#please excuse any typos my brain is fizzing out!!!! but i loved this ask!!

[evidenceof]

how do you do the coloring in your gifs? it's so pretty 🥰

this is such a huge compliment. thank you!! i'm glad you think so, considering this is my first whack at ~seriously doing it. coloring is my favorite step! i’ll be as helpful as i can, but if you find any of the tips too vague, feel free to dm me!

we’ll be using this webgott gif set you indicated as the guide! here are the before and after samples of the gifs so you see what we'll be tryna achieve from base to final frames:

for the steps, ill go over several things: a. Why I do this step: a.k.a. what i’m trying to achieve with each adjustment layer b. How I do this step: how i personally adjust the settings c. Before and after samples of the colors so you can see the progress after each of my steps

onward

this is my first time typing down a tutorial so please be kind. i am (very) new to all of this and most of what i learned, i’ve learned from reading a bunch of tutorials on here (that i’ll credit down below), and watching too many youtube videos on color adjusting digital images, and coloring old wwii photographs.

this answer will be focused on just how i personally color, but i’ve linked some guides for creating base gifs that i also studied.

! before anything else !

i use photoshop to create and color my gifs and mpv to capture my screencaps from my files. also this ISN’T the ONLY WAY and the BEST WAY to color. this is just how i personally go mad on photoshop. <3 

Coloring tutorials that have been super helpful in getting me on track:

dicom gifs - not technically a coloring tutorial, but this is how i import my scripts on to photoshop.the process feels smoother for me (no need to reverse the frames etc. and the resolution always looks and feels better when i'm done with them)

general coloring + hi res gifs - great place to start with tips on what files to use for maximum crispness

masking layers -  for when you only want to apply an adjustment layer to a specific part of your gif, great for skin tones!

STEP ZERO: know what you like

This sounds very “ok captain obvious” but i do think it’s such a vital part of the process. the technical stuff gets very tedious, very quickly. and if you don’t know what colors draw you in, what colors you’re trying to lift and see in your gifs, you’re going to be tinkering around with the settings for longer than you’d like. so have references ready, if that’s your jam.

and with that, i'd like to show you some examples of colors that i gravitate towards that greatly influence how i color my gifs. i'm a huge 40s technicolor girl, 35mm 60s film girl (see ernst lubitsch, powell and pressberger, jacques rivette, agnes varda). and because i’m coloring a piece of media set in WWII, 1940s, i like studying the colored photographs (think winnix chair photo in color).

so am always looking to punch up my reds and greens, deepen and add browns, saturate skin tones so there's warmth there, while grays/shadows tend to veer towards a cooler tone. 

sorry for the thick paragraphs under this but i think it’s very crucial! once you’ve got that down pat, or at least have some handy references with you, it’ll be less of a pain to go through the next steps.

My process/sequence of adjustment layers

Base DICOM Script → Curves → Levels (optional for me) → Color Balance →  Color Fill Layer → Hue and Saturation → Selective Color

What that looks like on Photoshop:

STEP 1: DICOM BASE SCRIPT

Why I do this step: These are your frames! This is also the part where you adjust the sharpness of the gif so you don’t get a blurry image after cropping it down to tumblr dimensions.

How I do this step: I use actions for my DICOM script. I used to do it manually but now I use this Good Good Action Scripts by Redbelles. Cuts down the time, arranges them in the timeline for me. And as I’ve mentioned, it just feels better for me.

If you’re using pngs/screencaps as your base script, you can follow the instructions here instead.

This is also the part where you can adjust you can play back the gif and see if you’re happy with the positioning of your crop. Your timeline will look something like this.

STEP 2: CURVES LAYER 

Why I do this step: i’m concerned with getting what i just label as "true color." you'll notice that with band of brothers especially, the more you look at the scenes, the more you'll just how a) yellow the daylight scenes are, b) how blue gray and nothing else the darker scenes are, c) the lighting can get muddy. 

personally, when I adjust curves, my goal is to try to get the image as neutral as possible, which then allows me to inject as much color as you see fit. So think of it as eliminating as much of the coloring the editors of the show placed into the scene, so that you end up what is essentially a blank canvas.

How I adjust my Curves Layer: I pick the high, mid, and low lights of the scene. This video goes into that in depth. But you can also just choose the auto options if you’re just, like me, concerned with getting the image as neutral as possible. For a while I did in manually to understand what it was meant to do. But if you want to do it easily do the following steps.

