Tutorial for computer colouring

(by Derrewyn Aensland. Made on April 29th, 2003)

I was asked to make a tutorial several times already, but I wasn't really sure about how to start ^_^. Anyway, I have finally managed to pull together a little something. It is not, of course, the ultimate tutorial or anything of the sort. This thing won't teach anyone how to colour, but it will give a tip or two. Consider it a sneek peek at the way I colour my drawings, and maybe, from it you'll be able to gather some data to start playing with colouring programs yourselves.

Oh, and do forgive the crappy layout, I am trying to keep this as functional as possible, so any kind of distraction that the layout could bring was removed.

Thingies needed:

• A drawing (duh!). Scanned and all ready to work on. Try to keep it clean, if it isn't, then adjust the brightness/contrast until it is.
• Adobe Photoshop 5.5 (that's the one I work with. If you have any other version, then I guess the differences shouldn't be too broad, I rarely use options that are not from the very basics
• Time. Loads.
• Winamp (because listening to music while colouring is a must ^_~)
• A nice collection of mp3's, because you'll be sitting in front of the computer for quite a long time (I highly recommend songs you know the lyrics of, you'll be singing before you can notice)

Part one: Making friends with the unknown

So there you are, before the computer and with your drawing, wondering how all those options and buttons can help you to colour it. And they can, so the first thing is to stop seeing the program as an alien thing and think of it as what it is: a tool. Making mistakes is completely allowed, and nothing you do can't be undone thanks to the wonders of the ctrl + z blessings, so don't be scared and open photoshop. FWOSH!

And it is working! And all the pretty options are now at your grasp. But because all the pretty options are lots of options, we'll stick to the basic ones (or at least the ones I find basic because they are the ones I use ^_~)

polygonal lasso: used to select the areas to colour paintbrush: used to paint with the foreground colour smudge: used to smudge the colours? (easy option) paint bucket: fills a selected area with the foreground colour zoom: zooms into and outside the drawing. You'll have to zoom in a lot of times to select the areas you want to paint foreground colour: the active colour (the one that will appear on the image) background colour: the non-active colour (I suggest choosing the one that you are going to use second, to have it at hand. To switch from the foreground to the background colour, click on the double arrow that is connecting them. to return to the black/white combination, click on the smaller squares on the left corner)

Part two: Line Art (a.k.a preparing the canvas)

A. Getting the Drawing Ready

Time to start. Scan your drawing (either using your scanning program, or the import option of photoshop file --> import --> whatever twain sourrce you have) If you are planning to print it once you are done, scan at 300 dpi (300%). If you are not, then scanning at 100 dpi (100%) is just fine.

When it comes to the drawing itself, try to use one with a clean line (that is, not a lot of grey or stains or anything). I personally ink my drawings before colouring them, but if your pencil is clear enough, then scan ahead. If the drawing is not clean enough once you scan it, you can always adjust the brightness/contrast to get rid of the spots/stains/whatever.

We'll use Mime from Saint Seiya as our little victim ^________^

If you are going to use the drawing for printing, set the image on CMYK colours (image --> mode --> CMYK colours)

If you are going to use the drawing to publish it on the net, set the image on RGB and enjoy having the whole spectre of colurs to choose from (image --> mode --> RGB colurs)

B. Of Layers and Other Demons

Once you have the line art ready, we'll get it set for colouring. And to do so, you must make friends with the layers. No, not just friends. Siblings. Layers are the most important tool in colouring and will make your life utterly easy, so get used to them.

First, find them. They are on one of the nice little windows on your right, next to Channels and Paths. Ignore Paths, we'll see Channels later on. For now, only Layers matter.

Once you find them, you'll notice that a small thumbnail of your drawing appears on the window, which photoshop automatically calls '' background ''. This is the base layer, the one that goes under all others, your canvas. For colouring, you must duplicate this layer (right-click over the ''background'' layer and choose the ''duplicate layer'' option, then click ''ok''). A new layer named ''background copy'' should be the result -check below-

You can always rename the layers into what you think will be easier for you to find them (because you'll have more layers than just those two to work with). The one that is marked with orange-ish yellow is the active one, the one you are working on at that moment. Remember that *nods*

C. Transparency or how Channels are One of the Most Beautiful Things in the World

These steps are important, so try to follow them. Once you have the two layers, make sure the copy is the one you are working on at the moment (if it isn't, then click on it) Once again, remember that the active layer is the one that is marked in yellow.

Then click on Channels (the option next to Layers, it's on the same window). A new set of options will appear, showing the channels that make the picture (as the Mime drawing is set on RGB mode, then we have the Red, Green and Blue channels), plus the ''load channel as selection'' button (a small circle on the left of the window)

Click on it. By doing so, all the white space of the layer will be selected. Then go to your keyboard and click on ''Delete'' . This will erase all those white spaces and make them ''transparent'' (that means that the layers that are under this one will be able to be seen through it). The result will be the black lines over a transparent base. Next, go back to ''Layers''. You'll notice that the thumbnail has a grey tinge to it (which means it is transparent now) when compared to the Background layer. While still keeping the background copy layer as the active one, click on the little box at the top of the window which says "preserve transparency", then go to edit --> fill --> black This will paint all the black lines (which tend to faint a tad after making the layer transparent) with a new coat of black, and thicken them back to what they used to be. Please notice that we have ignored the background layer throughout the entire process. And we will continue ignoring it. Once you have the copy, all the steps should be done on the new layer. The background layer will be ignored until we finish colouring.

Go to Part Three