DovahLi on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/dovahli/art/Anime-Coloring-Process-149385026DovahLi

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Anime Coloring Process

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Here's how I color/ a mini tutorial.

I use gimp 2.6.



1- lineart I don't own a working scanner so I either do lines digitally or draw on paper and take a picture of it. To get rid of the white in a lineart go to Layer>Transparencey>Color to Alpha.

2- Base colors Use the selection tool for large areas and fill with color. You will probably have to go in with the paint brush and hand color around the edges. If you don't you'll have clear pixels which can make a good picture look horrible (check out my earlier works as an example lol.) Now is a good time to figure out what kind of colors you're going to use. It also helps if you already have a background in mind. I always Lock all of my layers so I can shade and highlight them without having to select anything.

3,4,5,6-Shading First, pick a direction your light is coming from. Keep this in mind as you shade. When choosing a color to shade with, you don't have to use the exact same hue! On the dress I used a darker but slightly more purple color. Experiment! Here is a good tut for color theory [link] I use the path tool to make a selection of an area that need shading, then paint it in with the darker color. Then, blur some areas and keep others hard. Also you can use the smudge tool to lengthen some shadows.

7-Highlights When choosing your highlight color, think about what kind of light is in your picture. Don't just use white! I chose a yellow color because I wanted a sunny feeling. Again, I use the path tool to select, color, and blend. Don't go too overboard on this stage or you might :iconsparklesplz:"shiny kawaii desu":iconsparklesplz: someone's eyes out.

8-Eyes There are so many possibilities with eyes!! I can't even begin to explaing them all. But here's how I did them for this picture. I used the dodge tool to put in some light under where the pupil is "dodge>highlights". Then I used a darker color for shading on the top under the eyelid. Then, for the pupil I drew a "U" shape with the burn tool "burn>shadows."
The white highlights are drawn on a layer above the lines. Remember to put them in the direction the light is coming from. For the white part of the eyeball DON'T use pure white. I used a light gray with a slightly darker bluish gray for the shading. Here's a tutorial just dealing with eyes [link]

9-Hair strands With a small hard brush, draw in where the strands will be. You can also use the path tool if you want to be accurate.

10-Overall shading If your strands are a bit messy you can use the blur tool or gaussian blur to soften them up. Then using a large soft brush set on a low opacity shade where you need to. Remember, the head is a sphere!

11-Highlights and Smudge Again, using a small brush put in strands of lighter hair. Smude areas if you need to.

12-Moar shading! You don't have to do this but I did for a little more dramatic look. I especially paid attention to the tips of the hair.

13-Final Touches I added blush to the lips and cheeks using a large soft brush with small highlights for cuteness :3 On the hair I use the dodge tool to create a shine on the bangs.

14-Coloring the Lines Your layer must be locked to do this! You can change the colors of your lineart however you want. Some people keep them black, some always make them a certain color, others just do some lines. It all depends on your preferences!

15-Yay Complete! Put in your background and you're done. Don't you feel proud?


OK, I'm definetely not the best artist on DA but perhaps this can help someone. Maybe later on I'll make a better tut but I'm lazy right now OTL

Thanks for reading!!!
Image size
800x3458px 1.17 MB
© 2010 - 2024 DovahLi
Comments15
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Girlsrule98's avatar
you are awesome
ill never can make something like that
i even cant make a crying face