#tho theyre only black and white so i can keep the layers straight

[weregreatatcrime]

I think I like doing nightly sketches for my recent hyperfixations. Nailing down an outfit for Karai helps

[magesup]

Oh also do you have any good tips for colouring? I've only just started doing digital from traditional and find colouring a lil tricky. Thank you so much! And I hope your week is going well ❤☀️

it took me a long time to get a good grasp on coloring/shading so i feel you on that one anon :,0 (also i talked a lot about shading i dont know if thats what you meant by “coloring” or if you just meant learning how to choose colors ahaha)

i think the first thing to keep in mind is do not be afraid to test and experiment different types of shading, like rendering or cell shading. only then will you be able to identify which way of shading you like or suits you best

and this is my number one piece of advice for anyone who asks about color

✨ use overlay/multiplay layers ✨

they literally saved my life i dont know what i wouldve done if i never discovered them TOT they really help unify the colors and just make everything look more colorful and cohesive. i like to use a warm yellow/orange on my overlay/multiply layers on like 10%-20% opacity. please be wary on overusing them tho. sometimes if you use them too much your art will look deep fried TOT

my list got too long so click under the cut if you want to read some rendering tips or just random tips in general ;-;

random tips 

i would say determine a light source but i dont really think about that when i color so use it if you want ahaha :D as long as it looks good do whatever >:D!!!

try to observe how shadows work in real life. watch people and objects and see how shadows and light interact with them and itll help you when you go on to shade

really only hair needs to have highlight colors, not skin or clothes, they dont really reflect light (unless you wanna give off a shiny sheen to them its all up to you :0)

i advise against using the airbrush tool. it ends up making your coloring look watery and muddled :((( maybe starting off with cell shading would be a good, to get you more familiar with digital and then you can use the blending brushes. of course you are welcome to go out of order, never forget experimentation is also important :O!!!

try using complementary colors, it adds some spice and contrast >:D

for selecting colors, i like to choose a color with a slightly different hue, darker, and more saturated than the base color. for example, im coloring an orange so i would choose a reddish darker orange to shade it

try using pure white/black to give more contrast to your colors!! rim lighting always spices up your art >:D although i do think when using pure white and black it is best to use a more solid brush instead of a blendy brush

and i feel like cell shading is straight forward but i do have some tips for rendering (i dont do this a lot so take these with a grain of salt ahaha)

1. you should be careful if you want to do rendering especially when youre starting out. there is such a thing as overworking a piece TOT a lot of times in rendering you can go overboard and all the colors and details become too muddled you dont even know what youre looking at anymore ;-; its sad but true. i think its important to know where is a good place to stop

2. i like to add shade/highlight colors onto a different layer from the base color layer, and then adjust the hue/value until i like it. then i merge the layers together and blend all the colors one layer. personally its a lot easier to blend colors when theyre all on one layer

3. keep copies of layers just in case you mess up! you can never be too careful. sometimes your shading comes out wonky and you want to reset but you didnt save an extra copy of the layer you were working on. its in these cases where copies come in handy TOT

and i think thats it! i know this answer was super long, but i hope you found something useful in here :,D just like anything with art, a lot of it comes up to trial and error. but try not to think too much about nailing it in the beginning. just have fun! if you have fun while doing it, everything will come more easier to you :,)