How do you color digitally like this?

Question

http://www.limecats.com/assets_c/2009/10/LINTO-thumb-510xauto-19.jpg
http://ii-e.net/illust/simeko_top_motoe.jpg

Do you just adjust the opacity and color of the brushes and layers or is there something else? [I don't want to be annoying and ask the artist after s/he deactivated his/her Pixiv ;w;]

It doesn't have to be anime style; I've seen this type of coloring before on other styles and I've been wondering...

A video/picture tutorial or a written description of the steps is fine, please!

Pictures by Shimeko http://purin77.blog123.fc2.com/

Thanks!

southabi · Accepted Answer

I wouldn't be afraid to ask the artist- the worst that could happen is she ignores it or doesn't get it. The only way to know exactly how he/she did it is to go to the source.

There are a few ways you can do it from what I can tell. Chances are she might just have used a brush at a low opacity. 

If you're not comfortable working like that, try this (I'm assuming you have photoshop or a similar program): 

- Take a piece of digital artwork you created, preferably one where the character and background are separate.
- Add a mask to the character layer. 
- Take the gradient tool and set it to a black and white gradient. With the MASK selected, pull the gradient over the artwork. 
- Take a look at your results- undo if you don't like it. Experiment with different gradients- maybe a radial.
- OR instead of a gradient, take a black brush with soft edges and paint over certain areas of the mask.

You can also duplicate the character layer, and set the character layer with the mask at multiply and put it on top.

Experiment until you're satisfied. Even if you don't figure out how to duplicate that style, you might come up with something even better. =)

How do you color digitally like this?

1 Answer