10
Colour flats
Here I separate all the main forms. I do this so that
when I come to render the colours I can refer back to
these shapes for clean selections. The colours aren’t
important at this point – you’re just separating different
objects, parts of characters etc. When doing flats it’s
important to ensure that all of the tools you use – wand,
bucket, pens etc – have their anti-aliasing turned off. This
will mean you get clean selections later on.
14
Bump up some shadows
Panel 1 looks a bit flat – I need to separate out the planes a bit.
You should always try to break things up into foreground, middle and
background. To focus on the two figures in the mid-ground, I darken
down the foreground. I make a selection around the bits I want, create
a new layer, airbrush in some green and set the layer to Multiply. You
can also tweak the shadow colour using hue/saturation/brightness.13
FX Screen layer
I create a new layer on top of the line work and set it to Screen
mode. Using a bright saturated colour I can now pick out some glow
effects. I’ve use it sparingly as I don’t want it to overpower the image.
I’m trying to replicate a kind of sketchbook look, so strictly speaking I
shouldn’t be using it, but I just can’t resist – it always looks cool when
you add a bit of a glow to a strip light or some kind of future tech!
11
Colouring
I’m trying to replicate a watercolour/marker feel
in this strip, so rather than render on to my flats, I’m going
to hide them by filling the rendering layer with white (the
wand will still work as mentioned in my pro secrets on the
previous page). I start off with some low-opacity gradient
fills, then gradually work in more details and refinement
with my marker brush. As with drawing, I start off loose
and big and gradually go in and refine the details.12
Texture Overlay layer
I add a paper texture over the colouring layer – this really helps give a more
natural-media look to everything. I import the texture and set that layer to Overlay
blending mode. I also mess about with the hue/saturation/brightness till the layer
gives the desired effect. You can find tons of textures online but it can be good to
make your own. A page of watercolour paper with a good tooth and some very
abstract washes with inks and watercolour can make some great textures.
PRO SECRETS
REFINING
Refining your drawing
may take a few goes.
If I’m not happy with
the first attempt over
the rough pencils, I’ll
convert that to blue
and work over it
again. What can
also happen is that
sometimes you’ll lose
the energy of the
initial stages. This, for
me, is where digital
comes into its own- you can just pick
and choose good bits
and re-paste them in.
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