Photoshop Comic Book Coloring: The Basics v2.0 - great for beginners (how to color comic books)

Hey folks, I re-purposed a webinar I recorded into "The Basics" version 2.0! The original video was a bit dated, and it's time for an upgrade. :) This should be a good place to start for beginners or immediate-level colorists. I'll talk about my course a bit at the end as well.
This video has been updated for Clip Studio Paint in 2021 here: • [Tutorial] How I Color...
Check out my coloring courses (40 hours of lessons!) at www.coloringcom... (includes presets for my brushes, tools, actions, and color swatches).
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If you interested in learning how to color line-art in Photoshop, want to learn comic book coloring 101, or just want more Photoshop comic book coloring techniques, tips and tricks, subscribe for more!
how to color comic books

[@cartoonblock]

Great stuff. I've found myself watching 4 of your videos in on sitting.

[@drimmanuelinnocent]

i like to work as a flater. pls link me up with anyone i can work for

[@istaytooned7891]

this video maybe dated BUT when I need to go back and just refresh my self I hit this vid and away we go! Thanks Michael

[@russorox654]

Just want to let you know, i got my first coloring comission and it was really helpful all of your tips! Thank you sir.

[@hammockmonk]

I so appreciate the generosity with which you share your knowledge. This is the most professional channel in its field that I have found. 🤙🏽

[@comicguru656]

I'm an aspiring comic artist and mostly self taught. You have no idea how much these videos have helped me!!!!!!! Thank you

[@howardmccrary5589]

There's so many jewels near the end of this video! This pretty much taught me most of what I needed to know. Thanks!

[@meanandobscene2678]

I watch this everytime I color something, thank you so much for this tutorial

[@drimmanuelinnocent]

i can work for you to do your flats

[@beatrizamaral9354]

To make the first selection, I just click on the blank background with the magic wand and invert the selection. If I need to adjust it, I expand or contract that selection. I make flats really fast in that way.

[@beatrizamaral9354]

To fill the selections I just use the alt+del or ctrl+del shortkeys, so it fills the selection with the foreground color or background color that I chose.

[@diwakarbro3682]

Thank you so much for putting up "real" tutorials....I mean you don't speak too fast nor are your vdo's sped up, so that we can actually learn something. You're my Guru!

[@OluwadamilolaAkinayo]

I have shared this video so many times i have lost count.😉 I stopped creating works with saturated colors thanks to this video and the previous one. KMR's technique is the best in my view because how of it helped me become much more confident as a colorist and applicable on other apps. I replicated this technique in SketchBook Pro 2016 from Photoshop and worked like a charm. Just need to save to take your premium courses. Keep being awesome and thanks a lot.

[@AyumiBushido]

What I liked about this, is that it will help me get back to my photoshop once in awhile, or atleast bounce back and forth from paint tool sai and photoshop. I like the fact you didn't speed threw this and I got to see how long it takes to do your flats and I can have some kind of baseline for myself in how fast I should be. Thank you

[@DanteMaddox]

It's been a while since school, and I've felt really rusty in terms of understanding what PS can do. For a while I've known what I've wanted to do, but couldn't remember how to do it. This video not only helped me remember some of the techniques I learned in class, but it got me excited for the color aspect of making my comics. Thanks!!!!!!

[@familiasantosguiana4673]

awesome video for biginners thanks kurt

[@TacticalSquirrel]

I use the pen tool in lieu of the lasso tool to put in flats. You can also use the pen tool and convert it to a selection

[@colorwithkurt]

Many ways to skin this cat as they say. :)

[@hendrix5757]

A faster and more convenient way to select the entire figure that I discovered instead of having to manually lasso around the outline of the silhouette, is to simply draw a circle around the element with the lasso tool, alt select (subtract) inside the circle with the magic wand tool, so now you're left with a perfect selection around the element, and lastly contract the selection 2 or 3 pixels so color will not exceed your line art when you proceed to fill it. At the very least, you could do the first few steps to get the selection outlined your subject, and zoom in and go in and fine tune or tweak the selection to your liking prior to contracting it. Either way, it'll get you closer to a ballpark selection and will saves you a ton of time manually tracing the figure by hand! Love your channel btw!

[@hendrix5757]

+K Michael Russell I did consider the fact the line art wouldn't always be closed, but as I mentioned by using the first couple of steps, you would end up with the majority or bulk of the selection already outlined. So I'd imagine shift+ lassoing the remaining sections would most likely take you a fraction of the time it would otherwise. Try it sometime on a drawing you already have colored/flattened in the past, just to find out for sure if it would indeed prove to be a faster or slower path up the same mountain. I understand that you have established your way of doing things that have proven to be most efficient for you, but I would be interested in hearing how this approach worked for you (you know, just for kicks!) lol I don't expect you to come out with a v.2.5 or 3.0 revision of this coloring tutorial again. After all, your videos are some of the primary tuts I've used to learn about flattening, so I figured it'd be worth a try!

