The Story of a SKIMA Staff Member Who Is a Beginner at Illustration Working Hard to Draw Their Ideal Character Part 5 ~Fun Coloring Practice♪~

This project follows a SKIMA staff member who is a beginner at illustration as they work hard to draw their ideal character themselves.
This time, it's the "Fun Coloring Practice♪" edition.

Last time, OLUNO received professional illustration feedback for the first time.
Their ideal original character image became clearer, which further increased their motivation.

OLUNO has been focusing on line art up to this point, but
this time, they are starting coloring practice!

We will bring you a look at them practicing coloring while having fun.

Click here for the previous article 🔽

Fun coloring practice♪

In the beginner coloring course, they will learnthe differences between cel shading and brush painting, and the basics of color schemes.

Cel shading and brush painting

There are many ways to color illustrations, and each gives a different impression!
Both cel shading and brush painting are recommended coloring methods for illustration beginners!

▼ Cel shading

▼ Brush painting

OLUNO seemed to really enjoy the course, saying, "Coloring lessons are fun~♪"
They added, "When shadows are added, it creates a sense of depth, and it feels like life has been breathed into the character."

Learning about coloring

Here is what OLUNO learned during coloring practice 🔽

1. To fill in colors, first paint with a dark color

2. Blurring the edges of shadows makes it feel more three-dimensional

3. Locking transparent pixels prevents coloring mistakes on the layer

They said that especially the method for checking for unpainted spots in point 1 was an "Aha!" moment.
It means that if you paint with a dark color first, it becomes easier to see any unpainted spots left in white!

Also, they seem to have learned a new technique called Gaussian Blur.
They were happy, saying, "I can create natural cheek colors using Gaussian blur and opacity!"

▼Cheeks: Before coloring

▼Cheeks: Before blurring

▼Cheeks: Finished

Compared to before the blur, the impression is completely different!
The cheek color blends naturally into the skin.

The rule of color schemes is 7:2:1!

Next, I will learn character color schemes by coloring Palmie-chan.
First, I'll color Palmie-chan with the original color scheme, and then I'll try coloring it with OLUNO's favorite color scheme.

▼Palmie-chan with the original color scheme

▼Palmie-chan in the middle of changing colors

▼Finished! Darkened Palmie-chan

It's interesting how the character's image changes significantly with the color scheme!

The color scheme of Palmie-chan changed from
White x Blue ⇒ Blue x White ⇒ Black x White ⇒ Red x Black
, which shows how OLUNO is going through trial and error.

They started with their preferred blonde hair, but after various things, they settled on the darkened Palmie-chan in the end.

It became a cool red and black Palmie-chan!

Learning about color schemes

There are two things learned here.

1. Even with the same hue, it can look like a muddy color depending on the brightness.

2. The rule of character color schemes to remember
   Main color: 70-80%
   Sub color: 20-30%
   Accent color: 10-20%

💡OLUNO Trivia💡
They are not good with pork fat and feel sick when eating stewed pork belly or roast pork.
Recently, they have been actively consuming other types of oil, such as fried foods, and their physical condition and skin condition seem to be good.

OLUNO is learning the basics of coloring and finding freshness in illustration practice again.

Next time,

・I want to bring out the three-dimensionality of the head
・I will do my best to practice drawing hands

is the plan.
Look forward to the next installment!

There is also an X account updated by OLUNO.
I post the illustrations I draw, consultations and worries, and daily life things.
Please take a look at this as well if you'd like 🔽