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Manual Design

This document provides instructions and recommendations for digital artists on coloring comic book artwork in Photoshop. It recommends using Photoshop versions 3 or 4 and having a lot of RAM and a fast dedicated scratch disk. It describes scanning artwork at 300 dpi, setting up layers and channels for coloring, and finalizing images by converting to CMYK and adding traps. The document stresses the importance of understanding light and color theory to properly stylize artwork.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
80 views8 pages

Manual Design

This document provides instructions and recommendations for digital artists on coloring comic book artwork in Photoshop. It recommends using Photoshop versions 3 or 4 and having a lot of RAM and a fast dedicated scratch disk. It describes scanning artwork at 300 dpi, setting up layers and channels for coloring, and finalizing images by converting to CMYK and adding traps. The document stresses the importance of understanding light and color theory to properly stylize artwork.

Uploaded by

duduisabel
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Getting Started Manual

WWW.DIGITALARTTUTORIALS.COM

ON THE CD:
On the CD-ROM youll find accompanying files so you can work along to the tutorial. In the Psds folder youll find the full layered Photoshop files for you to inspect. Also in this folder is the original line art for you to color on. In the Swatches folder youll find a sample of Brians color palette. Please refer to your Photoshop manual for installing these. Have a second hard drive as a scratch disk. NOT A PARTITION OF A SINGLE HARD DRIVE!!! And if you can keep it cleanuse it only as a Photoshop scratch diskand make sure your operating system is using your other drive. When two programs hit the same drive at the same time everything slows down And buy (again if affordable) the fastest drive you can. The higher the rpms the bettertry to avoid anything less than 7200 rpms. And if the drive you use as a scratch disk is used for other things as well then make sure you routinely defragment itI would do this weeklyusually at the end of the day when you are done workinglet whatever utility you choose run, as it takes some timeI would do a virus check as well while I was at it. If the budget is between memory and a second hard drivego with memory first.

SOFTWARE:
We use Photoshop for most of our bread and butter coloring. Most pros seem to favor versions 3 or 4. Though there are many other programs from Painter to Illusion for adding certain special touches.

HARDWARE:
COMPUTER:
LOTS OF RAM AND A FAST SCRATCH DISK

MONITORS:
I would say a resolution of 1024 by 768 is minimum. You should run at 85hz or higher to avoid eye strain. (note: this does not apply to LCD screens but to standard (thick) monitors.) If you have the luxury of a multiple monitor set up then even betterthe more screen real-estate the better. Display cardsthe faster the better. The Geforce and Radeon cards are quite good.

Chuck as much memory as your machine will take and that you can afford. Dont buy the cheapest memory as it will probably not do a good job and can even harm your machinedo you need to buy the most expensive? No. Something in the middle is fine. The minimum for professional graphics/ artwork would be 128 megs but that would be tight256 to 512 being more comfortable.

SCANNING:
Most comic originals are drawn on 11 x 17 inch boards and are scanned at 300 dpi.

GETTING GOOD SCANS:


To get the best scans, scan in grayscale or color NOT IN LINE ART MODE then convert to grey (if necessary). Then use levels to adjust the scan until it is a crisp mostly black and white with little grey. You may have to use the dodge and burn tools to darken or lighten parts of the image in order to make it truly acceptable. Then threshold the line so as to make it truly only black and white with no grey. Or convert to bitmap using 50% threshold in the conversion settings* *note: this is for traditional comicsin some cases it is okay to leave a grey or anti-aliased line.

COLORING SET UP:


Dont color at 300 dpi at 11 X 17 inches! It is over kill and will not be reproduced in a comic that is printed at only 6.625 x 10.187 inches and about 120 line screen. To make the coloring go faster we usually color on a proxy of the line art that is 150 dpi at 11 x 17 inches. So take your original scan and reduce it in size but dont save over the original, instead save as and rename the reduced resolution maybe adding a c to the file name for color. You need to keep your original high resolution scan for compositing later (VERY IMPORTANT).

FLATS:
Most colorists will lay in flat unmodeled color on a page to start. Then once all the areas (flesh, costume, background) are filled copy the colors to a channelthey will become grey-scale but will be great for quick magic wand selections later. And keep them around for quick and easy selections should changes be needed later.
NOTE: TAKE ANTIALIASING OFF OF ALL TOOLS AND REMOVE FEATHERING. IF YOU DONT AND YOU MAGIC WAND THINGS YOULL GET HALOS.

COLORING:
Most will select each area i.e. A characters face and begin to airbrush or use the grad tool. But experiment and find what tools work best for you. Once the color is finished depending on whether you used layers or channels will determine how you proceed.

