Blue Reflected Light by =toerning
A simple explanation of reflected light. I’m going to try this soon.
More Color Workshop stuff
I had a lot of people ask me a couple days ago how I choose colors for different moods/environmental lighting.
As I was discussing earlier, it’s really important to reference from real life. I use Google Image search to look up photos of similar settings. For Sister Claire, the color takes a more symbolic role in the story, so I tweak it quite a bit from realistic colors sometimes. (More info on that here.)
Here I’ve compiled some sample PSD files of specific panels of Sister Claire, each one in a different sight setting and color scheme. You can open it up in Photoshop and look at the layers and see how I achieved those effects. I think it might be simpler than me trying to demonstrate it with words.
Clicking these images will take you to the PSD file downloads:
http://www.mediafire.com/?thh2ehrzdx2iusj
http://www.mediafire.com/?b0lwyyf9z8ujt09
http://www.mediafire.com/?w6qzc2l1xzbly40
http://www.mediafire.com/?2o1v15lzr07kbo1
Also, here is the PSD file of the workshop image I made, “Ponies in Lumpy Space”: (It’s a pretty huge file.)
Coloring a Yeti
mizuki-takashima answered: How do you choose what colors to use? There’s so many shades/values/hues that even picking the right kind of “blue” is difficult for me :(
I am almost never satisfied with my first color choices when I am designing a new character or creating an atmosphere for a comic panel/illustration.
This explanation is pretty lengthy and involves a LOT of pictures, so I’m putting it under a cut. I’ll walk through the process of coloring this blue Yeti:
currentfrequency answered: Also: reflected light. I see that a lot in pics - girl wears bright blue outfit which reflects in the shadow of her arm, type of thing…?
This site has a really great in-depth explanation of how light works, why reflective light looks the way it does, and the difference between indoor and outdoor lighting. Worth a read!
ambitymoon answered: In your opinion, can dark colors give off a positive feeling without using white, baby blue, or yellow?
Certainly, there are a lot of things that go into giving art a “positive feeling” and it can be challenging to use colors typically reserved for “dark, dreary, poisonous” atmospheres, but it can be done. The subject of the picture helps a lot, too. Color, composition, and the subject work together to create a mood.
This doodle is an example of cold, “sickly” colors being used for a more positive picture.
Color Workshop Notes
Remember the golden rule of coloring: Warm light = Cold Shadow. Cold Light = Warm shadow.
If you are coloring the same character many times in different lighting situations (for example, in a comic with several locations) make a local color palette. (Local colors are the colors of an object before being affected by light.) Always use your local colors to lay your flats before adding any shading or lighting effects, this will keep your character’s colors looking consistent.
Always know where your light source is. This is key in making realistic and dynamic shadows. Light usually comes from above from the sun. A creepy or disorienting effect can be achieved by using unconventional lighting, such as under lighting. (Commonly used in horror films.)
Reference your colors whenever possible! If you are confused about how to create an atmosphere, look up photos on Google images to reference your colors and shading. Deconstruct the image- where is the light source(s)? Is the light cold or warm? How sharp is the contrast between dark and light? Is the suface reflective, or matte? These will all make a difference in how you color.
Do you want your image to have a particular mood? Color can be a key factor in this. Reds and oranges are always dramatic, energetic colors. Blues and colder colors work better for more sedate atmospheres. You can also get a really nice effect by clashing opposite or contrasting colors, such as orange and blue, green and purple, etc.
A limited color palette is more effective and iconic than too many colors. (And lack of color can be impacting!) Try challenging yourself to making illustrations with just two or three key colors.
Color can be used to tell a story. I use “character colors’ in my comics which identify the main characters and are incorporated symbolically in the narrative. For example, Sister Claire, who has fiery orange hair, is the protagonist. When she is having a major character development or action, the page takes on a more vibrant orange tone. (more information on how I use color for storytelling here: http://sisterclaire.tumblr.com/post/9587651580/since-it-was-late-anyway-i-took-a-bit-longer-on )
Method used in Workshop:
I always work with aliased artwork when coloring my comics and illustrations. Aliased means the image is pure black and white artwork, so I can use the bucket tool to fill closed shapes with no ugly white rings. You should always color at a high resolution, a minimum of 300dpi (but some artists I know work at twice that much, it depends if your computer can handle it.) This ensures that the pixellated lineart won’t be seen when printed or shrunk down.
