Colored Pencils

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Setting up the Colored Pencil Drawing

My version setup: khazarj-assignment04-01.psd.zip

My finished version: khazarj-assignment04-23-cmyk.psd.zip

1. Use these brushes: MART325_Color_Pencils.abr (MART325_Color_Pencils.brushset if you're using Procreate). Review here on how to add them to Photoshop.

2. Create a new document, 8in x 10in, 300dpi
3. Set the background color when you create the document
4. Save the document as lastnamefirstinitial_assignment04-01.psd

5. Add a image for your Source. Size it. Make sure it's embedded and not linked.

6. Add a layer to gray-back the Source, fill it with your background color, and set the opacity to 66%

7. Add a layer for Outlines

8. Do a quick tracing of the edges of your Source image on the Outlines layer

9. Add a layer for your colored pencil work

Make an optional Scratch Area

1. Choose Menu>Canvas Size...>

2. Set the canvase size to 4 inches wider. Make sure the Anchor is set as shown above!

3. You should see this result. If your image is centered, then you forgot to set the Anchor. Next we'll add a gray background to the scratch area and a copy of the source image so we can see it while we're working

4. Add a new layer, call it Scratch, and fill it with gray (use the marquee tool to limit the area of the fill to just the new Scratch area)

5. Make a copy of the Source layer, drag it down to just above the new Scratch layer, then move and size it up into the upper right corner

6. Select both of the new layers and click on the folder icon to put them both into a folder, then name the folder Scratch
7. This is where you can easily keep a set of colors to suck up with the eyedropper tool, or with the option/alt key held down when your in the Brush tool. And you'll always have a reference for the source image available for grabbing colors and referencing your work.

8. You might want to add a top layer of black to cut off the visiblity of the scratch folder's content. If you were going to print this, you would either crop it to 8x10 with the crop tool, or indicate to the printer that they should only print the left section of the image.

You are now pretty well set up to start drawing.

Start Coloring

khazar_assignment04-09.psd.zip file in progress.

Tools To Use:

• Use these brushes: MART325_Color_Pencils-v2.abr or MART325_Color_Pencils.brushset
• Use Option(Mac)/Alt(Win) to pick up colors with eyedropper
• Use Spacebar to move the canvas around
• Use the number keys to change the opacity of the brush, but usually you'll use 0 for 100%

Starting Point

Last week we got to here: correctly sized, extra space on the right for color swatches and course images.

From here, we'll block out the color of the artichoke and start coloring with the Hard Round 8px brush.

Making Swatches

Create a set of swatches with your pencil selected with the eyedropper tool from the source image.

Create in-between shades with the pencil by overlapping with soft touch, copying mixed color, then drawing firmly.

Create a Swatch Panel

Select a rectangle around the swatches you made, then copy and paste it so it's on it's own layer. Then you can move it around to grab color from.

Keep the Color Panel Open

Open the Color Panel with Menu Window Color .

From the flyout menu in the upper right, choose Color Wheel

Keep this open all the time to tweak color values. Use the wheel or use the HSB sliders to manipulate the color.

New Window & Source Window

Great workflow: Open a copy of the source file in a new window in Photoshop and position it off to one side. I have two monitors at home, so I put it on the second monitor.

Choose Menu > Window > Arrange > New Window to open another view of your Photoshop color pencil image. Work on the big one, but put a smaller one off to the side to see how you're progressing as you work.

Tidbits

Handy Trick: Photoshop Actions

Choose Menu > Window > Actions to open the Action panel and create Actions (sometimes called Macros) to speed up frequently used interactions with Photoshop. Here, I've done three that change the opacity of the current layer from 100% to 30% to 0%, making it easy to see the source image and work on the pencil image very accurately.

Oops trick: Merge Down

Sometimes you work on the wrong layer. If you have, use the selection tool to cut the stuff out, then use Shift-Command/Control-V to paste it in place in it's own layer just above the layer where it was supposed to go. Then, with the new layer still selected, use the popup menu in the Layers panel to Merge Down the layer into the right one.

No Tricks: Wrong Brush

I don't know if this is happening to you, but I find that sometimes Photoshop switches my brush to a different type. No idea why, it just does sometimes. Pay attention! If you feel like your brush is acting strangely, check that you're using the brush you want in the Brushes panel.

Using Glazes

glazed_artichoke01.psd. An older artichoke image with glazes

It's not quite colored pencil, but this is a nice technique.