How to color + Share: Use simple tools to best results

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Maricielo

Maricielo

Introduction

Welcome my name is Maricielo and I'm a person who loves drawing and CSP. When I started digital painting I notice that I didn't use my knowledge appropriately. Then I questioned me what I was doing wrong and what I can change for good. The answer was that I didn't understand the program totally, so I had to go from a easy way to color to more complex as easy as possible to feel comfortable.

 

So I decide to share this technique with you. I hope this will help you.

For this tutorial you need to know:

  • Light and shadows

  • Color Theory

  • About Clip Studio Paint (Blending modes, opacity, etc)

❶ Sketch and Lineart

Do a Sketch. You can:

 

  • Draw traditionally, then scan it and, if needed, do some corrections on the program to do the final Lineart. OR

 

  • Draw in the program, down the opacity of the layer where you are drawing the Sketch and draw the lineart.

 

✻Take your time and enjoy the progress

For this girl I separate the body from the hair (the layer I called "Cabello"). I'll explain why later.

❷ Selection area

This step is super important, it will guarantee that all the colors that you're using will be in the area that you want it.

1.- Use the "Magic Wand" (marked with red) to select the area around the character. To be more specific you can also use others selection tool like "polygon " (m.w. green) to select the area that the Magic Wand didn't.

2.- In the top of the bar, we have a Basic selection tool bar (m.w. red), I use it as fast selection. Select/tap in the option "Invert selection" (m.w. magenta).

You'll notice that something changed in the line around the character.

3.- Create a new layer BELOW the lineart.

 

Here you have to check if the area that you select in your character covers all the places that you want, if not, you have to fill (with pens or with the bucket of paint) the areas that the selection didn't cover.

❸ Grey and Flat Colors

1.- Duplicate the Layer of the previous step, in this 2 new layers we are going to create:

 

  • A layer with light and shadows (Grey Scale) (m.w. orange). Here we work the volume of the character as we want it, more 3D or more 2D it'll be your decision. As you can see I worked more 3D.

 

  • A layer with Flat Colors (m.w. green). Try to pick the color with a nice balance of saturation.

✻The Flat color ALWAYS goes up of the Grey Scale!.

 

2.- In the Flat Color Layer, change the blending mode:

 

| Normal |➝| Color |

 

  • OPTIONAL -Experiment with adding color in the Grey Scale, to get a richer color: not necessary because at the end we are going to do something similar but, you can always go back.

 

Select the Grey Scale Layer, then:

 

Layer ➝ New correction Layer ➝ gradient map. Start choosing a color, max 2 colors. OR...

 

...Layer ➝ New correction Layer ➝ Curve Tone. Play with the individual option of Green, Blue and red until the you like it.

 

I used the second option.

❹ Corrections

As you can see, the character have nice color, but it's kind boring, needs something more, looks that is not that alive, so she need a vive color.

 

1.- Create a new layer, crop it with the rest and Choose a color that is near to the saturated color.

 

In the area that you want to do the correction: choose the color with the tool "dropper" and slightly move to the right (upper or lower, but always right), this cause that the color will be richer/more saturated. Then use a soft tool like airbrush o watercolor to add in the zone of correction.

✻ Notice that I not only worked the skin, also the eyes in the correction Layer. For the eyes I played more with saturated colors and some Grey to add a bit of light.

 

【Why I create the hair in a separated layer?】

 

Just to create a nice shadow (m.w green): copy-paste the layer, the shadow go below the lineart. Move the shadow and tint it, change the "blending mode" | Normal |➝| Multiply |.

 

To do a light in hair just create a new layer up the lineart hair and crop it.

2.- Experiment. Yes, just that, try new things, this an interesting way that you can improve your art. This is the results of it. (I'll explain below)

I wanted to darken more the skin by forcing it with blue. So I used (1) Blending mode Overxpose color to do what I wanted. (2) and (3) is just to make a sense of ambient by an external light. (4) That layer, well, I didn't like something, so, I correct it, the benefits of having digital programs is that you can edit (almost) everything. (5) the Curve Tone is perfect to experiment the color and feels like a unified color, more balanced.

✻Too much of Shine/Dark/Color? Reduce opacity: Reducing the opacity of layers let the color feels more balanced / integrate. You know it when you're working on it.

 

The ambient light, as you can see, is slightly up, not that much, just a bit, and that's what I wanted

❺ Final Toches

1.- Reduce the opacity of the Lineart layer. This make that the Lineart is one with color.

 

✻Here I put a necklace, She needed something on the neck. Never is late to fix something!!

2.- Add:

 

-Putting More blacks areas and shines on the necklace, earnings and the eyes.

-Create a new layer on top of everything, change the blending mode to | Overxpose (Shine) |. I wanted to do something like sunshine efect so I used the orange and a bit of yellow. Too much shine, reduce the opacity.

3.-Final results:

Extras!