If you have high-res black and white linart that isn’t aliased, go to Image-> Adjustments->Threshold and adjust the settings to your liking. (I sometimes adjust the brightness/contrast settings before this step.) Now you are ready to color!
Do your flats first, laying out the local colors of the characters or objects in the image.
Next, make a new layer, and decide what you want your lighting to be. If you want warm sunlight, select a warm color and fill the layer with that color. I usually set light layers to “screen.” For dark nightime scenes, I set the layer to “Multiply” and use a colder color. If the color is too bright or dark, adjust it by hitting “command/ctrl+u” or going to “Image->Adjustments->Hue/Saturation.”
You can make more layers set to “Multiply” for added shadows, or “Screen” for highlights. I will usually deselect my black outlines when making highlights, because it can look a bit messy otherwise. I will often make a new layer for pure white highlights, such as a shiny gleam in the character’s eyes, or metal objects.
Remember you can also color the black outlines! This can give a really nice effect, especially on cartoony artwork.
This is optional, but if you want can make a new layer set to “Color” and fill it with a color. I usually set the opacity to about 10-15%. This will give the effect of a “color wash,” which unifies your entire palette a bit. I usually save this step for last, if I use it at all.
Don’t be afraid to be dramatic and push reality a bit when coloring! These are just guidelines, not absolute rules. Have fun bending them!
More links:http://www.colourlovers.com/ (Make and save your own color palettes, even generate them from source images)
http://yamino.tumblr.com/tagged/color+theory
http://yamino.tumblr.com/post/12880564910/the-first-sample-im-using-for-coloring
http://yamino.tumblr.com/post/12880806634/next-environmental-coloring-sample-underwater
http://yamino.tumblr.com/post/12881185602/environmental-color-3-fire-and-lava-notice-how
http://www.sisterclaire.com/tutorials/how-to-draw-a-la-yamino/
http://sisterclaire.tumblr.com/post/9587651580/since-it-was-late-anyway-i-took-a-bit-longer-on
Environmental color # 3: Fire and Lava
Notice how the smoke in the forest fire images adds a color of its own, giving a very desaturated cold shadow to the otherwise hot, orange picture.
There are two approaches to drawing scenes with intense fiery lighting. You can either go for a contrast between the light and shadow, creating dramatic silhuettes and lighting:
Or you can make a stark contrast of warm light and cold shadow:
It really depends on the scene that you’re drawing, but generally the former only works visually for more close-up shots, because that’s the only time it would realistically be seen.
Next environmental coloring sample: underwater scenes.
As any diver can tell you, warm colors fade out the deeper you go underwater. This is because water acts as a selective filter, with most of the red in light disappearing after about 10 feet. (Neon colors aren’t affected the same way, however.) More information about that here.
For this reason, underwater lighting has a unique look in that it breaks the most basic guideline for coloring (Warm Light, cold shadow, and vice-versa.)
Underwater scenes have cold light and cold shadow- they are heavily saturated with blue through and through. (There could still be exceptions to this, for example if a diver is carrying a warm light source with them, which is why you can get underwater photography with intense reds.)
Because light becomes limited under the sea, the best way to make a dramatic but realistic scene is to focus more on stark shadows and silhuettes as opposed to dramatic color.
The first sample I’m using for coloring environments: Snowscapes.
When people think “snow” you generally think pure white and maybe dotted black bits of tree and housing peeking out from underneath. But when rendering a striking snowscape, the colors are actually almost overwhelming.
Sunrise and sunset are especially vivid. The sky is reflected on the snow, making the whole environment explode with neon blues, pinks, and yellow. The warm light is balanced by cold blue and purple shadows.
Did you know there is a “View” option in Photoshop Cs5 (and possibly earlier?) to check your image’s compatibility for colorblind people? I had no idea!
I thought this was worth mentioning, since it was brought up when I made my last color tutorial. Good to know! (Gack! Sister Claire looks pretty different this way!)
