Introduction

Hello. This is Kim-kun (@kimkun_manga).

Today, I'd like to introduce my methods and tips for coloring comics, focusing on efficient "comic coloring." This coloring method is particularly suited for Korean and Japanese color comics (webtoons), where artists must continue to produce high-quality work in short periods. I hope you find it useful.

 

 

 

Points to Note When Drawing Color Comics

Before I introduce the actual coloring method, I want to talk about one important point to note when drawing color comics: "Color comics are not illustration collections."

 

Of course, comic art can be seen as excellent illustrations, and you can create comics by compiling illustrations. For example, unlike Japan, American comics seem to take more time per panel compared to Japanese or Korean comics. What I mean here is not about the level of completeness, but about "purpose." I believe the purpose of an illustration is to [clearly express what the artist wants to convey within a single image, and at the same time, create the most beautiful possible artwork to captivate people's eyes]. Conversely, the purpose of a comic is to [gradually convey the artist's message through the characters' story]. If you want to create something faithful to this purpose, comic panels should focus on creating a "flow" rather than captivating the eye. If there are panels that are emphasized, then panels that restrain their expression are also necessary for that purpose.

 

Furthermore, in places like Korea and Japan, where weekly serialization of color comics (roughly 60 or more panels per week) is generally required, efficient comic coloring methods are absolutely essential.

 

 

 

How to Divide Layers

(▲Inefficient way of dividing layers)

To color efficiently in a short amount of time, you need to divide and use layers effectively. If you separate all parts like skin and eyes and work on them individually, the increased number of layers will take more time. With today's method, we will reduce the number of layers as much as possible, using a total of 15 layers including the paper layer.

(▲Layer structure introduced today)

While layers will increase if backgrounds and dialogue are added, these layers are sufficient for coloring characters.

 

 

 

How to Apply Base Colors

First, prepare your line art and apply the base colors.

The method for applying base colors generally varies depending on the type of line art. If you are using a pen with high opacity like in this line art, I recommend using the "Auto Select" tool. It makes it easier to create selections and speeds up your workflow. If your line art is faint or difficult to use with the Auto Select tool, please create a selection with a high-opacity pen first, then use the Auto Select tool. More detailed instructions are available in my other tutorials, so please refer to them.

Now let's start coloring. Create one base color layer (Normal), and below that, create one background layer (Normal). On the lower layer, select a dark color and fill it.

(▲Fill the background with a dark color)

When choosing colors, select a color from the right side of the color wheel (a highly saturated color). You can choose any color you like, but for the sake of eye health, I recommend using colors that are not too harsh. There are two reasons for coloring the background with a dark color:

 

1‣ "To grasp whether the base color's density is appropriate"

2‣ "To check for any missed spots"

 

By laying down a dark color underneath before you start coloring, you can prevent the overall image from becoming too faint. Your eyes will naturally select an appropriate density by comparing the base color with the background color.

(▲Easy to adjust base color density)

① The base color is light, but it doesn't look too light because the background is white.

② When a dark color is painted behind, the lightness of the base color becomes noticeable.

③ When adjusted to an appropriate density, the character stands out clearly.

 

At the same time, areas that were easy to miss when the background was white, such as unpainted spots, become more noticeable and easier to spot when a dark color is laid down underneath.

(▲Easy to notice missed spots)

Be careful with the whites of the eyes and gaps at the tips of the hair, as these areas are particularly easy to miss when coloring.

 

 

 

Tips for Shortening Base Color Application Time

Applying base colors is a simple and enjoyable task, but it requires a significant amount of time. Therefore, finishing this task as quickly as possible is one key to saving time. Here, I will introduce two tips for applying base colors faster:

 

1‣ "Auto Select Tool TIP"

2‣ "Character Palette TIP"

(▲Inefficient usage)

If you didn't know that the "Auto Select" tool can "drag," you'd have to select each area one by one while holding Shift (Windows standard). However, if you understand this function, you can select many areas very easily as shown below.

