[lmayfield]

So Ive been learning alot about color mixing and what not. And I realize one thing I might want to work on is value, contrast and tonal works. So it got me thinking.

When learning digital paining, should I hold off on trying color and just focus on Black and white values, tones and contrast? Then move up to color?

[aaron_Lamzilla]

Hi there,

Generally, starting black and white will keep you focus on the overall design of your light, shadow , shape contrast, shape proportion, focal point..and so on. Once all these are figured out , adding color to your design is like the icy on the cake. Keep in mind that no amount of colors you can throw onto your design will save it if the fundamentals are not resolved. Hope it helps.

Check out Fengzhudesign.com..he's has some really good tutorials on his site.

[amileduan]

I will prefer Black and White firstly,it is better for your basic skills.

[Rizo]

I would recommend black and white, it's easier to check the composition early that way, also atmospheric deep and lighting, once you know you can read the image that way, them you can go on and start adding a base color, secondary, etc....

[Sorknes]

Some people start out in B&W to get values and such right, and some prefer to start right away with colours. It really depends on what you're after. Sometimes colours can be the essential thing in an image, and other times the values won't be right in B&W because things can read differently in B&W than colours, without any of them being wrong as long as they keep to B&W and colour respectively.

Sometimes getting the colours right first and working the shape from there is the right way to go. Other times values make up the whole composition and to get them right doing it first in B&W is the way to go.

Some people find that they can't get things right without using B&W first, others that colouring after a B&W is faster than doing it all in colour - And then some can't get the colours right after doing a B&W or they end up kind of bland, or the values end up changing anyway after they start adding colour.

This also, of course, depends a lot on your level and what you are used to working with, and what is your primary goal in an image other than the subject.

What I often do as I work digitally, no matter if I've done a B&W image first or jumped straight into colour, is to add a B&W adjustment layer on top of my image, that I turn on and off. That way, while I work in colour, I can with a simple click check if my values are still reading right when it comes to focal points, areas, etc. Often I will notice something I forgot about or that I've worked on too much and ended up going in the wrong direction.

Hope that helps.

[AlexTLe]

I recommend starting with either, if you can't find out what colors to use in the beginning, then start with the black and white.

[Ramzi]

I think black is a good start

[happyfish]

I will choose black and white . if choose one of them will feel very monotonous,and black and white is most appropriate collocation.

[Papaya_Pig]

I think starting with colour is much more difficult to get your values correct, I've been working with colour for ages and then I tried black and white and realised where I'd been going wrong!

[Saig]

Yep! The B&W adjustment layer is great thing! Using such method myself.

[gashu-monsata]

Black and white is fantastic for working out lighting and such without worrying about colour. I usually tend to start in colour though because whenever I do black and white then overlay colour, it ends up alot muddier looking than I envision haha.

[ZacharyMcLean]

All artists do it differently, and I'd encourage you to try both. Do whatever you are more comfortable with.

I personally find it quite hard to go from a gray-scale illustration to color. I know it's possible, obviously, and there are many methods to do it, but the colors can turn very desaturated and have low contrast if you use adjustments such as Multiply, Overlay, Color, in your layer adjustments.

I usually take the layer, and adjust to color in the "Image" > "Adjustments" > "Hue & Sat" if I really want to change a gray-scale image to color, but sometimes gray-scale illustrations are actually really nice and a good way to learn. I like to either go straight to color, or do a quick concept in B&W, then go in with color as soon as you have the idea down.
Good luck, hope this helps.

[Tattoocalypse]

I like to work in color but keep a hue/saturation effects layer on the top of my layer stack. This allows me to toggle the image back to B/W very easily and check my tonal values.