DIGITAL COLORING & PAINTING

 Coloring traditionally involves the use of materials such as colored pencils, crayons, gouache, markers, watercolors, oil paints, and more. In this tutorial, you will learn how to achieve similar results using digital tools. Even if you are proficient in traditional coloring methods, digital tools can help you create works that are equally impressive, and you can even sell them as NFT artworks. Additionally, with digital painting, you will never run out of colors!

In today's era, digital colorists have the opportunity to color drawings, illustrations, comics, and even animation sequences using digital methods in addition to traditional techniques. Digital coloring allows for the exploration of a diverse array of styles, including Flat Color, Cel Shading, Soft Brush Coloring, Hybrid Coloring, and Painterly Coloring, tailored to the specific requirements of your artwork.

You have the option of using free software such as Blender, Fire Alpaca, Krita, MediBang Paint, The Gimp and others. For paid programs, you can choose from Clip Studio Paint, Corel Painter, Paint Tool Sai, and Photoshop. This tutorial serves as a comprehensive solution for digital coloring and painting aimed at complete beginners. Regardless of the software you select, the quality of your final results will depend more on your skills as an artist than on the tools you utilize.

Color Tones and Contrast

To create effective and visually appealing artwork, it’s essential to have a basic understanding of color harmony and color tones, such as warm, cool (Figure 1), or neutral tones, which include soft or pastel colors (see Figure 2).

Figure 1

Figure 2

Contrast

You must also understand how to effectively utilize high-key, middle-key, and low-key colors to create the desired level of contrast when dark colors meet white or light tints in your artwork (see Figure 3).

Figure 3

Monochromatic Color Tones

Monochromatic color tones involve the use of variations of a single color. This includes creating shades (adding black), tints (adding white), and tones (adding gray) of the same base hue to create depth and harmony (see Figure 4).

Figure 4

 

Lighting and Shading

Understanding basic lighting and shading is crucial for creating the illusion of solidity and depth in your 2D illustrations. By correctly applying light colors, shade colors, and cast shadows, you can transform flat images into ones that appear three-dimensional (see Figure 5).

Figure 5

How Many Types of Colors Exist?

Colors can generally be broken into three main categories:

• Opaque Colors

• Transparent Colors

• Light Colors

Opaque Colors

Opaque colors are those that do not allow light to pass through them. When applied to a surface, they completely cover the underlying material, preventing any light transmission.

These colors are commonly used in painting and printing because they provide solid coverage and vibrant tones, making them ideal for bold and striking visuals.

In traditional color theory, the primary colors are red, blue, yellow, black and white. These are considered primary because they cannot be created by mixing other colors. Instead, they serve as the foundation for mixing other hues.

• Red, blue, and yellow are widely used in painting as they can be combined to create secondary colors (green, orange, and purple) and a vast array of tertiary hues.

• Black and white also play significant roles. Black is used to create shades (darker versions of colors), while white is used to create tints (lighter versions). Together, they help artists adjust color values, enhancing contrast and depth.

Transparent Colors

Transparent colors allow light to pass through them. When applied to a surface, they do not completely obscure the underlying material, meaning the base layer can influence the final appearance of the transparent color.

This characteristic is especially useful in artistic techniques like glazing, where layers of transparent colors are applied to create depth, richness, and luminosity. Transparent colors are often used to achieve complex visual effects that are difficult to replicate with opaque colors.

In subtractive color mixing, which is used in printing and painting, the primary colors are cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY). These colors form the basis of subtractive color theory as they absorb specific wavelengths of light:

• Cyan absorbs red light and reflects green and blue light.

• Magenta absorbs green light and reflects red and blue light.

• Yellow absorbs blue light and reflects red and green light.

By mixing cyan, magenta, and yellow in different proportions, you can produce secondary colors and a wide spectrum of hues. For example:

• Mixing cyan and magenta creates blue.

• Mixing magenta and yellow produces red.

Solid Black

In the CMYK color model, black (K) is added to enhance depth and contrast. However, the black ink in CMYK is not a true solid black—it’s more of a dark gray.

To create a solid black for printing, you must mix cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks together. This method creates a richer, deeper black, which is especially useful for printing grayscale illustrations or black-and-white artworks using offset printing machines.

Light Colors

While red, green, and blue are the primary colors of light, transparency is often discussed in relation to color mixing. Transparency refers to the ability of a color to allow light to pass through it. In practical applications, transparent colors can be layered over one another, allowing the underlying colors to influence the final appearance.

