Another Pic

Sialia said:
You guys rock my world.

Love the sketch, love the coloring.

I want to know more about how you do the coloring.

I've got a sketch I'm working on that's at the "good B&W" stage, and I used Photoshop to overall tint the whole thing sepia, but I haven't been brave enough to try working with coloring specific parts of the thing yet.

Any pointers?
There is two ways of doing it (at least two ways that I do it, so there could be more). In some cases, combining both methods work really well.

Method 1: Working with layers.
Use the lasso tool to select only the area(s) you want to color. Add a layer, and make sure your focus changes to the new layer. Use the paint bucket tool and fill the selected area with your desired color. Change the opacity of the layer to make it transparent. Note this method only "tints" the area with color, and potentially hides details. Not the greatest way to do things, but works good for some shading work.

Method 2: Hue/Saturation.
Again use the lasso tool to select the area(s) you want to color. Press ctrl+u to bring up the hue/saturation window. check the colorize box. Adjust the hue, saturation, and lightness to obtain the color you want. Note that black is always black. So if you have a nice solid black line defining say... cleavage, it will stay black as you choose your skin tone to use. :)

Nice flumph BTW....
 
Last edited:

log in or register to remove this ad

McFarlane,

I was just wondering if you had a chance to peruse the description of Wulgar in the link above and if you wanted more information. I read what you wrote above about paid requests taking priority. I was just wondering if you had gotten a chance to see the character and if you were interested in drawing him or wanted more background.
 

Thanks! Many thanks!

I think my most difficult problem is selecting the area to work on--I hate sloppy selection paths. Yours look very neat and tidy.

Have you fooled with any of the lasso settings? Or is it because of Alan's nice sharp black lines?

Have you tried airbrushing color over an area and then fading the airbrush? This sometimes works for me, unless I accidentally let go of the button mid-stroke and re-click before I realize what I've done.

Is there a way to fade a whole layer, I wonder? So you could see the texture underneath?

Or, hey, how about this--first layer is detailed sketch, second layer is transparent color, then third layer is very light percentage clone-stamping of the first layer to bring the pencil sketch details back up over the color?
I wonder if that would work? Or would you just lose the color back into the original background color?

Might want to flatten and then adjust hue/saturation to bring light color back to full strength . . .

I'm overthinking this, no doubt.

Wish I were at home sketching instead of here at work . . . want to try it out now . . .
 
Last edited:

OK, I'm bad.

Fortunately, I don't have a copy of my current sketch on my machine here at work, so all I could do was fool around with the layers and some test patterns.

So the answer is, yes, I can set a black and white pattern on the "background layer," and then make a new layer and fill a 50% transparent color over the selected area, and then 10% clone stamp the detail of the background layer into better resolution in selected areas of the top layer.

Worse, I can make multiple layers each with a different transparent fill color and then swap around the source layer of the clone stamping to blend the colors on the topmost layer.

I may never get any paying work done again.

Thanks for getting me thinking about all this. Hopefully I'll have something to show off soon.
 

Sialia said:
Thanks! Many thanks!

I think my most difficult problem is selecting the area to work on--I hate sloppy selection paths. Yours look very neat and tidy.

Have you fooled with any of the lasso settings? Or is it because of Alan's nice sharp black lines?

Have you tried airbrushing color over an area and then fading the airbrush? This sometimes works for me, unless I accidentally let go of the button mid-stroke and re-click before I realize what I've done.

Is there a way to fade a whole layer, I wonder? So you could see the texture underneath?

Or, hey, how about this--first layer is detailed sketch, second layer is transparent color, then third layer is very light percentage clone-stamping of the first layer to bring the pencil sketch details back up over the color?
I wonder if that would work? Or would you just lose the color back into the original background color?

Might want to flatten and then adjust hue/saturation to bring light color back to full strength . . .

I'm overthinking this, no doubt.

Wish I were at home sketching instead of here at work . . . want to try it out now . . .
Woah dude! I know exactly what your thinking of with your 3-layer idea. Alot of extra work, plus I don't know if you can clone cross-layer. Hue/Saturation is definately what you want to use. Try it your way if you want, as it will help with learning photoshop, but I don't think you like your end results too much.

lasso.gif

As for sloppy selection lines, switch over to the polygonal Lasso tool. When using the lasso, ZOOM IN. I usally work at 500% zoom. Helps alot when selecting just what you want and nothing else. Takes a little more time, but that's what you go through when you want it done your way.

Opacity.gif

As for making layers transparent, you use the opacity levels found on the layer palette.
 

Thanks again--so many new toys to play with. Cloning cross layers works fine, I do it all the time. I've just never played with the opacity before, or tried to use it for coloring.

Usually I use it when I'm trying to marry a foregound object to a background image, to keep the object in front from "floating" too much. I can use it to bring part of the background image into the foreground, actually on top of the object.

It's a good way to correct mistakes, too--when I'm trying something experimental, I do it in a new layer, and then, if I screw up, I can always pull the background layer back up just in the place where I'm working. A lot easier than worrying about "stepping backward."

Thanks much for the lassoing tips--these are all good, simple ideas that I haven't really tried. Next!

And you know, I never noticed that layer transparency doodad before--that should do just the thing I was thinking about!
 


Hey i know u got plenty of people trying to get u to draw their character, so here is one more. I gota admit, there seems to be a lot of tallent generated on this link, so i think ill just get in line like the rest. Alan McFarlane i really enjoy checkin out the chars ur drawning, so whenever u got the time to spare. Im not exactly sure what kind of deals you were talking about on page one about cash, but i do know that many of my players go into countless details about their characters, and perhaps we would pay you for a group picture. tell me what u think about it, and if u need to reach me because i dont check with the forums that often, redevil621@hotmail.com thanx

Lavoc, Human, Chaotic Evil, Wiz 4 (14) / Sha 10

Gear: Ioun Stone intel +2, Cloak of displacement Major, Staff of the necromancer, Bracers of armor +5. Robe of resistance +3, Crown of the Damned (see below), and Bag of holding I where all spell components are stored.

Crown of the Damned - This Ancient crown apears to once have been made from gold long ago, and to have contained some great powerful magic as well, but the millinias of its existance on the plane of shadow have turned it into a deathly cold crown of Solid black shadow. The crown has 9 crude spikes that jut from the base. The largest containes a solid white gem that can not be found anywhere else. Its spikes continuosly apear to be displaying some sort of shadowy flame. when closesly examined, the images of a nightmarish story can be desifered as by a vision spell.Its preveous wielder was turned into ash by a dicintagrate spell cast by Lavoc. Only the crown remianed, as the rest of his existance blew away in the wind. The wielder gains the supernatural ability: general of undeath, and may control 10 times his level for determining how much undead he may control. once per day/ create Greater undead, Control Undead, and finger of death.

If u want to include my spellbook in the picture, it has the following enchantments

-Symbol of Stun
-fire trap
-levitation
-alarm
-Sepia snake sigil
-explosive rune
-Arcane lock
-non-detection
-acts as a Bocobs blessed book for spell storage

I always keep it in Leomonds secret chest, but still iv put a lot of work into it.

Str - 11
Dex - 15
Con - 18
Int - 26
Wiz - 14
Cha - 12

Lavoc's physical description: His age is 27, making him a very young wizard at that. He stands about 6 feet tall, and his skin is pale white, and his eyes are jet black because of the Darkvision his prestiege has granted him. His hair is pure black and is kept short. Being so closely bound with the shadow weave, he radiates an aura of negative energy and pure evil. His outfit is grand as well, A flowing black robe, with silver stitchings and magical writing covers his entire garb. The garb is fasioned almost as armor, as it has potruding edges that come from the shoulders all around the face to come up as past the nose in the front, and just an inch below the hair line in the back. This covers a grusome scar streatching from one end of his "smile" to the other. The wound never really healed from the acidic blade that was cut into him when he was captured once and being tourchered, so he neglects to show off the wound that is almost a pale blue/black. The head is adorned with the Crown of the damned, and is by far the most dominant traite of Lavoc. As described above as being solid black, and radiates shadowy flames. His viper enjoys wrapping itself around Lavoc's arm, and sticking its head now and then out of his sleeve. The cloak of major displacement is normally not activated when there is no need for it. there is a secret word that turns its power on and off. while it is turned off, it looks like a robe of most elegant nature. Fit for royalty, as some may say, makes it just that more of a deadly weapon.


Tiny Viper Familiar, Sinse day one, this has been Lavocs most trusted companion, and has actually saved his life on more than one account. It is magically enchanted with a dark vision spell and permanency. because of this, its eyes appear as pure blackness.
 


Sorry I haven't posted anything sooner.. Life gets in the way of doing things. ;)

Here's another small update:
 

Attachments

  • teaser.jpg
    teaser.jpg
    110.4 KB · Views: 859

Remove ads

Top