[KRITA] COLORING HACK: HOW TO ADD COLOR TO A DRAWING QUICKLY
Today’s video is about coloring hacks and how to add color to your drawing quickly! I will go through some quick tips that will help you understand how to execute in color without having to learn too much color theory. I use a free software called Krita and I highly recommend it!
For this demo, I will be using the head of a preying mantis. No particular reason…just like insects and insects happen to have a lot of different colors that you can reference.
TIP 1: ADDING THE BASE COLOR
After completing the line drawing, the very first thing that I do when I decide to add color is to block in the hole sketch with a base coat. This base coat should represent a mid tone color of the hue of choice. In this case, it’s a green tint so you don’t want to go too dark or too light. You want to build on the base color and add your darker and lighter tones.
TIP 2: ADDING VALUE AND CREATING FORM
After adding the base coat color, you are ready to start “sculpting” your object. The preying mantis head has some unique shapes that are an interesting study. So what I do here is break down the forms that I am seeing. In this case, you have some spherical or oval shapes that represent where the eyes are placed so you need to now add in darker and lighter values to communicate this form. You do this by adding darker and lighter tones of the hue you are using.
TIP 3: ADDING HIGHLIGHTS
Highlights are a lot of fun and really bring the drawing to life. Strong white highlights provide enough contrast for the object to look shiny. So if you draw insects with a shiny surface, you will notice the “white” streaks or dots that represent the sunlight reflected off the surface. The highlights will be placed depending on where your light source is.
BONUS TIP 4: ADDING TEXTURE FOR DETAILS
The bonus tip here is about adding textures! Now using digital tools is definitely an advantage on this front because software like Krita provides a wide range of brushes with different textures to experiment with. These textures, when applied with deliberation, can create some awesome effects and give the impression of more detail.
Let me know some of the hacks you use when you draw!
If you have any other questions or suggestions for videos, please feel free to let me know.
Have an awesome day.