Digital Comic Book Coloring

Hands-on Class Project

Color A Comic Book Pin-up

Document Preparation / Template Creation

1. Create Photoshop Template

   Carefully follow the steps in the video and create the proper folder and layer structure to be used as a template for all future coloring projects.  Be attentive to what the layer modes are, what they do and how they work in conjunction with one another. 

Lineart Preparation

1. Convert Artwork to Bitmap Mode

   Convert the artwork from Grayscale Mode to Bitmap Mode using 50% Threshold.

2. Convert Artwork to RGB Mode

   From Bitmap mode, convert your artwork back to RGB by first converting to Grayscale mode, using a ratio of 1.  Then convert to RGB mode from there.

3. Isolate Inks From Background

   Duplicate your background layer and delete the negative space using the Magic Wand tool, separating the inks from the background.

Flatting

1. Prep Lineart If Needed

   If the lineart is not already preped, do so before starting to flat the piece.  Follow the steps in the previous lesson to convert the inks to lineart and separate them from the background.

2. Duplicate Template Folders

   Open the template we created in the previous step and duplicate the folder and layer structure on to the pin-up piece you're flatting.

3. Flat Your Artwork

   Completely fill in all of the flat colors of the piece using the techniques described in the video.  If you choose to use bright differing colors to block out the shapes, be sure to go back thru and choose your actual color pallet before moving onto the next lesson.

4. Color Holds

   Color holds can help convey depth, as well as difference in material and texture.  It can be used on background elements, FX elements and objects of certain materials.

   If color holds are an effect you want in your piece, this is the time to do them.  Carefully choose your colors.  Typcially your lines shouldn't be lighter than the color it is surrounding, unless there is a drastic contrast difference (such as white or a very vibrant saturated color).

Shading

1. Soft Shadows

   Start by blocking in large areas of shading with a soft paintbrush on the SOFT layer.  At this time you may want to choose what hue your shadows will be for the piece.  This can also be choosen when all shading is complete.

2. Hard Shadows

   Once all of your soft shadows are in place, move on to cutting in your hard shadows using a non-feathered or hard brush on the HARD layer.

3. Soften Shadows

   Once all of your shadows (both soft and hard) are in place, you can begin softening areas of these shadows using the SOFTEN layer.  This is the help create more varience in your shadow fidelity (mimicing light bounce and other natural light properties).

4. Cutting In (Erasing)

   Now that all of your shadows have been placed and softened to your liking, begin to cut-in shape and line definition to add detail and accents to the overall piece using a hard brush on the ERASE layer.

Highlighting

1. Soft Highlights

   Once all of your shading is complete, you're ready to start adding highlights.  Same as with the shadows, begin by using a soft brush on the SOFT layer, defining further where your light source is and defining the overall shape of the characters and other elements.

2. Hard Highlights

   Once the soft highlights are complete, begin to add further detail and accents with a hard brush on the HARD layer, taking cues from what you've been building up since you started shading.

3. White Highlights

   If you desire, you may begin adding in stark white highlights to really punch up areas of the piece.  This is especially good for bright highlights in the eyes, on metal or other shiny objects and so on.

FX & Finalizing

1. Add Needed FX

   Now that the hard work is done, we can begin to add any needed FX to the overall piece, whether that be glowing objects, color overlays to mimic color bounce, weather, dirt/grit/damage and so on.

2. Color Correction

   Here is where you can change the overall look and feel of the piece if you'd like, using adjustment layers such as LEVELS or SELECTIVE COLOR.  You can make the overall tone of the piece warmer or cooler, or even change a piece from day to twilight or even night.

3. Saving

   You should have been saving all along as a PSD.  Once your work is completed and your file is saved, following the steps in the video to flatten your artwork and save out a TIFF, as well as resizing your work and saving out a JPG proof.

Additional Resources

• Example: Before & After Comparison

• Johnny Raygun Baltimore Pin-Up

• Kyrra Pin-Up

• Kyrra Character

• Example: Final Flats

• Example: Final Shading

• Example: Final Highlighting

• Example: Final Piece

• Time Lapse Video

  https://vimeo.com/53165179

  This is a time lapse video of me completing the Kyrra piece from start to finish (about 3 or so hours compressed down to 10 minutes).  There's no audio or voice over, but now that you know all of the steps involved in creating a piece, you can get the gist of how I work and how it is done.