[@hendrix5757]

+K Michael Russell But shouldn't the background be on it's own layer, though?

[@hendrix5757]

+hendrix5757 I just figured you would disable all the layers except a plain white bg, line art, and flat layers allowing you to precisely select only the line art. i dunno... if anything, I hope others will give it a go for curiosity's sake...

[@greenajoy4001]

You are so generous to share all that knowledge. Thank you so much for this incredible video. Now I can finally start doing what I love

[@GabbyGoodArts]

Thank you so much for all your videos! I've been working really hard on my comic portfolio and was lost with colors until I found your videos. Your tips and tricks have been super useful, especially with flatting and the lasso tools. Thanks again :D

[@HannahEnglandCreates]

Your tutorials have made my coloring so much faster and easier. Thanks so much!

[@vijethpoojary9815]

thank you very much to share this sir

[@nichols4520]

Dude! Your page rocks! I've been through dozens of pages and they gloss over details or talk to fast. Some say one thing and explain another. Can't wait to put your tutorials to work. Thank you for explaining the several methods and taking your time doing it. Thank you.

[@kenta428]

Great tutorial, Michael. You really helped me out.

[@MrSkyblu1]

One thing I think would help is to explain the various things you're doing, how you do them, and why. While you did that in certain areas, I got up to the point where you were highlighting the hair and you used that wheel to alter the color a bit. I think most people, myself included, have no idea how to make that appear. Otherwise, your videos are very helpful and I thank you for posting them.

[@MrSkyblu1]

Cool. Thanks!

[@keithprovost9812]

Great video! Thank you very much! 2 months ago I found out about flatting and coloring and we have decided to try it out and live a dream of mine. I look forward to taking your courses soon.

[@pompkinkingplays1461]

this is really helpful! cheers

[@morganrae8685]

I absolutely adored this video, it's honestly helped me out a lot!!

[@JeremyWilliamson]

MAN, this is THE BEST COLORING method I HAVE EVER seen and/or used!!! WOW!! Now, if I could use Photoshop on my iPad Pro 12.9" with my Mac to do it too, that'd be awesome! LOL

[@JeremyWilliamson]

Thanks so much man! I will!! I've been using the CONCEPTS APP for my Ipad Pro... it's WONDERFUL for drawing... I've always been more talented with the computer than free-hand, so it helps me a LOT! I can draw the image, export the vector outlines, then import into photoshop, and if Procreate has that option, then I could do that too??

[@JeremyWilliamson]

Can Procreate import vector files or even transparent .png files to color? Does that make sense?

[@JeremyWilliamson]

PERFECT!!! Now, I can work with that... I'll check it out later, but OMG... after learning how to do this with Photoshop, Procreate is gonna HAVE to be much better than this!!! haha Thanks again man!!

[@BlueGuitarMusic]

I'm so glad I found your channel today! Very excited to check out your other videos and your course :)

[@svinkammstein]

i love it! thx you very much

[@prutser]

This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks for making this video Kurt!

[@bueasink7650]

Thank u sir. im always caught up by time due to this coloring issue. i do all the work myself so u can imagine what i go through sometimes.

[@nil_blank]

Thanks so much for putting this out here. Super helpful.

[@arf127]

This video was so helpful on so many topics!!! Thank you and keep up the great work!

[@cdnichols51]

great tutorial, really helpful! can't wait to watch your other videos now

[@QuickFam2.0]

Thanks for making this.

[@Abc-qs8ir]

fantastic video about shading in a comic page, I know how to do this on paper, but am learning how to do this digitally,

[@genemagora7700]

Thanks Michael! Your videos are very helpful!

[@CooperTony13]

Very useful video! Thank you very much!

[@michaelarby]

great video- my colouring technique was completely wrong and this helps immensely. cheers!

[@michaelarby]

+K Michael Russell nah mine was unquestionably wrong lol. making selections from the ink layers, expanding them a pixel or two then filling a flats layer underneath. but it left those white 'channels' you warned about between blocks of colour! glad to see your way though which is vleaner and faster!

[@williamduren215]

Great teaching.

[@samjaneczek9570]

This really is a good tutorial, very helpful and the final image looks great. I'm considering getting your course when I have the money to do so. :)

[@VaracolacidVesci]

Thank you very very much. It is an amazing and very detailed tutorial.