Ⅰ - White skin: Making this tutorial make me think about you and probably you'll need to know how would be on white skin so here is, I made a bit fast:

✻The count of the step are like reading

 

Summary:

(1) Lineart

(2) and (3) Grey to color: are the same, the color violet and green didn't affect that much the color, so even you can leave it Grey if you like it.

(4) Add color to eyes and a bit on the clothing

(5) Color corrections

(6) Shadows: for this time I decided to use "blending mode: Multiply" I test in orthers blending modes, but I like more this one

(7) to (12) [Corrections] playing with blending modes and color. In (9) I reduce the opacity of the lineart and create a layer where I paint blacks and whites.

Ⅱ - Never is to late to check: i select the Grey layer where I change it to blue tone, there (just for experiment) I see if I can improve something.

| layer | ➝| New correction Layer |➝| Gradient map |

You can also do others options, like with Tone/Saturation/brightness

III - The importance of EXPERIMENT

 

Doing this is a way to get knowledge and comprehend the program

Using "Tone curve" is the tool that show random options, you can create more points and posicion it where you "want it" . A recommendation, is avoid creating more than 3 points.

 

✻ Other recommendation is that you may work "Curve tone" over all the layers of the work, this allow that all the changes afect all layer and all the drawing

And remember: there could be strange, crazy, amazing alters that you can change if you don't like it, even delete the layer...

 

 

... but you could also lost an awesome color effect by deleting it, before you discard an option, try a Blending mode, maybe is the solution to create a nice effect on the drawing!!

 

✻you can always change the colors by clicking on layer with the "curve" image on it.

Share

There's a lot of methods that you can share your progress:

-Share a daily progress of your drawing, and let your community know something like "behind the scenes ".

 

-Shere in social media the lineart and the final drawing. This make the spectator wonder what techniques you used.

 

-Share step by step: this could be flat colors step to colors or more, the spectator would know what you do but not all.

 

-Share the time-lapse: CSP have this awesome option. Just before start:

 

File > Time-lapse > Record the time-lapse

 

Once you finish:

 

File> Time-lapse > Export time-lapse

 

Then you'll find options like size, length and format.

 

  • Share short video. This method is perfect to show your progress in once, and this method I'll teach you below. I used Instagram.

To access to the short video/reel: slide left to right and select it

To record:

 

-just press once the circular button and to stop recording press it again

 

-keep pressing the circular button to record until you want to stop (recording)

Try the options (m.w. red). I like to use:

 

Music (audio), this create a nice ambient. Try to pick a song that represent the drawing.

 

Layout (layout de video) create two or three individual videos that'll play simultaneously

 

Effects (Efectos) is very nice option to pop up something, try it before the result drawing.

You can also use a tool that is similar to onio paper in animation, this is very useful to make "magically" appear something or to make a continuous videos without changes of objects positions (the option is selected; is the last one)

To know how was the record/s, tab the left option, you can delete it or crop it. Play with it.

If you want to change something, you can go back.

 

If you're happy with the result, tab the right option (next /siguiente). Then there's will be a options where you can change the music, record a voice-over, even add stickers or some lyrics:

Then, go next (siguient). Is the last step. If you use instagram to share your art, then you'll know that you can add a nice description, hashtags, etiquete people.

 

If you don't know to publish it, don't worry, select "save draft" (guardar borrador).

 

If you're happy with it, then press next and publish it.

I wanted to share what I did, but is to heavy.

 

Summary:

1.- Pick the steps that you'll like to show.

2.- Export them as an image, then put them in order (Top to below) Start to Finish. I picked Lineart>Greys>Color>Final result.

3.- Choose a nice brush, better with texture

4.- Start recording as deleting the top layer to show the next step (layer).

 

If you want to know what I did, in conclusion is a link with my Intagram.

 

Remember that is not all you could do, you can also:

 

  • record the process little by little

  • put them like a gif

 

I have some Advises for you:

 

• Keep them a bit mysterious. For example, if you're recording how you draw the line art, don't show all the drawing till the end.

• Practice your pulse. Buy a support or flexible arm to record perfectly. Build (example, books that support the phone)

• Try to be consistent in posting. This allow that you and your art be more visible on social media. Also be more participative on other posts

•Follow artists. This way you'll get more involved with art, and also learn more about this world.

 

How I said before: Experiment, enjoy the process, you now have the tools to make a nice short video.

Conclusion

In this tutorial we learn about a process that is relatively easy applying previous knowledge (light and shadows, color theory) with the functions of this wonderful program to create a great drawing.

 

We realize that using some options will not complicated the progress or the drawing, just are options that you can use it strategically to create a drawing, then you always envolve this new knowledge to create even more beautiful art. This also works on sharing your art in social media, feel free to express your art on a community, you don't know what great opportunities you could have.

Thank you for reading, I hope this article helped you. Have a nice day! If yo want you can bring me a like and check my social media:

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