more superman practice

brian buster · 04-07-2009, 01:37 PM

for some reason, my photoshop coloring ability never looks professional. this isn't finished, and i don't know how to finish it. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks for looking.

onizuka43 · 04-07-2009, 04:26 PM

You got an odd halo effect around superman that doesn't help look professional. Solid Blacks there would work much better. Also maybe use some brighter colors and keep them a bit flatter and not to over render them. On the drawing side of things the legs don't quite look right. Other then that though it's very dynamic and shows a lot of promise. Good work.

joh james · 04-07-2009, 05:01 PM

I think you're using too much black in your colour palette. Choose colours with less black for your core. I always read that a lot from colourists over on Gutterzombie, and I've been guilty of it quite a bit in the past.

brian buster · 04-07-2009, 05:52 PM

first of all, thanks for the crits. i get the halo thing, the background color is really not the actual backround i was planning on using for the finished product, so i didn't bother to blend it in is all. but for the legs, do they look too long? i shortened them just in case. and the blacks are a bit heavy, i'll try a deep blue on the blue part of the costume instead. the colors are muted because i brought down the saturation level because my original colors looked too bright, but maybe i went too far. thanks again.

Ken73 · 04-07-2009, 05:57 PM

First, how to fix that "halo": Magic wand on the layer that has your black line work. Make sure "contiguous" is checked. Then go to Select>Modify>Expand, and try 2 pixels. Then go to Edit>Cut.

Next issue is using black for shading. DON'T DO IT. Let the inks be black, and the colors be colors. Try using a lighter and darker version of each color (in this case, red blue yellow and flesh). And ease back on the airbrushing. What I would do is fill the blue areas with the darker blue, then use the Polygonal Lasso to select the highlight areas, then feather like 3 pixels or so, then fill this new selection with the lighter blue. This way you get the subtle airbrushed look with (in this case) only 6 colors total.

If you have the black line art on white background, I have (in the past) made a copy of that layer, set the layer blending option to "multiply", then fill your original background layer with white. Next I made a new layer that went in between your line art and your white background layer. I used this layer for all my coloring. On your black line art layer, use the magic wand trick I described above and then go to Select>Save Selection. You can then isolate him from the background any time you want.

There are a thousand different ways to color something with Photoshop, and I would HIGHLY recommend buying the DC Comics' Guide to Coloring and Lettering. They have a classic color palette the author used, and I made my own version. You have to learn the rules before you know how to break 'em!!

Ken73 · 04-07-2009, 05:59 PM

Oh and if your colors are too bright, go to Image>Mode>CMYK. RGB mode is far too bright and intense.

brian buster · 04-07-2009, 06:34 PM

wow, cool, thanks ken. i really should study photoshop more. all i really did to color this was scan the pencils in and darken the levels to resemble inks, use the paint tool for the basic colors and the burn tool for shading. i really don't know much else, but i'm learning. thanks again for all the advice.

Ken73 · 04-07-2009, 07:23 PM

no problem! there's a TON Photoshop can do (v4.0 was used on Star Trek: TNG, and we have version 7!). I also did the same trick with the leveling of the pencils! You might also try Image>Adjustments>Threshold for an instant black or white only, but it can be a bit too harsh. If you just want something you can use to beef up your coloring chops, after Threshold you can Filter>Blur>Blur More, but the best thing to use is inked line art. That DC Guide has a fantastic method for setting up your files for coloring that's similar to what I told you, but takes into account how the image will be printed later on, and how to be deliberate about the actual inks that will be used. It's been very VERY helpful to me.

and the quick color with some of thricks in that guide...

brian buster · 04-07-2009, 08:18 PM

hey, thanks again ken. i totally see what you mean. did you do that superman for an example, or is it something you already had? either way, great job.

Ken73 · 04-07-2009, 09:04 PM

It was something I already had... my life is jam-packed with coincidences, for real. I've grown used to it

04-07-2009, 01:37 PM	#1
brian buster strong style enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: bronx Posts: 404	more superman practice for some reason, my photoshop coloring ability never looks professional. this isn't finished, and i don't know how to finish it. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks for looking.

04-07-2009, 06:34 PM	#7
brian buster strong style enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: bronx Posts: 404	wow, cool, thanks ken. i really should study photoshop more. all i really did to color this was scan the pencils in and darken the levels to resemble inks, use the paint tool for the basic colors and the burn tool for shading. i really don't know much else, but i'm learning. thanks again for all the advice. Last edited by brian buster; 04-07-2009 at 07:02 PM. Reason: include picture

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04-07-2009, 04:26 PM	#2
onizuka43 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Portland Or. Posts: 722	You got an odd halo effect around superman that doesn't help look professional. Solid Blacks there would work much better. Also maybe use some brighter colors and keep them a bit flatter and not to over render them. On the drawing side of things the legs don't quite look right. Other then that though it's very dynamic and shows a lot of promise. Good work.

04-07-2009, 05:01 PM	#3
joh james Artist, Writer, Director. Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 1,136	I think you're using too much black in your colour palette. Choose colours with less black for your core. I always read that a lot from colourists over on Gutterzombie, and I've been guilty of it quite a bit in the past.

04-07-2009, 05:52 PM	#4
brian buster strong style enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: bronx Posts: 404	first of all, thanks for the crits. i get the halo thing, the background color is really not the actual backround i was planning on using for the finished product, so i didn't bother to blend it in is all. but for the legs, do they look too long? i shortened them just in case. and the blacks are a bit heavy, i'll try a deep blue on the blue part of the costume instead. the colors are muted because i brought down the saturation level because my original colors looked too bright, but maybe i went too far. thanks again.

04-07-2009, 05:57 PM	#5
Ken73 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 64	First, how to fix that "halo": Magic wand on the layer that has your black line work. Make sure "contiguous" is checked. Then go to Select>Modify>Expand, and try 2 pixels. Then go to Edit>Cut. Next issue is using black for shading. DON'T DO IT. Let the inks be black, and the colors be colors. Try using a lighter and darker version of each color (in this case, red blue yellow and flesh). And ease back on the airbrushing. What I would do is fill the blue areas with the darker blue, then use the Polygonal Lasso to select the highlight areas, then feather like 3 pixels or so, then fill this new selection with the lighter blue. This way you get the subtle airbrushed look with (in this case) only 6 colors total. If you have the black line art on white background, I have (in the past) made a copy of that layer, set the layer blending option to "multiply", then fill your original background layer with white. Next I made a new layer that went in between your line art and your white background layer. I used this layer for all my coloring. On your black line art layer, use the magic wand trick I described above and then go to Select>Save Selection. You can then isolate him from the background any time you want. There are a thousand different ways to color something with Photoshop, and I would HIGHLY recommend buying the DC Comics' Guide to Coloring and Lettering. They have a classic color palette the author used, and I made my own version. You have to learn the rules before you know how to break 'em!!

04-07-2009, 05:59 PM	#6
Ken73 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 64	Oh and if your colors are too bright, go to Image>Mode>CMYK. RGB mode is far too bright and intense.

04-07-2009, 07:23 PM	#8
Ken73 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 64	no problem! there's a TON Photoshop can do (v4.0 was used on Star Trek: TNG, and we have version 7!). I also did the same trick with the leveling of the pencils! You might also try Image>Adjustments>Threshold for an instant black or white only, but it can be a bit too harsh. If you just want something you can use to beef up your coloring chops, after Threshold you can Filter>Blur>Blur More, but the best thing to use is inked line art. That DC Guide has a fantastic method for setting up your files for coloring that's similar to what I told you, but takes into account how the image will be printed later on, and how to be deliberate about the actual inks that will be used. It's been very VERY helpful to me. and the quick color with some of thricks in that guide...

04-07-2009, 08:18 PM	#9
brian buster strong style enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: bronx Posts: 404	hey, thanks again ken. i totally see what you mean. did you do that superman for an example, or is it something you already had? either way, great job.

04-07-2009, 09:04 PM	#10
Ken73 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 64	It was something I already had... my life is jam-packed with coincidences, for real. I've grown used to it