[@northernwindcomicspaul2531]

Awesome

[@nothingbutfootprints6240]

Tip: this tutorial is correct but for some reason the artist is choosing to destructivly edit the image rather than to preserve it. Basically, when you have a section selected you should really copy it as a new layer so that it can be re-edited quickly. For example if the creator decided to change the Cape colour then it can be done easily without needing to reselect.

[@colorwithkurt]

There are a lot of ways to color line art. Some people work this way. Some don't. I do more on layers above these days instead of on the base colors myself.

[@666ahkhan]

Thanks for the great tutorial on coloring and the tricks :D

[@vonnyrotten]

Great video, thanks for the info Color with Kurt. Could you or even another commenter explain how your overlapping bucket selection doesn't affect the whole selection? I understand why you dont need to reselect the outside lines versus the white background, but I dont understand why your lasso can grab the face and half of the hair and only change the face.

[@gregoryashley7963]

That's what I'd like to know. I don't believe he explained that step.

[@karbikarbi7787]

Yes I also want to know, could you please explain this Kurt?

[@antonyart2768]

I don`t know How? BUT IT WORKS!!!!! Thank you so much!! I dont have graphic tablet and that is not so fast as i want BUT i can do that with my mouse!

[@fikrifahmie]

Lotsa great tips here. Thanks man!!!

[@jamesmolloy5350]

what an incredible video, thank you so much for this

[@nurulashari815]

Thank You Mike, finally i got this.

[@Kall_Mii_Kemo]

thank you I think I can use this in sketchbook

[@bathorybill9423]

Awesome as always dude!

[@ronniethezombie]

I still suck at coloring but this helped me so much thank you. At-least I've been flatting right.

[@groovekiller84]

Great one, thank you Michael!

[@seeto44]

+K Michael Russell Will be buying your course Monday you are the Man

[@yertargynanuarbek5819]

MAAAAN. you are a magician. Thank you so much!

[@tatortatot8165]

Very good!!

[@opikroy1021]

thank you so much for a great lesson, this help full to me, so i share to my friends on my facebook.

[@isengard9956]

Michael can you do another video much like this? But could you try and go in even more depth and break it down even further if possible?

[@jonathanbisher]

Really great tutorial. Excellent job of breaking things down into understandable steps and methods for coloring. Any suggestions for tutorials or courses that do a good job of teaching how to get to the first part, i.e how to sketch a concept and then ink it, like what you started with?

[@Smertokot]

Great!!!! Thanks!

[@slepycitron]

Thank you. Extremely helpful.

[@sunjester8254]

I think it's great you're doing these videos, but I'm wondering about your procedures. Why use the lasso tool instead of the magic wand/quick selection tool? If you need to extend into the ink lines, can't you just expand the border? Also, why color the whole image one color and then add colors to specific areas instead of doing each separately from the start? Do you also know the process for getting a comic print ready in other areas too? Do you save your photoshop artwork as a pdf and then place into indesign? I created the word balloons using illustrator. Should I put them into photoshop and then place into indesign, or put them into indesign and then type out the text there, then save as pdf? Thanks for any input you can offer.

[@nunezinkgaming]

very good tutorial man subbed

[@hiltonacetuvilla7299]

Thanks for this! big help :)

[@kohk79]

I love your videos, thank you!

[@lukecarrdraws]

Absolutely fantastic video! Informative and easy to take in. Subscribed! One question. Who did the line art of the character? It's got a fantastic style. Respect from the UK

[@ThembiLewis]

This is so useful! As someone trying to write independent comics, this is a really helpful way to upskill myself so I can cut down on hiring a big full-time team. I'll definitely be giving your course a go. Do you know of any worthwhile courses for digitally inking a pencil scan?

[@wolfprime]

I have been prepping my line art all wrong. I saw a video or read something somewhere and since then I've been copying and inverting the blue channel, then loading the selection on a new layer to free the line art from the background and allow coloring under the lines . . .

[@wolfprime]

+K Michael Russell Could I make that an action?

[@wolfprime]

That color mask, though! I was whipping through figures after I set that action up! I LOVE you man! L O L !

[@wolfprime]

Bummer though, I signed up for your free course, but AT&T had me off the net for close to three weeks! What's I miss and when are you offering it again?

[@ravcaol2104]

I prefer clipping masks, but still a lot of good tips!

[@fahmisa4790]

nice videos thanks for sharing

[@philmendez4771]

You are so awesome! Thank you! Phil Mendez

[@vagabondNS]

Fantastic tutorial. Thanks man. :)

[@paragthakur448]

What is that action you are applying at timing 17:05 of the video to separate hair in a new layer, please help, not getting it

[@colorwithkurt]

It's copying the selection contents to a new layer and locking the transparent pixels on that layer.

