graphitiaru | TUTORIAL

TUTORIAL TO THE SECOND

COLORED ICONS

NUMBER ONE clean your icons, you can see the levelling stuff over here and I basically do that to all my icons.

Then I unlock the layer (though, if I've pasted the image from onemanga I don't need to do this step) but double clicking the layer in the layer tab. And then say 'yes'. I have an action that lets me create a lot of layers at once, but you can also just do it by hand. I usually make about 10 layers or so to start with.

Then I set up my layers. My lines layer (the one with the actual image) I set to 'multiple' and the layer above I set to 'screen'.

And then I set my topmost layer (the one I just set to screen) as a 'clipping mask'. A clipping mask is the most useful thing ever and I abuse it as much as possible. Basically it makes it so that the layer will only color on what was colored below it (NIFTY RIGHTO). And you can do that by right clicking the layer and selecting 'clipping' mask or using cmd+alt+g on a mac.

Now you go to the layer directly under your line layer and start coloring. Some people do more than one color per layer, but I tend to be a layer maniac and do one colored item per layer. So I'll do hair on one layer, shirts on another, skin on another, etc.

HAIR:

BASE COLOR

Color all of the hair that color!

SHADOW

Do a CLIPPING MASK over the hair layer and then color in with darkness where you think there should be shadows. I know nothing about art so I just kind of put them places :X I usually do a color that's just a bit down and to the right of the base color on my color palette (but in the case of someone like Kougaiji I'll use a different color entirely to try and give his hair some different colors in it)

Then go up to 'filter' and go down to 'gaussian blur'.

And blur! I usually use around 2 or 3 pixels, but if the person in the icon is small I'll use smaller. You can merge the base and shadow layer by right clicking on the ctrl (cmd) clicking on the two layers to select them and then right clicking and selecting 'merge layers'. Or you can leave them as is.

HIGHLIGHT
Do another CLIPPING MASK over the base color and select a lighter color from your palette. Go over the parts where you think the light would have made the hair brighter. Again lol I suck at art so I just kind of put them where my brain thinks they would go.

Make this layer a 'hard light' layer and then repeat the gaussian blur from the SHADOW part.

Hair is done o/

Next is SKIN which is basically the same concept. Color a base layer, slap a clipping mask over it for shadow, blur and voila! (I usually don't do highlights for skin, but you certainly can!).

Clothes can also be done the same way!

And for things like the whites of eyes and pinks of mouths -- just put a layer above your skin layer and fill in the colors as needed!

CHEATING ON HAIR
For a couple characters like

Byakuran here, I didn't even bother with the shading. I colored his hair and then selected a darker color from the my palette. I made a clipping mask and then used the 'gradient' tool starting at the bottom of the icon and going about 3/4 of the way across. It gives the illusion of shading without the actual drawing. I use this technique for a lot of random stuff when I'm lazy d>:

I use this a lot with metals and/headbands and stuff too.

TEXTURE

COLOR THE THING YOU WANT A BASE COLOR and then slap a clipping mask on it!

Now, go to your paintbucket and select 'pattern' up there. Select the pattern that is appropriate (I usually use weaves for clothes and such) and then click the clipping mask layer. It'll look all funny, it's okay, then slide down the opacity until you have the desired texture!

I use this for clothe, mainly, but it can be used for a lot of random stuff :D Like Goku's shirt in

this icon.

SCREEN

Okay I've mostly colored everything in:

Now comes the screen layer I made in the very beginning. FIRST I like to do hair lines lines. I pick a color slightly darker than my base color and color over the black lines on my screen layer.

And then I tone down the opacity so it doesn't look so. . . mismatched. I do this for the 'black' things in the image as well (like the tie on the girl's uniform!) I could also do her hair, but since her hair is dark then I'll leave it. (In the case of say, Esther Blanchett, I will go over the dark hair with the color (

)

Is what I have. I like to make a new layer for everything I need to color because I am anal like that. It also means that if anything ever looks like an odd color I can play with the hue/saturation option under image -> adjustments to fix my mistake.

TIME FOR THE BACKGROUND:

I can't deal with white backgrounds XD Usually I just grab one of my patternfills (paintbucket, pattern!) And then make it really really light/low percentage opacity.

Anything that was white will need to be erased (on the background layer: