Coloring traditional art in Photoshop by Yaoi-World on DeviantArt (original) (raw)
I'm gonna show you artsu jitsu 
But ye, I thought that since my computer cannot handle making videos when I use photoshop (I need some serious update of my devices, I'm prehistoric OTL) I can make some step by step instead and just show you more or less how my coloring process look. Right now I use few different coloring methods, developed in years of practice and despite their differences, they all have in common using different layer blending modes (you can google this stuff)
Please keep it mind that it only shows the way I do my stuff, it doesn't mean it's idk super correct or that there isn't any easier/better/more pro way of do the things I do. My technique is meant to be comfortable and familiar to me and I just thought that this step by step may, but doesn't have to, be interesting or helpful thing for you too.
(1) All of my lines are made on paper, with pencil, I scan them, I put it in Photoshop, clean it up, fix contrast and I'm ready to go.
(2) The sketch is on separate layer set on Multiply, so when I start to color the layer beneath it, the sketch layer doesn't cover it.
(3) I make layers clipped to the grey mask (Normal) I made in previous step, so shadows (Multiply) and highlights (Overlay) stay only in the grey area only.
(4) I made a new layer (normal) over the sketch layer and I added white highlights and details
(5) I put all the stuff I did so far into a group (except background) and clipped to it a new layer (Overlay, but sometimes it's Multiply depending of my needs) to color these guys, but since most of the stuff on them is black, lots of stuff stayed basically the same LOL
(6) Now, the picture looks boring as f*ck so I start to adjust colors by Color Balance and Selective Color layers above all the rest
(7) More color adjustments + textures
(8) EVEN MORE COLOR ADJUSTMENTS AND MORE TEXTURES AND GRADIENTS AND LIGHT EFFECTS AND SOMEONE PLZ STOP ME tadah! it's finished.
The picture I used is commission art for Sanutamar and you can find it here: