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

stuh505 · Sun 10/10/2004 22:30:46

When I want to remove the pixelation, there are two techniques I use.

If I am dealing with gradients (as in a photograph), I use the blur tool to blur together places where I know should be the same color, and to make edges less pixelated.

If I am dealing with solid colors, I use the marquee selection tool. HEre Ill show an example of both techniques..

aussie · Mon 11/10/2004 09:00:44

Wow, that second one really looks good!!! I think I should try to apply it to my pic. I don't undestand what I'm meant to do with the marquee tool, though...

With the first one, I guess the trouble comes if you want to change the colours, doesn't it?

Good feedback. Thanks.

stuh505 · Mon 11/10/2004 13:34:06

The way I do it is simply use the select additional and select negative to make a smooth selection around the shapes, then I get rid of the original layer and just fill in my new selection...voila, crisp edges.

This would be pretty time consuming to do on your image though because of the edges and lines which would all need to be outlined.

aussie · Mon 11/10/2004 17:56:35

With the marquee tool???

Eggie · Mon 11/10/2004 17:58:38

Um...I don't have any crits. I just want to say; that picture is a really, really awesome picture and I love it and now I'm going to download your game because that's how awesome your drawing style is....

Ahem...

Oh yeah...and maybe you could try converting the lineart to vectors. I've seen some really awesome colouring done with vectorised lines...

stuh505 · Mon 11/10/2004 22:27:27

Aussie,

Ok, here I will show you what I mean.

1) I use polygonal lasso to outline the black areas, fill that in on its own layer.Ã,Â this goes on the top layer
2) For each large color area, I select that area and fill it in with the appropriate color and put it on it's own layer in the appropriate order so as to reduce the amount of lasso-ing I have to do
3) I select all the shadowed areas, fill it in black, and put it on top of all the color layers and adjust the opacity until the shadows look proper

The smudge effect is the best way I have found to enlarge photographs...but this seems to be the best way to enlarge "color-coded" things without appearing to lose detail

EDIT - I accidentally modified someone elses edit in the smudge one...although, I do like their edits...it is not fair for the comparision that they dont appear on the others

aussie · Wed 13/10/2004 09:28:37

I love the third one. That's the sort of crisp finishing I was after.

I'll have to give it a go myself now...

aussie_unplugged · Thu 14/10/2004 15:26:58

A first attempt at Stuh's lasso technique (on a much rougher sketch):

I guess I still need some more practice, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

stuh505 · Thu 14/10/2004 16:00:37

not bad, but don't be afraid to zoom into 400% and make your lasso clicks a lot closer together; try to make the black outline much thinner.

when you are making the color layers, do not just use the magic wand selection tool...it will result in the white outlines which I can see. Instead use the lasso tool again and select an the halfway point between the black outlines. this way you know it will go right up to the edge.

this picture also isn't as good so the result isn't going to look as good

it might look a little better if you shaded the hair as well.

aussie · Thu 14/10/2004 16:06:20

Righto.

So a crap-load of lassoing you mean... I was trying to simplify the job with the magic wand, but I think you're right.

stuh505 · Thu 14/10/2004 22:16:42

when I originally was giving you suggestions, I did not think that the lasso technique could be applied to this type of image...I usually only use it for solid colors without outlines. so I gave it a shot and yeah it worked out...but it's a lot of work, took about an hour probably...

James Kay · Fri 15/10/2004 02:01:48

Why not experiment with the magic wand and (E)xpand selection and (F)eather selection.
The problem with "Quick, Easy Fixes" is that the end result is never quite as good as doing the whole thing properly from the start.

Really nice sketches by the way! Get yourself a pegboard and do some animations.Ã,Â

Evil · Fri 15/10/2004 02:50:43

Heres a quick one I did with a "crap load" of lassoing.

aussie · Fri 15/10/2004 09:37:41

Stuh:

Still, even if it's a lot of work, you get a pretty good finishing. Now I just need to get you to work out a better technique for me.

Evil:

That's pretty nice actually. Your girl is not cross-eyed like mine.