This layering effect is particularly important in fields such as:

• Photography

• Digital imaging

• Motion graphics

• Animation

• Film, video, or movie production

Transparency adds depth and complexity to visual compositions, making it a powerful tool for creating realistic and dynamic effects.

The Importance of Color Harmony and Art Principles

To elevate your creativity and imagination, it is essential to have a basic understanding of color harmony and Art and Design principles (see Figure 6). These skills are crucial for enhancing black-and-white or grayscale artwork by adding color effectively and artistically.

 Figure 6

MEDIBANG PAINT

This tutorial will not cover how to install software. Instead, it focuses solely on teaching you digital coloring techniques. For this tutorial, we will use MediBang Paint, a free software that you can download from the official website. You will also need to download the file titled 00 clean up.png, located below this article, or you can use your own image if preferred. Launch the MediBang Paint PC version. On a MacOS, you can replace Ctrl with Command and Alt with Option.

Just a quick reminder: since it’s your first time using MediBang Paint, if you think you’ve made a mistake, simply press Ctrl Z to undo, Ctrl Y to redo. Sometimes, it’s easier to just start over instead of trying to figure out what went wrong.

Cleaning Up an Image in MediBang Paint

When you take a photo of a drawing or illustration, many artists use red, blue, or gray pencil colors for sketching before outlining the final drawing in black. To clean up such an image in MediBang Paint, follow these steps:

Open the File

Click File (1) and select Open (2) or press the shortcut Ctrl O. Locate and open the file (see Figure 7).

Figure 7

Load the File

Once you find the file, click Open or double-click it to load it onto the canvas (see Figure 8).

 

Figure 8

Convert to Grayscale

With the file loaded, convert it to grayscale (referred to as an 8-bit layer in MediBang Paint). Click Layer 1 (1), then press Ctrl + J to duplicate the layer. Select the duplicate layer (2), then click Layer (3), choose Convert (4), and select Convert to 8-bit Layer (5) (see Figure 9).

  

Figure 9

Adjust the Tone Curve

Now the layer in Grayscale color (1), if not, it's because the first layer still on, turn off the layer visibility button (2), now to clean up the grayscale image further, select the duplicate layer then double-click it and name it as Layer 2 or any name you prefer (3). Click Filter (4) and select Tone Curve (5) or press the shortcut Alt + R + T (see Figure 10). 

Figure 10

Refine the Image

In the Tone Curve window, adjust the nodal point in the bottom-left corner by dragging it to the right. This will clean up the grayscale image, eliminate unwanted gray tones, and make the black outlines stand out more prominently. Click OK to confirm the changes (see Figure 11).

Press Ctrl S to save the project. Close the software by clicking the X button in the top-right corner.

Figure 11

This process demonstrates how to clean up an image taken with a digital camera, smartphone, or scanner. By following these steps, you can prepare your drawings or illustrations for digital coloring. In the next tutorial, you will learn how to apply Flat and Cel Shading Color techniques in MediBang Paint. See you soon!

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Learn Weight in Frame-by-Frame 2D Animation for Beginners

 As promised in the previous article, this tutorial presents a simple sequence where an entity picks up and lifts a medium-weight black metal ball in a frame-by-frame 2D animation that incorporates the principles of weight in physics. You can save an image for every frame in this tutorial for your reference, from Figure 00 to Figure 21.

 Figure 00

Figure 01

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Figure 03

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 Figure 06

 Figure 07

 Figure 08

 Figure 09

   Figure 10

    Figure 11

Figure 12

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Figure 16

 Figure 17

 Figure 18

 Figure 19

 Figure 20

 Figure 21

The final result is a GIF animation, similar to what you see in Figure 22. For the video version, you can click on this link.

Figure 22

You can access motion graphics for the weight and samples of different materials in the previous tutorial at this link.

 

Wondering how to put all the saved image sequences into an animation? You can even add backgrounds, sound, and special effects, so be sure to refer to the previous tutorial. For a quick start, check out the e-book "Frame-by-Frame 2D Animation Principles" for beginners at this link or on the Play Store. I’ve also written other books that you might find interesting; feel free to check them out at this link.

Additionally, I offer 2D animation services for your comics or storyboards. Your ideas can come to life with frame-by-frame 2D animation, and it’s just a click away!

You don’t need advanced drawing skills to learn the basics of frame-by-frame 2D animation. Simply being able to draw basic shapes like circles or ellipses is enough to uncover the secrets of achieving natural and smooth motion in 2D animation.

