Finishing with adjustment layers!

I also talk about this process at the beginning of this recorded stream below.  

Get 10% off my coloring course: https://goo.gl/HD4Wss Get my PSDs on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kmr In this video, I'll discuss how to create a strong composition with adjustment layers. Check out my complete 10+ hour Photoshop digital coloring course lessons (includes presets for my brushes, tools, actions, and color swatches).

My Patreon account is live! (PSD Downloads)

Get my PSDs on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kmr Get 10% off my Photoshop coloring course: https://goo.gl/HD4Wss The feedback I asked for in the last video was really positive! So in this video, I talk about the rewards in my new Patreon account.

I asked for some feedback a few videos ago, and it was all very positive, so here's my new Patreon account! Click below for details. :)

How NOT to Color Comics: Part 5 - Too much local color!

Get my PSDs on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kmr *Get 10% off my Photoshop coloring course: https://goo.gl/HD4Wss In part 5 of this series, I'll talk about overuse of local color. Check out my complete 10+ hour Photoshop digital coloring course lessons (includes presets for my brushes, tools, actions, and color swatches).

Here's the latest installment of the ever-popular series. :) Check it out!

Here's the whole playlist if you haven't seen it yet - How NOT to Color Comics playlist

A Very Different Coloring Method (than mine anyway)

Colorist Tamra Bonvillain is a friend of mine, and she has a VERY different method of coloring than I do. I thought it was pretty interesting, so I thought I'd do a video to explain the basic concepts anyway. 

Tamra paints on masked "Solid Color" adjustment layers with a different layer for each color. She also does some things grouping layers and combining them with Levels adjustments layers that I do get into yet. I'm still figuring it out too. 

This method does have some advantages, and I learned a lot trying to figure it out! I won't be changing to this method or or anything, but I do think I'll be using parts of this method for certain things. It's always good to learn new tricks.

Anyway, enjoy the video!

New interview from Graphic Policy

Graphic Policy did an interview with me on coloring and my course! Check it out here: 

https://graphicpolicy.com/2016/05/12/an-interview-with-colorist-k-michael-russell/

New tutorial series starting: How NOT to Color Comics!

I'm starting a new tutorial series on YouTube called How NOT to Color Comics! 

I'll be talking about a lot of common mistakes--most things I used to do at some point.... haha... 

Check out this week's video here on AIRBRUSH EVERYTHING MODE! :) 

A list of educational resources, Photoshop tutorials, and color theory stuff

After posting about Xia's YouTube channel, I thought it would be a good idea to provide some other useful resources for people interested in coloring or painting in general. Of course, I'm partial to my coloring course, but there's so many great resources out there. So here's a few that I've enjoyed over the years (and in most cases, still enjoy!)--things that have helped me on my journey or things I believe would help you.

In no particular order...

Lummage's YouTube Channel - Nathan Lumm is a fellow colorist with a ton of great videos. He'll provide a slightly different angle on coloring techniques than you'll see in my channel, since there's about a million ways to do everything in Photoshop! His Comic Book Coloring Tips & Tricks series is a  great resource. He hasn't posted in a while, but he's probably busy coloring! :) 

Sycra's Foundations of Light and Shadow - I love this series! It's a fantastic set of lessons for those of you that might have trouble with rendering. If you need help figuring out where the light and shadow should go, this is for you! I still go back and watch some of these videos every few months. This won't be the only appearance of Sycra on this list. 

Also from Sycra... How To Choose Colors That Work  This video was very eye openings for me, and I can't recommend it enough for those of you that might wonder why your colors "don't seem to fit" or clash or that sort of thing. Check it out!

For those of you that still remember what books are, James Gurney's book Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter is incredibly good. Even though the book is focused on painting, all of the color theory stuff applies regardless. I keep this book very close to my desk all the time! 

His gamut masking tool was recreated as a PSD file here, by the way:  (You may don't know what that is yet, so read the book!)

There are also some resources in that link that explain more. I used this tool when generating palette ideas for a new Image project coming later this year. It's a great way to come up with interesting palettes. 

This is a book you'll probably have to soak up for a while. There's a ton of content, and I still don't understand the majority of it well enough, but I'm working at it! 

Comics Experience's Introduction to Comic Book Coloring. Coloring veteran Chris Sotomayor (AVENGERS, BATMAN, X-MEN, about a billion other books) teaches this course. Soto's been coloring since 1996. This is a paid option, and it's not cheap, but the difference here is that each class is live with the instructor online. I took this course is 2014--even after I was getting pro work, and I found it to be extremely helpful. Soto is pretty active on Twitter too, and he's good about answering questions about his course there.

This YouTube video is another excellent lesson in storytelling with color: 

I recently discovered ArtStation. It's primarily digital painters and concept artists, but lots of great time-lapse process videos. This link sorts the trending posts that are 2D with video. Tons of good artists on there.  

Hi-Fi Color for Comics
$24.99
By Brian Miller, Kristy Miller
Buy on Amazon

One more for you! Hi-Fi Color for Comics. 

The original version was one of the first books I picked up on coloring, and I found out that figuring things out on my own had me doing some weird stuff before I read this.

They recently updated it, so be sure to check it out. It's a great book for beginners. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that's it! I hope you enjoyed this list. Let me know what you guys think! I'm sure I'll add to this to keep it updated in the future. Send me your ideas as well!

Best,
K. Michael Russell
 

 

Coloring Critiques Video #2

The first video was so popular; I'm gonna make a series! Here's the 2nd.

In this video, I use a few sample pages to show some tips and tricks for coloring comics with Photoshop. If you are interested in getting a critique on YouTube, email me here: info@comiccolor.com I usually just do this for my coloring course students, but I'll pick a handful of good examples for future coloring tutorial videos on the YouTube channel.

I'm actually a bit ahead on videos for the first time in ages... subscribe to the channel to get them all. There are three more scheduled over the next few weeks. Stay tuned! 

I also found out today both my new Image and IDW projects will likely be announced in March 2016. Fingers crossed. Big news coming soon! :) 

New video and new (vague) project news!

Hey people! I uploaded a new video tonight. This is a time-lapse recording of a page from TRANSFERENCE #4 for Black Mask Studios. I'm filling in for my friend and fellow colorist, Tamra Bonvillain! 

The artist in this issue is Toni Fejzula (VEIL). The writer is my former HACK/SLASH collaborator, Michael Moreci (HOAX HUNTERS, CURSE, ROCHE LIMIT). 

If you are wondering what I'm doing with Photoshop in the video around 1:15, I'm using a gradient map. I made a video about them once here. I use them to shift the colors around in interesting ways on an adjustment layer, then set the layer mode to COLOR, then adjust the opacity. I then use that as a base to start adjusting my base colors. 

Anyway, this project sort of fell in my lap suddenly, but I do have three new projects coming in 2016 that I can't say anything about yet, but one will be at Image, and the other two, IDW. All are creator-owned projects, and I'm very excited about them! I expect they'll start getting announced sometime in January 2016. UGH. :) 

Talk soon!