James Kay:

Quote from: James Kay on Fri 15/10/2004 02:01:48
Why not experiment with the magic wand and (E)xpand selection and (F)eather selection.
The problem with "Quick, Easy Fixes" is that the end result is never quite as good as doing the whole thing properly from the start.

Now, that's a thought.

Quote
Really nice sketches by the way! Get yourself a pegboard and do some animations.Ã,Â

I think I'm too lazy for that. Anyway, I'm just learning to color things for now.

ALL:

BTW, my second scan is not particularly good. Any good tips for scanning pencil drawings properly (the first one was a bit of a lucky shot, I think $:-\$ ).

James Kay · Fri 15/10/2004 09:42:04

Quote from: aussie on Fri 15/10/2004 09:37:41BTW, my second scan is not particularly good. Any good tips for scanning pencil drawings properly (the first one was a bit of a lucky shot, I thinkÃ,Â $:-\$ ).

Apart from inking it before you scan it?

Photoshop: (I)mage > (A)djust : try levels, brightness/contrast.
These options should also be available on your scanner, so epseriment with those too.

aussie · Fri 15/10/2004 09:44:06

Yeah, the sketches I'm showing are the result from adjusting levels, contrast and all that stuff.

I always stuff things up when I ink my sketches

aussie · Mon 06/12/2004 16:22:32

Here's a new pic.

#1 is the sketch once colored in and without the sketch marks.
#2 is the sketch once colored in and with the sketch marks.
#3 is the sketch itself.

I think it's going well and looks pretty good as long as you don't pay too much attention. I like #2 the best, but it's not quite "clean" enough.

I've also hit a bit of a wall now: I'm not sure how to deal with shading.

Comments on coloring in/shading are most welcome. Comments on the sketch are too, but I'm not as interested.

Al_Ninio · Mon 06/12/2004 16:46:20

I know you don't want c&c on the sketch, but I'm not too keen on it, if the lineart doesn't work, neither will the coloured sketch.
Anyhoo. The lines don't "flow". Do a few gesture drawings (quick drawings meant to capture the movement, pose, and rhythm of a subject) and you will surely improve in that aspect.
Curve the lines, arch her back, etc etc. Add 'rhythm'.

Moving on to the colouring, I suppose you could go for a Shane Glines-ish approach, which appears (to me) to suit your style, and is generally just rock awesome.
The coloured edges seem too angular, some are anti-aliased and some are not, wich creates incosistency.
My suggestion is to a) improve the sketch, it has potential.
b) study some of Shanes art, if this is the style you are trying to achieve, and c) try using the pen tool instead of the lasso tool for this kind of colouring, with no outlines.

aussie · Tue 07/12/2004 09:31:29

QuoteI know you don't want c&c on the sketch, but I'm not too keen on it, if the lineart doesn't work, neither will the coloured sketch.

I guess you're right there. Perhaps I was a bit self-confident.

QuoteAnyhoo. The lines don't "flow". Do a few gesture drawings (quick drawings meant to capture the movement, pose, and rhythm of a subject) and you will surely improve in that aspect.

That's very interesting feedback actually. However, this is just intended to be a girl in a static pose. I'm not sure how to introduce "flow" here.

QuoteMoving on to the colouring, I suppose you could go for a Shane Glines-ish approach, which appears (to me) to suit your style, and is generally just rock awesome.

It probably does fit my style, sort of. But I prefer outlines - I should probably try inking the sketch like somebody suggested before.

QuoteThe coloured edges seem too angular, some are anti-aliased and some are not, wich creates incosistency.

I think you're right.

QuoteMy suggestion is to a) improve the sketch, it has potential.
b) study some of Shanes art, if this is the style you are trying to achieve, and c) try using the pen tool instead of the lasso tool for this kind of colouring, with no outlines.

a) Thanks, I'll give it another go.
b) I think I'll give old Shane a miss for the moment, even if it's quite an interesting suggestion for the future.
c) I'll see what I can do with the pen.

aussie · Tue 07/12/2004 16:44:23

I inked the sketch and tried again. The first pic shows the final product, the second is just colored in flat. I followed some of Highwaygal's instructions.

Some of the shading looks ok to me, but overall I think there's still a lot of room for improvement.

Would anyone like to have a stab at it?

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

aussie_unplugged