COLORING TUTORIAL
Hey you guys! This is my first tutorial. When I finished the icon I thought it was worth having a tutorial. So I DID ONE! :D
We will be going from this, to this.
Going from
to
First, we will be starting with this image I got from the fabulous Kokoru no Naka site:
2.) I duplicated the image and set it to color dodge @ 100% which looked like this:
3.) After flattening it, I cropped the image to the area I wanted to use in the icon:
4.) Then I resized it to meet LJ's icon size standards:
5.) I then made a new layer, setting it to multiply. I used a brown color (#9D5B0C) and colored in his skin to make it darker. Yes it looks funny now, but then I set that layer to 50% to make him look tan instead of like he was becoming roast. (Make sure you set it to multiply or it will not look right.)
6.) Next, I made another new layer. Now I'll be coloring his hair. I used a yellow (#EFF89F) of my choice to try to get it close to his natural blondness. This layer I set to multiply at 80%.
7.) Next I made another new layer to color his eyes to brighten them up. I used a purple (#4936BC) to my liking, setting that layer to overlay at 100%.
8.) I made one more new layer to color the sky. After trying a couple different blues, I used #97CAF9, setting that layer to color dodge at 100%.
9.) Next, you can decide whether or not you want to add a border, a stroke, a text or brush to your image.
10.) Now save it, because you're done!
NOTE: While coloring, I didn't try to do it as neat as possible, and it looks pretty neat. If you refer to my last couple steps before #9, you'll notice that I got some of the brown color in his hair. This is very easy to fix as long as you keep everything in layers.
During the icon-making process, I played around with the different blending modes to get the desired effect. You can't learn how to do everything on the first try. You have to play around. Practice makes perfect! :D
Also, I tried keep the colors to match closely to the character's colors, but I'm sure if you played around enough you can color him or anything to any color you'd like.
We will be going from this, to this.
Going from
to
First, we will be starting with this image I got from the fabulous Kokoru no Naka site:
2.) I duplicated the image and set it to color dodge @ 100% which looked like this:
3.) After flattening it, I cropped the image to the area I wanted to use in the icon:
4.) Then I resized it to meet LJ's icon size standards:
5.) I then made a new layer, setting it to multiply. I used a brown color (#9D5B0C) and colored in his skin to make it darker. Yes it looks funny now, but then I set that layer to 50% to make him look tan instead of like he was becoming roast. (Make sure you set it to multiply or it will not look right.)
6.) Next, I made another new layer. Now I'll be coloring his hair. I used a yellow (#EFF89F) of my choice to try to get it close to his natural blondness. This layer I set to multiply at 80%.
7.) Next I made another new layer to color his eyes to brighten them up. I used a purple (#4936BC) to my liking, setting that layer to overlay at 100%.
8.) I made one more new layer to color the sky. After trying a couple different blues, I used #97CAF9, setting that layer to color dodge at 100%.
9.) Next, you can decide whether or not you want to add a border, a stroke, a text or brush to your image.
10.) Now save it, because you're done!
NOTE: While coloring, I didn't try to do it as neat as possible, and it looks pretty neat. If you refer to my last couple steps before #9, you'll notice that I got some of the brown color in his hair. This is very easy to fix as long as you keep everything in layers.
During the icon-making process, I played around with the different blending modes to get the desired effect. You can't learn how to do everything on the first try. You have to play around. Practice makes perfect! :D
Also, I tried keep the colors to match closely to the character's colors, but I'm sure if you played around enough you can color him or anything to any color you'd like.