[@northernwindcomicspaul2531]

Awesome

[@pyannaguy]

Why do you whip those big, fast, looping lines that AREN'T tracing the outline?

[@jjuanringgold4719]

how are you hiding the selection you make because whenever I press (Control + G) it just creates a new group instead of hiding the selection

[@colorwithkurt]

That's just what I set it to. You can set it to any shortcut.

[@samuelduarte4471]

I did not understand the part of the hair ( 9:19 - 9:30 ) How come it was not necessary to carefully select all the hair?

[@tendaisibiya1308]

Im also stuck on that this part.

[@thalleslc6969]

excelente trabalho

[@TekkLuthor]

Am I doing too much work by putting every major section in its own layer. So skin has a layer, clothing, accessories?

[@BrkGncyHD]

Video için teşekkürler.

[@frenziefilms]

Don't know why but I go to paint bucket after lasso and it just has the circle with a slash in it

[@ankitpattanaik7704]

Awesome Videos Sir. Really helpful :)

[@TheMattybake]

Thanks for the excellent tutorial. If you don't mind me asking, how do you actually find color flatters to do the flatting stage?

[@TheMattybake]

Thanks!

[@CosyPigeon]

Thank you for creating this, I'm not much into comic coloring personally, but these techniques are usefull for any type of digital art style. The way you explain what you're actually doing with the software is really helpful. Was wondering, have you discoevered a way to make the Lasso Tool fill with a colour automatically as soon as you make the selection? I've been experimenting with drawing directly using the Lasso but am struggling to find a way to speed it up.

[@colorwithkurt]

Clip Studio has that function but PS doesn't. Thanks a lot!

[@gregfilipino3701]

I noticed you used to color using screen blending brush mode right? is it faster to work with normal mode to render the colors?

[@Mr_JohnBlaze]

I'm learning to color and everytime I change Canvas color it tints the entire image. What am I doing wrong? It's super annoying because I know it's probably something super simple like un-checking a box but for the life of me I can't figure out which one.

[@clarer6819]

late to the party, but alt doesn't bring up that bubble for me. It brings up the color dropper.

[@colorwithkurt]

Which thing are you talking about? The brush size thing? You have to also hold right click while hovering over the tablet.

[@MrDeathCell]

Wouldn't it be faster to select the background with magic wand and then inverse the selection to get the outline?

[@colorwithkurt]

Depends on the line art, but there are a lot of ways to do this.

[@FunArtWithDavidAnimator]

Hey bro your art is great i like it. What is tablet are you using?

[@FunArtWithDavidAnimator]

K Michael Russell oh you use Wacom intous and your art is working great.

[@everettejay]

I'm pretty new to photoshop so this may be a newbie mistake, but I keep losing my lasso selection halfway or more through the initial outline tracing. I'm accidentally clicking outside the trace and poof it goes away. What can I do to avoid this?

[@newname5517]

Good video. I have never used photoshop before. Looks like I need to. Do I need some kind of electronic pen for this?

[@colorwithkurt]

I do recommend tablets for this. PS is not a requirement. There are a lot of apps available for coloring.

[@TheOllyj]

Need help! New to digital colouring, when I go to use the lasso tool at the beginning, How do I use it?! Do I need to click and hold as I draw round the outline? Sorry for the stupid question but I really am completely new to it all

[@thedimensionk4835]

Great video!!! Very helpful. But the point where you add the black layer and change mode to screen doesn't work. It mutes the colors.

[@thedimensionk4835]

Which I figured out after a another review of your video. All the answers were there, I was just moving to fast. You are the man!

[@henrickcostales9273]

Cool Coloring !!!! May i ask what version you use in your PHOTOSOP? Thanks

[@ryangunwitch-black]

This is cool, but I'm interested in your CMYK profile set up. Where can I find the best info on setting those?

[@dzakyfauzan344]

How to color the picture black dress, made red color ?? I try unusual

[@bueasink7650]

High Mike, i dont understand the part where u create a new white new layer (which u later named flats). everytime i try to create a new layer but all i get this transparent (or pixel-ish) background. Please reply ASAP. thanks

[@ErickCartmanReactsToShorts]

Amazing video! Thank you! =)

[@vivajest5812]

Is it possible to color in comics drawn traditionally, inked with a ball point pen and scanned all using your mouse. (no digital tablet)

[@acem73]

Like y Suscrito, Muchas Gracias Michael