Coloring question :I

[dacara]

Hello there!
I've been playing around with ren'py for a while (with meager results ) but any project kinda crushed and burned when it came to illustrations (bg/ sprites). I'm not very talented when it comes to drawing (and downright awful when it comes to coloring) but this time I decided to soldier it on and have been working on few sprites for quite a long time... And I have problem with coloring (surprise...)

At the beginning I tried going for this 'rendered' look (with few colors in shading etc) and it looked... decent. But then I found some nice sprites with very simple shading that looked more anime'ish but were very cool.
This is the first ver:

And the 2nd ver (shirt somehow changed color):


I'm not going to ask about art critique (I know I have to still work on it) but I'd like your opinions on the colors. Which one looks 'better' etc. And ask how do you choose colors and shade colors that go well together.

Cheers, Dacara

[Didules]

I'd like your opinions on the colors. Which one looks 'better' etc. And ask how do you choose colors and shade colors that go well together.

The first one issort of "heavy", it'snot thatnice to look at. The colors don't always go well together. But you tried to use many colors and it can't be a bad thing.
The second one is brighter and much more nice to look at! The colors you've chosen are more simple though. But if you were to use this sprite in a VN, it would probably be better.

To choose colors you want to use (according that you don't have any color you must use), there are several way to do.
You can use complementary colors.
If you want to try something else easier, there are some websites where you can just use a palette of colors.

As for the shades.... picking a darker color has always been my way of doing things (although for the skin I tend to try a darker and a bit redder color).

Have a good day!

[dacara]

Ok, thanks a lot for both your fast reply and helpful advice

[MaiMai]

I prefer the second sprite, if only because a blue and white shirt seems palpable than two clashing colors on that are opposite on the color wheel. (Sometimes it works, but it really depends on the style of clothing.)

Something I'd avoid doing is using straight up black to describe "black" clothing and hair. In both sprites, the black undershirt and the black hair are extremely flat. In reality, unless you dye it, there's not really black hair, the darkest shade is still called brunette. Point is, light will reflect off dark hair revealing different hues and pigments you might not have thought about before.

Same goes for black clothing. The sleeve on your sprite really flattens out everything because there's no shading to describe folds; it's all one big flat shape.

Goth by rosuuri is a good demonstration on how to color dark hair and dark clothing without losing details. In the image, you'll see that there are bits of pinks, purples, and blues. There's even some green in the shoes if you look closely. Only the darkest areas that isn't being hit by light is really black.

Hope that helps.

[dacara]

Hello! Thanks for the advice. So it should look like this? Is it better?

I made a whole set


Cheers,
Dacara

[MaiMai]

Yeah, I'd say that's better. Keep practicing coloring and you'll be able to refine your shading techniques.

(One more thing, the shading on your nose is too light, I think you might as well make a few lines to describe the nose since the shading won't hold up)

[dacara]

Yeah, I'd say that's better. Keep practicing coloring and you'll be able to refine your shading techniques.

(One more thing, the shading on your nose is too light, I think you might as well make a few lines to describe the nose since the shading won't hold up)

Ok, so I tried to add more definition to the nose and I have to say I think it looks better this way:




Thx for the advice.

[MaiMai]

Actually, I don't think it really works. You painted a nose that's at a full frontal profile even though your sprite is turned a few degrees to our right. Not to mention, you're rendering a more naturalistic nose that clashes with the anime/manga style you've drawn. It's too soft and the lines overwhelm the details you put into it, making it seem inconsistent stylistically.

This seems to be a drawing issue as opposed to a coloring one, so I apologize, but I do wish to address it. I drew a redline on the face to show you what I mean by the positioning not looking right.

[chocojax]

Didules and MaiMai already addressed it, but I'll add on a few more things!

An important thing to keep in mind while coloring is contrast! Most drawings look pretty dull/boring if there's too little contrast. (Although some are exempt, like soft and cute drawings, I suppose?)

Try to have a good amount of light/mid-tone/darks. (The partitions can change depending on what color/material the thing is.) Highlights used sparingly, or a lot, also depending on what sort of material it is. (Same for shadow/darks as well.) A way to check for levels of contrast is to make your drawing into greyscale, or using the levels tool on PS.

Like above, don't stay in the same hue! Move around a bit to make it more exciting. It's also like this in real life, and shades of color depend on the object's surroundings, so observe a lot!

[dacara]

Actually, I don't think it really works. You painted a nose that's at a full frontal profile even though your sprite is turned a few degrees to our right. Not to mention, you're rendering a more naturalistic nose that clashes with the anime/manga style you've drawn. It's too soft and the lines overwhelm the details you put into it, making it seem inconsistent stylistically.

This seems to be a drawing issue as opposed to a coloring one, so I apologize, but I do wish to address it. I drew a redline on the face to show you what I mean by the positioning not looking right.

So something more like this? :



And @chocojax thank you for your advice!

[DerWanderer]

hmm.. I want to comment too but the pics aren't showing

[Asceai]

hmm.. I want to comment too but the pics aren't showing

I don't know where you live but imgur is apparently blocked in some places.

I screenshot the entire thread here (too lazy to upload individual images, sorry)

[Akitsuki]

Sometimes I feel that my coloring sucks too. But seriously, if you want to get better, you just need to practice. You can try variations of coloring styles by searching for the tutorials. Google and deviantART have tons of them. You can search on tumblr too. Once you find a coloring style that you like, you can start practicing. But hey, doing something new is not gonna hurt, right?

If you're looking for an easy yet nice looking coloring style, I'll say you have to try cell-shading. It's basically the one they mostly use in anime. I don't know if it'll fit your taste because I see you use soft-shading for the coloring. But cell-shading is worth a try. It looks simple but if you put the shading right, it'll look neatly beautiful.

Getting some references for poses and head perspectives also helps you to draw. They'll help a lot and I suggest you to at least look for those from time to time. Keep the spirit!