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Step 3 - Colouring it in!
Right then, now you've reached the fun part! Colouring it in! Save your
lineart (the last thing you want is for all of your work to go to waste
because of a "coincidental" crash or something), then lock the layer's
transparency. To do this, click the polkadot icon just above the layer
thumbnails ( ).
You'll find out why later on. Next, go to Image > Mode and select
RGB colour (you're still in Greyscale, remember?). That makes the image
ready to accept colour.
Again, it would be a good idea to grab some reference pics. A great way of
cheating when it comes to colour (especially on official Sonic characters)
is to use the EyeDropper Tool to pick up the colours used by the official artists. Anyway, since I've
already drawn a pic of CK in this style, that will be my reference.
Obviously you'll have your own idea of colour scheme with your own
characters.
So. Start off by grabbing your first colour. By personal preference, I
ALWAYS create a new layer for each colour I use. That way, there is room for
error, and you aren't likely to screw up a drawing completely if you cock up
while painting on a single layer. Of course you can use a method you're
comfortable with.
So, create a new layer underneath your lineart and colour in the areas you
want with the Pencil Tool, or Brush Tool. Any mistakes? Use the Magic Eraser Tool to clean up any "going out of the lines" disasters. It's a
LIFESAVER. A word of advice though, try not to be lazy and overuse it. Try
to keep inside the lines as much as possible. Continuously using the Magic Eraser Tool can affect the quality of your line art, as well as cause some very
unwelcome blobs of unwanted colour in certain places when you come to shade.
Voila!
Now as said, I use a new layer for each colour. To use this effectively, you
have to think 3D. Basically put the layers in an order that goes from top to
bottom. For example, CK's hair is above his muzzle/spikes, therefore create
the layer above them. CK's pants are above his shoes, so create the pants
layer above his shoes layer, etc etc.
Another reason to think in 3D can actually be quite beneficial. For example,
look at CK's cap. In 3D terms, it's behind his hair and his spikes, so as a
result, you'll be creating the cap layer behind them. This means you can
afford to be super lazy, and actually colour outside the lines as much as
you need to - the cap colours won't seep into the spike or hair colours, cos
it's underneath it. This saves a lot of time, if used correctly. If you are
unsure in any way about it, I wouldn't recommend trying. That method is
simply down to good organisation of layers, really. As a rule of thumb
though, always put white layers at the very top, simply because that way, it
will be less prone to getting "dirty" if any colours seep into it. It saves
you a lot of trouble.
Anyway, repeat the colouring process until your base colours are down. You
also need to note the nose is not a true black; it's a dark grey, and an
even darker grey shading. The Sonic Team style very rarely has true black as
a colour. Open up a piece of Shadow art, for example. You'll notice that
even though he is meant to be black, the art style contains a VERY dark
grey. Anyhoo, you'll end up with something like this:
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