Although the color manga was finished in the last lesson, I decided to add more colors and make it look even better.

 

[1] Adding shadows and highlights

(1) First, I created and clipped a new layer above the “artist hair” layer. I blocked in some colors, with lighter colors near the tips and darker colors in the middle.

 

(2) Using the [Blend] tool > [Blur] sub tool, I gradually blurred the blocked sections.

 

(3) I made another layer and clipped this as well. This layer’s blending mode was set to [Multiply] and I used it to add defined shadows.

 

The shadows were drawn with the [Brush] tool.

 

When erasing shadows, I usually paint with a transparent colored brush instead of the [Eraser] tool. Using transparent color allows for corrections that maintain the brush shape.

 

The finished colors.

 

(4) To finish off painting, I made a new layer above the shadow layer and added more highlights. This layer’s blending mode was kept as [Normal].

 

After adjusting each layers’ opacity, I used [Combine to layer below] to combine the three layers which were clipped to the “artist hair” layer.

Note: [Combine to layer below] can be selected by right-clicking the layer or opening the the layer menu.

 

I then added shadows and highlights to other parts in the same way. This is how the page looks after adding gradients, shadows, and highlights.

 

[2] Making borderlines and balloons more colorful

Finally, I changed the color of the frame lines and speech balloons to make the entire page more vibrant.

 

There are various ways to change these colors, but I used the following three methods depending on the element.

 

A: Using [Lock transparent pixel]

B: Using [Layer Color]

C: Using [Clip at Layer Below]

 

 

 

A: Using [Lock transparent pixel]

 

First, I’ll change the frame border color by painting over it.

Selecting the “borders” layer, I turn on [Lock transparent pixel]. I can now edit directly without overflowing from the layer’s drawn parts.

Using the [Pen] tool, I paint along the frame and change it to purple.

 

 

 

B: Using [Layer Color]

 

The second frame’s color was changed using [Layer color]. As explained when I pasted tones, colors can easily be changed by setting a [Layer Color] in the [Layer Property] palette.

 

Click the right arrow button on the right side of [Layer color] to open the “Color Settings” window. Colors can be changed here.

 

 

 

C: Using [Clip at Layer Below]

 

The first, third, and fourth frame’s balloons were changed using [Clip at Layer Below].

 

(1) I create a new layer above the balloon layer and set the blending mode to [Screen], then set [Clip at Layer Below]. The layer was named “balloon color”.

 

Filling a layer with the [Fill] tool will change the color of the “balloon” layer’s drawn parts.

 

(2) I made the fourth frame’s “Idiot-” balloon border brown.

On the “Balloon color” layer, that section was painted with brown. As I didn’t want shading, I used the [Pen] tool.

 

To make it easier to understand how I painted the layer, if the layer’s blend mode were set to [Normal], it would look something like the below.

 

(3) The color of the sound effects was also changed by clipping a layer set to [Screen].

 

That wraps up my lesson!