[banewulfe]

Hey guys!

I'm new here... Well, I'm usually focusing on linework and very few of my illustrations make it to color, and the color pieces I do are mostly cel-shaded. I want to learn a more painterly technique... could you guys help give me some advice on your techniques? I find it difficult to decide just the "right" colors to use without using straight black lines and not simply choosing the lighter and darker shades of a base color.

For example, how would you approach painting a character who is standing in moonlight and has both cool lighting (moon) and warm lighting (fire) shining on him?

Here is a generic character I did while experimenting with colors...

Meh, it took me a while and I had to scrutinize the color wheel a lot... Please tell me what I'm doing wrong!

Thanks! ^__^
~Genevieve

[Legacy40k]

I am far from an expert on the topic lighting, but I'll throw in my two cents.

Moonlight you would use blues for your lighting.

Fire you would use yellows for your lighting.

In the picture you posted above, the lighting pretty good but it has a few problems. Eyes don't change colour from light.. not like that. Your character has one orange eye, and one blue eye.

Your light source I assume is coming from the top left corner of the pane. It could give the hair a bluish tint if the source was strong enough, however, the haid on the other side of the head wouldn't have a ring of shine on it.. especially a perfect halo on the top.

[geckzilla]

I just think about what direction light is coming from and try not to contradict too much. I mean, your moonlight is coming from the upper left, and it seems that the fire might be coming from the lower left if we look at his cheeks, but then on his shirt it looks like it's coming from the lower right.

Also, take into consideration the great effect that the atmosphere has on light. It seems you've mistakenly filled in the atmospheric light with the fire's red hue when really the more powerful hue would be blue since the moonlight fills the air around it while the fire can only affect its immediate surroundings. It would seem like the moon is the weaker player since it is so far away and seemingly dimmer but it is almost omnidirectional while the fire's light will emanate from one source and not be reflected very much, assuming he's not surrounded by mirrors and the fire is relatively small and his proximity to it is safe. I'm not sure why he has a third yellowish backlight of unknown origin.

Hm, so yeah, I don't know if I really answered your question since I went on about light and not so much about the colors themselves. Maybe you are thinking too much about getting the colors right and not enough about how the light would logically affect things.

[garrymikedavid]

The only tip I can give you is to break down your workflow; first fix your values and lighting in grayscale. Once this is solid move along to color and experiment with different layer modes.
Another tip I can give you is to study Color Theory, so you know what you're doing when applying color. It also gives you more confidence in working with a color wheel and teaches you about color temperature and harmonies. I recently finished studying color theory and it was the best thing I ever did!

The book I used was 'Color' by Betty Edwards; ISBN 1-58542-219-3

Best of luck and have fun!

Garry

[banewulfe]

Wow, thanks so much you guys!! These are all helpful tips. You've all brought up great points and I'm glad you each pointed out where the lighting looks contradictory or seems to be coming from an unknown source.

Legacy40k, thank you for the advice on the eye color and the halo. I have to break away from using that halo effect on characters' hairs as I see it so much in anime.

Geckzilla, that's true, it does seem like I've used more hues of red than blue. Hmm, I didn't see it before until you pointed it out. And yeah, I was thinking too much on getting the colors right instead of thinking about how light falls on the object, which should be the first thing I should focus on!

Garymikedavid, thanks for the reference on the book of color theory. I will definitely check it out! I wish I had taken Color Theory classes. But it's never too late to learn! Also, you're right about getting my values down in grayscale first.

Thanks again for the critiques! I'll keep trying! ^__^

~Genevieve