(▲Auto Select tool can drag)

This way, you can easily select fine details without using the zoom function. This tip is especially useful when coloring parts with many small details, like hair. When a selection is made, a paint icon appears at the bottom, so you don't even need to deliberately use a brush or shortcut key, which is another small tip.

In my case, I use different settings for base coloring and final coloring. You should adjust the "Close gap" function and "Color margin" based on the type of line art.

 

The second tip is to use the "Color Set" function.

In comics, you need to draw the same characters repeatedly, so it's very convenient to decide and save each character's colors once.

(▲Color set of character base colors)

If you have too many colors, you'll forget what's what, so I recommend creating and using a color set that only contains the base colors for each character. By clicking "Add new setting" from the settings button, you can separate color sets for each character.

(▲Surprisingly distant from the screen)

However, if the number of characters increases too much, managing each set becomes difficult, and the distance from the screen during selection work is quite far. So, I will introduce another different method.

(▲Character color set)

That is, to create small color sets for each character. The shape can be anything. Create a file containing a collection of character color sets, and move this color set while working when coloring characters.

(▲Coloring while moving a custom color set)

By coloring while moving this character, the base coloring process becomes faster. Also, for characters that require many colors, having them in character shapes makes it immediately clear where to apply each color. In this way, color all base colors except for the eyes.

💡TIP

If you click on the screen while holding Ctrl+Shift (Windows standard), the layer of the clicked area on the screen will be automatically selected. Using this shortcut key reduces the chances of coloring on the wrong layer.

 

The reason for intentionally excluding the eyes is to color them as efficiently as possible. My method is to duplicate eye templates created for each character.

(▲Eye template & application example)

By creating a base template for eyes, excluding pupils and highlights that are difficult to deform, you can color high-quality eyes in a short amount of time (?). Considering the number of characters drawn in a single weekly serialization, I believe this method is the most efficient. Some may have reservations about this approach, but completing a manga quickly is one of the skills required of a mangaka, and it means more time can be spent on the story, which is more important than the art, so please consider it.

This completes the base coloring! It took me approximately 1 hour to color 8 panels. Considering 60 panels and an increasing number of characters, applying base colors alone would require 8-10 hours. When I was briefly challenged with weekly serialization, I had an assistant do this task (excluding the eyes). It's truly one of the most enjoyable tasks, so I'd prefer to do it myself, but... considering the overall scope, I think it's best to finish this section as quickly as possible.

 

 

 

Applying Base Tones

The next thing to do is to decide the background color and character tones. This is a very short section in terms of overall workload, but it's an efficient task that can significantly improve the completeness of your manuscript.

 

(▲Add one clipping layer)

First, create one clipping layer (Normal) to change the color of the background layer. You can create a clipping layer by creating a new layer and clicking the reference image icon. Using a clipping layer allows you to draw only on the areas where the base layer has color.

(▲Add background color)

On the clipping layer, apply the respective background colors. This time, I tried to use as many different colors as possible, but you should choose colors while considering the overall flow of the comic and the characters' locations.

When displayed with the base layer, it looks like this. Now it finally looks like a color comic. However, if left as is, the characters will float from the background, so I want to add a base tone color to the characters that matches the background color.

(▲Add clipping layer on top of base layer)

As before, create one clipping layer on top of the base color.

(▲Select background color with eyedropper)

Next, use the eyedropper tool (shortcut key "I" or "Alt") to select the background color.

(▲Adjust color from color wheel)

Select a color from the color wheel and change it to a lighter color with a hint of gray.

(▲Apply tone color and change layer mode to Multiply)

① State with base colors applied

② State with selected tone color filled on the clipping layer

③ State with layer blending mode changed to "Multiply"

 

Fill the entire character with the selected color and change the layer mode to "Multiply." Using a Multiply layer allows the selected color to blend with the base color, instantly harmonizing the base tone with the background.

(▲Example of Hue/Saturation/Luminosity adjustment)

You can always adjust the tone color by opening the Hue/Saturation/Luminosity Correction screen (Ctrl + U). While it's generally good to use colors of the same family, it's also fine to select different colors as in this example. Choose a color appropriate for the scene and ensure the character doesn't float too much from the background.

(▲Tone color added to each panel)

This shows the tones added to each panel to match the background color. Compared to the time it takes, it significantly improves the completeness of the manuscript. I believe this is the most efficient task among all the tips I'm introducing today.

For the main panel (a "double-page spread" like scene in webtoons), I added a light yellow background color and a pink tone. Although it's quite a light color, the difference is noticeable at a glance.

 

💡TIP

To color using this method, the character's base color must be one that allows for easy addition of multiply layers. If it's too dark, it's hard to layer other colors, and if it's too light, it loses impact. I recommend updating your color set as soon as you find better colors.

 

 

 

Applying First Layer of Shadows

This time, we will apply the "first layer of shadows," which is the most time-consuming part of the entire process. Even when there isn't enough time to complete the manga entirely, the goal here is to achieve a quality that can be presented to people. Personally, this is my favorite task throughout the entire process.

(▲Create a clipping layer)

Just like when creating tones, create a new clipping layer and change its layer mode to "Multiply."

(▲Apply rough shadows)

Select a slightly larger brush and broadly apply large shadows. The key is not to worry about fine details. Paint roughly while considering the direction of light. Cleaning up overflow and adding small shadows can be done later.

The color used for the first layer of shadows is mostly gray, as the base tone already contains some saturation. However, it's better to mix in a little color, as having some saturation makes color correction easier later.

(▲Refine shadow shapes)

Once the rough shadow shapes are determined, refine them neatly and add small shadows. As some of you may have noticed, despite spending time, there isn't a significant quality difference compared to the previous image. This is why I said not to worry about fine details. Spending time on small shadows and minute parts is highly inefficient. (I'm not saying it's bad, but) personally, I think it's better to keep small shadows only where truly necessary and allocate that time to more effective sections.

(▲Typical panel)

I added shadows and adjusted colors to other panels as well. Although only large shadows were applied, I think they are usable for typical comic panels.

(▲Main panel)

I spent more time on the main panel compared to the others. Creating a certain quality gap between typical panels and the main panel adds dynamics to the comic and, I believe, improves readability.

 

 

 

Applying Second Layer of Shadows

This time, we will apply the "second layer of shadows" to give the drawing more three-dimensionality. The shadow color used here can be exactly the same as the color used for the first layer of shadows, or a slightly lighter color. The time required for applying the second layer of shadows is relatively short compared to other tasks, but this brings the drawing closer to completion.

(▲Add one clipping layer)

On top of the shadow layer, create another new clipping layer and change its layer mode to "Multiply."

(▲Apply second layer of shadows to deeper areas)

Select the color used previously and apply the second layer of shadows only to the deeper parts. As with the first layer of shadows, don't worry about fine details; focus on painting the areas that will enhance the overall three-dimensionality of the drawing first.

I only painted this part. If you make good use of the Auto Select tool, you can further reduce the time spent in this section. I spent about 5 minutes on this panel and about 2 minutes on the panel below.

(▲Finished applying the second layer of shadows)

The second layer of shadows has been applied. By dividing the shadow-painting process into two, the drawing's three-dimensionality is enhanced, and the time spent choosing shadow colors has been significantly reduced. It's also great that color correction is easy due to the small number of layers.

 

 

 

Applying Highlights

This time, we will apply "highlights." Adding highlights increases the brightness and three-dimensionality of the drawing. I consider this task in three main parts:

 

1‣ "Expressing strong direct light"

2‣ "Adding a subtle gradient"

3‣ "Changing the color of the line art"

(▲Create a clipping layer)

First, let's add "strong direct light." On top of the previous layer, add one "Overlay" clipping layer.

Choose the highlight color. Generally, bright yellow to orange colors should be fine, but different colors can certainly be used depending on the type of light in the character's environment.