For step-by-step guidance, our web-based tutorial includes video instructions designed to help complete beginners learn easily. Don’t miss the chance to discover these secrets and find the necessary software options, including both paid and free choices.

This online course will cover frame-by-frame 2D animation, including motion graphics for ads, TV, web, and even for motion comics and animatics in movie or cinema production, making it accessible for beginners! Join now!

Next, we'll learn how to lay out a character in combination with the background. In 2D animation production, the layout refers to the process of defining the composition and arrangement of elements within a scene. This stage takes place after the storyboard has been created and approved, acting as a bridge between the initial concept and the final animation.

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21: Frame-by-Frame 2D Animation for Beginners

 In this tutorial, we’ll elevate our bouncing ball by giving it emotions and character, transforming it from a simple, lifeless object into a lively, animated entity.

Our goal is to create the illusion of a smart, animated life form, rather than just a ball that bounces aimlessly. We want to develop a lifelike entity, similar to the red ball animation example above.

What is a Character?

First things first, let’s define what a character is. In animation, a character is an entity that possesses traits and skills, allowing it to move and behave like a real-life intelligent being.

Characters can range from simple to complex in appearance, but don’t be fooled by their looks; a character can have traits and skills that make it smart, wise, and sometimes even powerful within a story.

For insights into designing a character’s traits and skills, check out "Mastering the Art of Traits and Skills in Character Design: for Your Story, Novels, Comics, Animation, Movies, and Games." This book focuses on creating engaging and unique traits and skills, rather than just how to draw and illustrate.

Great characters need a great story, and you can find valuable tips in "Shock Your Readers: Tips & Tricks to Beat Writer's Block for Novels, Comics, Movies, and Games." The techniques in this eBook are sharp enough to slice through writer's block like butter.

You can also explore a short story based on Dayak folklore at this link.

 

Creating a Lifelike Red Ball Animation

Now, let’s get back to creating a lifelike red ball animation. We will learn how to add motion and movement to our character, giving it emotions and a sense of will.

Motion Initiation

Motion initiation refers to the preparation or anticipation of an action in animation. While anticipation is a related term, it’s not exactly synonymous with action preparation.

Figure 0

In Figure 0, taken from "FRAME-BY-FRAME 2D ANIMATION PRINCIPLES," you can see an example of motion initiation, also known in cartoon animation as anticipation.

For practice, start by drawing a simple ball like in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1

Next, you can animate it as shown in Figure 1A.

Figure 1A

Animating the Ball

To create the illusion of the ball as a character entity, you need to make it move on its own. Instead of just falling and stopping (as seen in Figure 2), the ball should exhibit a will to move back up again. Can you spot the difference between basic animation and giving a character lifelike qualities, as illustrated in Figure 1B?

Figure 1B

You can check out the sound effects version of Figure 1B at this link.

Another example of a simple red ball character can be found in the first animation of this article, where the ball moves from a static position to a specific direction, creating the illusion that it has its own will and strength in a cartoon motion style.

Drawing Sequence

To create your animation sequence, you can either draw as shown in Figure 1 or save each image from Figures 1 to 19.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

The ball will deform to take action preparation, gathering strength by squashing (as seen in Figures 3 to 8).

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

The ball jumps (Figure 9) after the action preparation motion from Figures 3 to 8.

 

Figure 10

In Figure 10, the ball deforms to stretch in a cartoon motion style, then returns to its original form in Figure 11.

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 12 shows the ball stretching again due to the pull of gravity and increased velocity.

Figure 13

In Figures 13 and 14, the ball touches the ground and deforms into a bean shape.

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

By Figure 16, the ball is back to a nearly original shape again.

 

Figure 17

Due to the previous force (Figure 17), the shape stretches slightly (Figure 18) before eventually returning to its original form in Figure 19.

Figure 18

Figure 19

Animation Sequence

To animate all these Cartoon Ball BW line art images into a sequence that can include sound, cast shadow effects, and be exported as a movie, refer to the "05: Frame-by-Frame 2D Animation for Beginners" tutorial for a step-by-step guide.

The animation results will look like what’s shown in Figure 20 below. You can also download the ball character in the BW sequence layer "21 Ball BW outline.PSD" to see a master example of this simple ball character animation and try exporting it into a movie yourself!

Figure 20

For our next tutorial, we will practice and create a simple Damped Harmonic Oscillator animation motion in physics, but in an easy-to-understand visual way. See you soon!

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