> Auto adjust - by clicking the hamburger icon/ the three lines on top.

> You can choose between “Enhance per Channel Contrast” or “Find Dark or Light Colors”. Make you you tick on the “Snap Channel Midtones” to get the most neutral image. The tool bar should look like this:

Let’s compare the frames with and without the Curve adjustment layer:

Great! We’ve gotten rid of some of the darker overlays on both their faces, see more contrast between the foreground and the background. This gives us a better base image to color in for the next steps.

STEP 3: COLOR BALANCE LAYER

Why I do this step: To me this is like underpainting but not really? It feels like that though.What it helps me do is to adjust the hue/dominant colors of the highlights, midpoints, and shadows. so let's say even at it's most "neutral" state, I still find the image too yellow or too red. At this point of the process, I’ll add more cyan. if i want the yellow to adjust into an orange/brown area, I add in a bit more magenta and adjust the greens. it's here where i decide if i want the shadows to lean more towards a cooler tone or a warmer tone. It helps you make these crucial adjustments before you go in with the Hue and Saturation layer. (This is where you knowing what colors you like, comes in immediately!)

How I do this Step:

> Add a Color Balance Layer

> Adjust the three points: I’ll exaggerate the Color Balance adjustment so you can see what points are being targeted by each hue adjustment and where you can add those colors under this step. The tones do bleed into each other, so adjust sparingly if you’re not going for a complete wash of color.

Midtones: Let’s you adjust the “middle” areas, i.e. some of the biggest chunks of the frame. See Web’s entire face, the gray wall in the back ground, his ODs

Shadows: Let’s you adjust the darkest parts of the frame. See his hair, the barrel of the M1, the darkest parts of his glove. 

Highlights: Let’s you adjust the colors of the the brightest parts of the photo. For this frame it’s Web’s forehead, and the very tips of his fingers.

Let’s compare the frames: With the Curve adjustment vs. Adding the Color Balance

You’ll notice that I’ve only nudged the tones a little bit here. The accompanying gif (Liebgott’s) has greener overtones, and I wanted to balance some of that hue in this set. 

Highlights: Wanted more brown tones. Nudged the arrows to add more red, green and justtt a small bit of blue.

Midtones: Nudged the arrows to have a touch more red and a touch more yellow to make the skin tone lean to a warmer hue.

Shadows: Needed this to be cooler so I nudged the arrows to give it a bit more Cyan, while still adding just a hint of yellow. Together they make the image a tinge more green.

Once I’m happy with this, I move on to the next step. You can go back to this step, of course! If you want to make adjustments after you’ve applied the next layers. <3 

STEP 4: LEVELS LAYER

Why I do this step: I use this in place of a Brightness and Contrast layer or Exposure Layer. This is where I reintroduce shadows and points of light. Here I can choose to add a bit more depth, or to reveal more of the shadowed points of the image. I don’t always move this around, and this is an optional step for me, but I did it for this gif set.

How I do this Step:

> Add Levels layer

> Adjust midpoint arrow to the right or left - this can lift any shadows if you move it towards the left, and deepen any shadows if you move it towards the right.

> Adjust the highlights arrow to the right - Optional as well. If you want to introduce/emphasize the brightness in the image, make the high points even whiter, you can slide this more to the left.

> ****I don’t adjust the bottom slider. This adds a “fade” into your image. If you want lesser contrast, and more of that flat quality, you can move this around but I barely touch this.

Let’s compare the frames: With previous adjustments vs. Adding the Levels Layer

Here, I deepened the contrast and shadows, I wanted more black in Web’s hair, and to give more depth to his ODs and gloves. The shadows also help define their features more prominently, better outline for both their eyes and nose. For Lieb, I lifted the shadows a bit to show more of his face, and see more of the redness of his lips that I love.

STEP 4: HUE AND SATURATION LAYER

Why I do this step: You’ve prepped your canvas! This is where everything’s sort of breathed into life. Spoiler alert, if you’re coloring Band of Brothers specifically, you’ll be moving the red and yellow a LOT, and rarely any of the other color layers since they are… non-existent in most frames. Here is where I give the skin more color, differentiate the shades of olive and green that’s prominent given that they’re soldiers. This is also where you’ll see the blue/green eyes pop out if the frame permits (Web, Winters, Bull, and Randleman’s eyes tend to reveal some blues and greens every now and then!)

Hue Area: Mixes your chosen color and adds more magenta or yellow.

Saturation Area: Dulls or Saturates said hues. 