(▲Color areas where light hits strongly)

With the chosen color, first paint the areas where light hits strongly. As with shadows, don't think of drawing all the illuminated parts; instead, paint partially on areas that easily create overall three-dimensionality and where the reader's eye should go.

 

💡TIP

For highlights, it's difficult to achieve all desired colors with just one color, unlike with shadows. In this case, even applying a yellow overlay to black and orange areas didn't produce a very noticeable color. In such situations, please try the following method.

(▲Add a clipping layer)

On top of the highlight layer, add one clipping layer in "Normal" mode.

(▲Add highlights with a normal layer)

Select the color used for light in that panel, or a similar color, and apply it to other areas. Normal layers are good for picking up colors easily, so you can also use them for image correction this way.

(▲Add highlights to the main panel)

For the showcase panels, spend more time adding highlights than on other panels. Especially for hair and eyes, I think it's more effective for them to shine only at specific moments rather than always being sparkly.

Similarly, I added light descriptions to all panels. As in the image in the second row on the right, some scenes have a lot of light around the characters, but generally, I keep the number of highlights limited so that the main panel draws the eye.

 

Now, let's add a "subtle gradient."

(▲Add two layers)

Create one "Normal" layer above the background layer, and one "*Soft Light" layer above the base color layer.

*Sometimes Overlay is used here. Please choose according to your preference.

First, let's start by coloring the background. Click on the layer you just created.

(▲Add gradient to background)

Select the background color and lighten it slightly from the color wheel. Then, select the Gradient (G) tool and apply a subtle gradient to the background color, matching the direction of the light.

When viewing only the background as a whole, it looks like this. It's quite subtle, so it might sometimes be hard to notice, but it definitely improves the completeness of the manuscript.

Now, add a gradient to the character. Select the "Soft Light" layer you just created.

From the color wheel, select the color of the light (background) you want to add. It doesn't have to be exactly the same as the background color, so you can apply it with a slightly different hue.

(▲Add gradient to character)

Once you've selected the color, use a large airbrush to lightly paint over the character, considering the direction of light. You don't need to aim for a very strong change. A subtle shift in color should be sufficient.

Similarly, I added gradients to all panels. Although this section didn't show as dramatic a change as other tasks, the light expression has become more natural than before.

 

Finally, I would like to change the "line art color."

(▲Add one layer)

Add one "Normal" layer above the line art.

(▲Select line color)

From the color wheel, choose a slightly darker color. This is a reddish color chosen for skin-toned lines. Please adjust the hue to match the color of the part.

(▲Change line color)

Select a high-opacity pen and trace over the lines. I use these colors as accent colors only for specific areas like lips and eyes.

By adding highlights in this way, the character coloring is complete. Finally, add texture, and we're done.

 

 

 

Adding Texture

(▲Open the Material tab)

Click the arrow (<<) in the top right to open the "Material" tab.

(▲Select texture)

Once the tab is open, click "Monochrome Pattern" and select "Texture."

Find your favorite texture and drag it onto your drawing. I chose "Fine."

(▲Adjust texture strength)

From "Layer Property," click the "Texture Combine" icon and adjust the "Strength." I set it to about "10."

This completes all steps.

I spent approximately 5 hours. I'm pleased that I was able to complete several panels with satisfactory quality.

 

 

 

Afterword

 

Was the article helpful?

As a complete addendum, the names of the characters I drew today are "Syphos" for the boy and "Magnolia" for the girl. Thank you very much.

 

I've recently been creating and uploading drawing tutorial videos on Youtube.

If anyone is interested, please feel free to visit.

(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuB2Ub9AldXxt-vouSnvSXQ/featured)

 

Finally, I'm uploading a video of the coloring process from this article below. It's a video optimized for smartphone screens, but you can also watch it on PC.

 

 

(▲🦁Syphos)

(▲🌼Magnolia)

 

This concludes the article.

Thank you for reading this long article.