Digital Coloring in Adobe Photoshop

This tutorial almost did not exist. The reason that I say that is because I feel that I have so much more to learn in regards to digital coloring. There are far more other artists out there that have a deeper skillset when it comes to this than I. However, I do have frequent questions on how I go about coloring line art so I wanted to create a basic tutorial for those who wish to get an understanding of one of the ways to digitally color an illustration.

To begin, you will need an illustration. I have enjoyed coloring the lines of fellow digital artist Angryblue. No matter which artist's illustrations you plan to color, please remeber the following:

1. It is good practice to obtain permission prior to coloring the work.
2. When you publish the work, always credit the artist who drew the image and inked it.

With the formalities out of the way, let's get started with this image:

Sometimes the digital art contains white or other elements that get in the way of coloring the image effectively. What I suggest, is first removing the white. The easiest way that I have found to do this, is by installing this filter: Mac's Remove White. [This filter was developed by Mark Mclaren and is free for download]. Please reference the readme.txt file for details and installation instructions.

Open the image and bring the line art into a new layer. Label this layer "Line Art". Now, run the new filter on the Line Art layer (Filter > Mac's > Remove White). Now you are ready to start coloring the image.

As I said, this is a basic tutorial on getting the methods down pat. As such, I will not walk you through coloring the entire image, as that is rather redundant. Instead, lets focus on one area of illustration, such as the head.

I have found that maintaining the image in Photoshop is easiest to do when using layer sets. While some may argue that using layer sets is not required, I cannot color without them. They keep each portion of the image organized and contained it it's own area. It also allows for easier changes. Let's say that you want to change the color of the headlater. If you have organized the PSD properly, you only have to work with the layers in the "Head" layer set.

Select the background layer, and click the new layer set icon in the layers palette (this is the small folder, 3rd icon from the right). You should now have a new layer set (small folder) under your Line Art layer. Name this new layer set "Head". Any color applied to the head of the illustration should be placed only in this folder. Now, create a new layer in the Head layer set and name it "Base".

Your layers palette should look exactly like the image to the right. If not, please take the time to adjust it so that you are following these steps word for word. It is good practice for beginners!

Now, we need a skin tone color so we can apply a base coat to the illustration. For this example, I selected #EDBEA2 to work with for the base. Make the skin tone your foreground color. Select the Base layer, and then select the polygon lasso tool. Zoom in if needed, and select the head with the lasso tool. Once you are done, and with the selection still active, press Alt + Backspace to fill the selection with the foreground color. If you missed a few spots, use the paintbrush tool to fill in the spaces.

Next, create a new layer above the Base layer. Name this new layer, Shadow 1. Hopefully the selection is still active before you start this next step. If not, make the Shadow 1 the active layer, and Ctrl + Click the Base layer to load the selection.

In your color palette, set the foreground color to something darker than the base color. I selected #C49B82 to use for the first shadow layer. Next step is to select the paintbrush tool and a soft round brush, diameter of 17 or so. Using this tool, color inside the selection to add your first shadow layer. Dont worry about getting it exactly right. Once you have the basic shadow down, go back in with the eraser tool to trim up if needed. The best part about this is that there really is no right way to do it, so when you are working, consider lighting, the background you plan to add, etc, etc.

Now, repeat that last step, only do this in a new layer named Shadow 2, with a darker color than before. I selected #A07D69. Remember to go back in and smooth certain areas by using the eraser tool. Repeat this as necessary with the shadows. Also remember to include highlight layers.

You should have something similar to the image below:

Granted the shading in some areas is smooth, it could still use some work to be a bit more realistic. However, this is simply to give you the idea and give you the basic steps in order to take it one step further.

Now, the next step, which is totally optional, is to add some unique texture effects to the head. By this, I usually revert back to my collection of stock photographs, and pick one that I think may add something special to the area I am working on. For this example, I used this cropped image of paint splatter.

Paste this as a new layer and name it texture. With the texture layer selected, Ctrl + Click the Base layer to load that selection. Press Ctrl + Shift + I to invert the selection. Then press delete to remove the rest of the paint layer.

Set the blending mode to overlay, and the opacity to 60% for the final touches.

Once you get the hang of it, it will become easier and faster to color your images. You will also most likely find easier ways of coloring, such as using the gradient tool, rather than the various brushes.