If you move your arrow towards the extreme left, you get a dull green, if you move it to the right, you get highlighter green.

How I do this Step:

> Add Hue and Saturation Layer

> Open the drop down - I try not to move the ‘Master’ area because it washes the entire gif with hue and color. I’m only targeting specific areas and colors.

> Adjust Reds - I tend to make my reds lean more towards magenta. To do this I drag the arrow towards the left and inject some more magenta into the mix, not too much that they look sunburnt (though sometimes that’s inevitable. I’ll show you how to fix it later on!). I saturate the red a lot. As I’ve said, I love red lmfao. So I want that to be lifted in the image.

> Adjust Yellows - I also want my yellows to be a bit more orange in darker scenes where they’re seen mostly on skin. So I move the arrow again to the left.

> Adjust Greens - There’s green here huzzah! I wanted to lift the color a bit more from his uniform, make it more olive than a dark gray/brown, so I added more yellow by moving the arrow to the right and upping the saturation.

*Tip: If you’re unsure about which color you’re adjusting, you can take the dropper tool on the screenshot, click on the area of the frame you want to fix up, and it will register the prominent color.

Let’s compare the frames: With previous adjustments vs. Adding the Hue and Saturation Layer:

You’ll notice there’s a lot more pink on their faces, some reds on Web's fingertips, and a brighter, more prominent red on Lieb's lips. The color of their ODs is a bit more true to its name of olive drab now! The contrast of the added color to Web's skin also makes his eye color pop out more. Their skin looks alive! Yay!

STEP 5: SELECTIVE COLOR LAYER

Why I do this step: I think of this as finishing touches. Sometimes I find that I want to adjust the reds, yellows, etc. more specifically and I can mix in more color to get it to the exact tone I want. This is where I can do that. Selective color lets you add or remove more cyan, magenta, and yellow tones from your hues.

How I do this Step:

> Add Selective Color Layer

> Open the drop down and choose which hue you’ll be adjusting

> Adjust the colors accordingly- I don’t use it in this specific gif, so here’s a different one of Harry in Carentan. I adjusted the reds and yellows to have more cyan (moving arrow to on the Cyan scale to the left), making the red more purple, and the yellow more green. It’s VERRRY subtle, but it matters greatly to me lmfao. 

STEP 6: COLOR FILL LAYER

Why I do this step:  I really... love browns and warmer skin tones, even if they're right smack in the middle of Bastogne (lawl sorry!!!!!). band of brother's footage in particular, if i only adjust the skin tone at the hue and saturation level, there will be parts of the skin that register as white or gray (i.e. technically not hues) and not "red" or "yellow", what that means is, even if you adjust the saturation and hue and amp it up to the highest level those patches of white and gray will remain white and gray and you'll be left with patchy soldier skin. sure, it's realistic but i want warm skin! 

How I do this step:

> Add Color Fill Layer: Click the Circle symbol that's half white, half black. Select "Solid Color"

> Choose a color: I gravitate towards a light brown or a light orange. Click okay and don’t panic when your entire image is covered by a solid block of color.

> Play with Blend Mode and Opacity: I usually use Linear/Color Burn which allows me to see warmer colors overall but especially, and most importantly for me, their skin. The end result is giving them the TINIEST bit of a tan but also introducing more natural color against the grays and whites that register. Less patchy skin on you WWII vet!

You can tinker with the opacity and blend modes to see which looks best for you.

Let’s go back to Web and compare the frames: With previous adjustments vs. Adding the Color Fill Layer:

Tada!

Now all that's left is to transform them back into frames on the Timeline (see linked tutorials above!) and save.

And that’s more or less how I color my gifs! I tinker a lot with the layers after. Sometimes you need to see it all together and then make the adjustments after. I do more of some steps, and less of some depending on the frames and the scenes.

Having a good grasp of color language helps a lot and it’s something you do end up learning while making gifs or just looking at images/media whose colors call to you.

Sort of as an end note/exercise, you can see what it is about the color and lighting of The Pacific that draws you in, and amplify that in your gifs. Perhaps you’re drawn to the orange of the sun, or the bright almost jewel green of the tropical foliage. Maybe you’re really into the browns and the dusty scenes. It all helps you pick out what you want to ramp up and tone down in the colors.

I hope this was… even a tiny bit helpful. Again, feel free to DM me or hit me up on Discord if you want some clarifications/if you need help WHILE you’re making the gifs. Happy to help! <3