Step-by-Step (3): Coloring People (Patreon)

Speedpaint Videos are always fun and a good way to actually see how a drawing is rendered, so have this Daichi Commission as an example of how I approach my coloring for a person.

There's a couple steps I tend to repeat, but with time, processes change or evolve, e.g. I'm currently experimenting a little with my linework: Usually I draw a cleaner version of the sketch first before going into color, but sometimes I feel like I'm losing too much of the original feel along with it, which is why I'm trying to clean up the sketch right now - so I have more control of what traces it leaves behind in the final drawing.

Sometimes drawings get to keep more sketch-esque aesthetics and other times I really dig in there to clean it up as much as possible, it really depends what I'm aiming for (or what a customer prefers if it's a commission piece).

There is no one way, even if it sometimes seems like it, but some patterns tend to repeat. I like to start with flat colors to set a proper base and tones, followed by a sharp shadow layer before I go underneath with a softer shadow and colors to accentuate parts of the body that I want to have more shape and life.

I really don't feel like I can decide if I like the simpler, more anime-esque appearance or the more rendered, realistic drawings, so it ends up being a mashup with variing degrees of either
Which do you prefer in my art? Let me know below!😙