Countdown 3: The Styles of Master Digital Color Part II

Last time you learned about some of the digital color styles included in the projects, tutorials, and homework challenges found within the pages of Master Digital Color.  Today we’ll pick-up where we left off and cover a few more of the styles from the book.

Sci-Fi illustrator Joe Corroney explains his creative process and the importance of collaborating with a talented colorist.

Vintage

Learn how to choose colors for the murky depths of the ocean and draw inspiration in artwork from the 1940’s to create a retro-pulp pin-up featuring SubHuman by legendary creator Mark Schultz.

Modernist

Color a million shiny chrome spheres… or maybe learn how to render only one and use it over and over again.

Bonus Tutorial: Rendering the face & hair

Render shiny metal spheres while coloring Terry Moore's Echo.

Fantasy

If you are inspired by Frazetta, Vallejo and Olivia you will love rendering Kell & Tora from Brian Denham.  Follow the tutorial to learn how to create a fantasy inspired background, a sky streaked with blood red clouds and illuminated by a dead moon.  Color a warrior princess and a fantastical creature in this illustration that will haunt your dreams.

Create an Alien Vortex

Homework challenges:

- Create a background: Create several backgrounds for one illustration and learn how the background you create impacts the Xenozoic tales illustration by Mark Schultz

- Setting, Color & Lighting:  Color Exo-1 from Shawn Pryor’s The Rock Solid Steelbots and experiment with changes in Setting, Color, & Lighting.

Learn how award winning comic creator Rick Veitch got his start in comics and decide what “alternative” means to you.

Alternative

Learn how to use color choice and lighting to focus on character driven story elements and how to combine styles for unique backgrounds and characters that look and feel anything but ordinary while coloring David Hahn’s Camelot Prep.

Bonus Tutorial

Using color overlays to create “visual edits” between scenes.

Hi-Fi Hi-Lites – A fast & easy way to add dimple highlights to your comic illustrations.  Well suited for alternative color style and perfect for cartoons & web comics too!

Alternative Pin-Up

Even alternative comic books need power pin-ups and covers to grab the readers attention.  Terry Moore creates a sense of danger and drama in this pin-up from Strangers in Paradise and only you can use lighting, color, and special effects to bring the illustration to life with color.

You will learn how to create mood using color and texture while coloring London Horror Comic.

Horror Comic

In horror comics, mood and ambiance are paramount. Less-detailed rendering adds to the mystery and suspense of an image by leaving much to the viewer’s imagination. Use inked shadows to your advantage creating a creepy vibe.

Bonus Tutorial

Using Hi-Fi Helpers to add a texture overlay to your illustrations.

Homework Challenges
- Tell the story with color: Use color overlays to create “visual edits” between scenes in a multi-page Graveslingers comic from Shannon Eric Denton & Nima Sorat
- Let color define the genre:  Your challenge is to take a page of superhero artwork and make it look and feel alternative by changing the color style.

Amy Reeder Hadley shares with you her inspiration for creating new Manga characters.

Anime

Learn to create a painted style background and cel-shaded style characters while coloring Dave Bryant’s Nightrunners.

Bonus Tutorial

Rendering the sky with a custom cloud brush

Bonus Mini-Tutorial

Rendering a manga-style eye

Mecha

Mecha robots appear in many futuristic science-fiction anime cartoons from Japan and can be tricky to render due to the complicated nature of the structures.  Learn how to use color to divide the mecha into recognizable areas serving as a “costume” for the character and how to create the broad surface planes that define large mechanical vehicles.

Bonus Video Tutorial

Watch a preview from the new DVD: Special Effects for Digital Coloring

Bonus Mini-Tutorial

Rendering mechanical objects.

Homework Challenges
- Three Objects: Learn how to use Amy Reeder Hadley’s 3-objects technique to create your own manga characters.
- Grayscale: Your challenge is to use Hi-Fi’s Click-A-Tone system to turn a black and white drawing into a grayscale masterpiece.

Do you have what it takes to color Manga Style mecha? Put yourself to the test with MechaForce!

Halftone

Learn how to create print perfect grayscale halftone images in this tutorial.  Look for the next installment for Countdown for an entire feature on this style!  Check back next time for Countdown 2: Grayscale comics with Click-A-Tone

Grayscale in a how-to color book? Find out more in the next Countdown!

Brian is a comic book colorist, founder of Hi-Fi colour design, and co-author of Hi-Fi Color for Comics and the upcoming sequel Master Digital Color.

Pre-order Master Digital Color from Amazon.com today you will save close to $10 off the cover price and give yourself the knowledge you need to succeed.