COLORING IN LAYERS OR CHANNELS:


If you use Photoshop 4 or higher I recommend using layers with the base layer being your color and the next layer being your proxy line art. The line art layer should be in multiply mode. For coloring in channelsyour base image will be your color then place your line art in a new channel with copy and paste. In channel options make the channel black at 100%. Have the eye on the line art channel but your RGB channels selected so as to have your line art there as a guide but you are only really affecting the color.

FINALIZING YOUR IMAGE:


LAYERS:
Image size your picture back to your original scan size. Replace your proxy line art with the original clean scan. Flatten layers. Then cover to CYMK mode. Then trap using a setting of .5 points. You are done.

CHANNELS:
Image size your picture back to your original scan size. Replace your proxy line art with the original clean scan. With the RGB channels selected under the Image menu select APPLY IMAGE. Use the channel your line art is in and apply it in MULTIPLY mode at 100%. Then convert to CYMK mode. Then trap using a setting of .5 points. You are done.

RGB VS CYMK:
The simple reason I use RGB mode is for the screen layer special effects. To make a special effects layer create a new layer (it should be the top most layerusually). Fill the layer with blackthen you will panic for a moment because you cannot see your image anymore. Its okay. Switch the layer to SCREEN mode and the black becomes totally transparent. You can then apply glows, power, and other special effects by painting in that layer. Experiment but usually bright and saturated colors work the best*.
*NOTE: IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT IF YOU *NOTE: THE ART OF COLOR CONVERSION IS SUBTLE AND DIFFICULT TO MASTERTHE ABOVE IS THE MOST BARE BONES OF DIRECTION FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO TAKE WORK TO PRINTTHERE ARE MANY MUCH LONGER WINDED VERSIONS AND MORE THOROUGH EXAMPLES YOU CAN FIND ON THE INTERNETTHIS WAS INTENDED AS A BASIC RULE OF THUMB.

Here is my CMYK conversion set up: MONITOR: 1.7 GAMMA 6500K TRINITRON AMBIENT LIGHT: LOW PRINTING INK SET UP: SWOP COATED (for cover stock and glossy very nice interior stock ie: what SPAWN is printed on) SWOP UNCOATED (for most comics ie: most of the DC and Marvel line)

COLOR IN RGB THAT YOU HAVE CMYK PREVIEW ON (OR PROOF COLORS IN HIGHER NUMBERED PHOTOSHOPS. IF YOU DONT THE COLORS YOU WORK WITH WILL VERY LIKELY NOT BE THE COLORS YOU GET WHEN YOU CONVERT TO CMYK AS THE GAMUT FOR RGB CAN GO OUTSIDE THE RANGE OF PRINTABLE CMYK COLORS.

SEPARATION SET UP:


UCR INK LIMIT WILL DEPEND ON YOUR PRINTING PAPER STOCKCOVERS CAN GO AS HIGH AS 300 PER CENT COLOR FOR INTERIORS 240-260 IS A GOOD RULE OF THUMB. In both cases keep your black ink at 100.

STYLES:
There are many different techniques used to color. I think the work being colored should dictate the style it is colored in. The color should seek to accentuate the line art. Completing itnot overwhelming it (unless the line art is really bad and has to be overwhelmed). FLAT COLOR MIXED MEDIA How comics have been done for decades. Most comics people have grown up with are done this way with flat areas of color with no shading or highlights. Some modern masters prefer to have there work colored this way. Mike Mignola on Hellboy is one such example. Coloring this way is little more work than flats. CUT/FRISKET AIRBRUSH STYLE The coloring style that is most commonly done in U.S. comics. The style is based on the work Steve Oliff pioneered using the Codd Barrett coloring systema vector based comic coloring system (now defunct). ANIME STYLE I think the term Anime more accurately describes this style than manga as manga books are mostly printed in black and white. The style strives to match the look A mix of hand work done outside the computer and computer work. Samples of each style. of a high end animated cel often going as far as to have painted background work. PAINTED STYLE When the coloring more closely resembles traditional mediafrom oils to watercolors.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHILE COLORING


Think like a cinematographerset up light sources in your head. Remember the visual cues to reality. Warm light cool shadowand visa versa. Try to avoid tinting colors with white.look at a coke canthe highlights, other than those that are reflections are not pink. Proper stylization can only come once there is an understanding of what makes something work in reality. Contrast pushes things forward Warm colors push things forward I realize this is all too brief but it should get you started on the right pathor totally confuse you. GOOD LUCK! Brian Haberlin.

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