scan. Multiplied. 50% opacity.
2. Upper middle: Coloring layer. Normal.
3. Bottom middle: Black and white outline (from adjusting b/w curves). Normal.
4. Background (which I deleted at the end).

What I basically did was to select white areas from layer three and color them in in layer 2. Layer 1, being only half opaque, allows for the shading from the original pencil drawing.

Anyway. Comments anyone?


EDIT: I know some of the edging came out in green when I save it for the web. I was a bit lazy to fix it. Sorry.

[James Kay]

Yeah, the black outlines are way too pixelly, I recon.
You should have left the outlines in greyscale (8 bit) and used a non-opaque ink setting on your brush to paint *underneath* the outline's anti-aliasing (leaving the black of the outline in tact).

>> I just tried to figure out which ink you need, but as my photoshop here is in Japanese I can't help you much.Ã,  Sorry.

Shame you don't want any crits on the sketch itself otherwise I could have thrown in some praise too.Ã, 

[Pft!]

The nose is not that visable?
Other than that its cool.

[Al_Ninio]

Well, a great method for painting pencil sketches is to scan it normally, but in PS, add a multiply layer and paint on that layer.
That way, the sketch is still visible through the paint.
Also, I made a *tiny* paintover, just added some shading, hope you don't mind.



Shading legs is hard

[aussie]

Thanks all. Any tips on how to remove the pixelly look? Here's the sketch.




Highwaygal:

Well, a great method for painting pencil sketches is to scan it normally, but in PS, add a multiply layer and paint on that layer.

I'm not sure how that's different from what I did. Do you mean I would have to redraw the outline in the new multiplied layer and then color it in? Or would I just have to select sections from the bottom layer then color them in in the top one?

BTW, nice shading.


James Kay:

I'm interested in that non-opaque ink bit. Could you be a bit more specific?

[Al_Ninio]

Ah, I guess I didn't explain very well.
What I meant was, when you colour your sketch, leave the pencil layer as normal, but set the paint layer on multiply.

[BorisZ]

Any tips on how to remove the pixelly look?

The best (and only really functional way) would be to import image into some of the vector drawing programs (corel draw, freehand, Ã, ilustrator, flash), and then draw it again.
What is the original form of your image (is it scaned or made entirely in photoshop)?

[aussie]

The best (and only really functional way) would be to import image into some of the vector drawing programs (corel draw, freehand,Ã,  ilustrator, flash), and then draw it again.
What is the original form of your image (is it scaned or made entirely in photoshop)?

It's a scanned pencil sketch.

I would have to look into that vector thingie, I guess. How would you go about re-drawing the sketch in illustrator?

Ah, I guess I didn't explain very well.
What I meant was, when you colour your sketch, leave the pencil layer as normal, but set the paint layer on multiply.

I see, that makes sense.

But I suppose I would have to really clean up the pencil sketch so the magic wand works. That's why I had another layer just in b/w.

[Al_Ninio]

Well, I would suggest not working with the magic wand tool when painting, try colouring it freehand and just clean up after.
If you really feel the need to make a selection, use the poligon lasso tool, that way you can keep the sketch sketchy and awesome.

[aussie]

Well, I would suggest not working with the magic wand tool when painting, try colouring it freehand and just clean up after.

Wouldn't that take ages? (it only took me about 15 min to color this on in).

Do you have any examples of the coloring in technique you're suggesting? I just would like to compare the final outcome.


BTW, I don't want to look rude. I just want to discuss which way works better. Thanks for all those suggestions you're giving me.

[Al_Ninio]

Not the greatest example, but one nonetheless:
http://www.sylpher.com/highwaygal/life3.jpg

[aussie]

I see. Thanks.

I'll give it a go.

Any suggestions on the pixelly look bit?


<<<EDIT>>>

Highwaygal,

I did the face using the method you suggested (right) and compared it to the original one (left).



I think yours works better, and it even reduces the pixelly look.  Plus it didn't take that long...

Still, I'd really like to get sharper lines. Maybe I need to ink the sketch?

[TheDude]

Try resizing the image to a large resolution (2500+ wide). Then re-draw the entire picture on a new layer. You can then colour it using a Multiply layer.

This won't turn out well unless you're using a drawing tablet.

[Neutron]

I would add a strong highlight to the hair. For resizing, I would just scale it down, then redraw the outline using the pencil tool.

[James Kay]

I also meant "multiply", but set your brush ink to multiply and then you won't need to use a seperate layer.

Best steps:
1. scan image
2. Adjust brightness/contrast to "simulate" inking (play around with this and also "levels" till you get a nice black/white balance without it getting pixelly).
3. Clean up dirt (just use an eraser brush to get rid of small unneccesary pixels and lines.
4. Colour in with the ink on your brush set to "multiply".

The problem with making the original too big is that
a. you are not working WYSIWYG. When sizing down you may lose things you spent a lot of time working on, or you'll encounter problems not visible on the full-sized image.
b. It takes a lot longerÃ, 

It would be ideal to work in the resolution you intend to use the image at, but if you're unsure and what to hide blemishes and inaccuracies, no more than twice the size of the inteded final image should suffice.

[Al_Ninio]

I also meant "multiply", but set your brush ink to multiply and then you won't need to use a seperate layer.

Well, maybe he won't NEED to use a seperate layer, but using a seperate layer is always a good idea.

[James Kay]

"using a seperate layer is always a good idea. "

Very very true. So are incremental saves and backups. Always keep a copy of the original, having a large history track, etc.Ã, 

The problem with layer inks, though, is that sometimes through merging you can screw up the ink settings. Try merging a "multiply" layer with a "overlay" layer and the result will be set to "normal". You'll need to flatten the layers onto the final artwork (be that the background layer or a seperate one) for the effect to be frozen.
Not a big problem if you're aware of it, though.

[aussie_unplugged]

Thanks for all that feedback. Very much appreciated.

So as I gather, the bottomline is that I'm not going to get rid of the pixelly stuff unless I painstakingly use the rubber to make the drawing look sharp. Right?

The digitizing tablet does not look like a bad idea at all. The only trouble is that my tablet is quite small, so it's hard to draw things well. Plus I'm not particularly good at drawing different parts of a picture and assembling them together at the end.

Oh well...

[James Kay]

Yeah, I'm afraid it's probably better to start again from the original (scanned) sketch,

[aussie]

Oh, well, I thought so.

Any tips on the drawing tablet bit?