Grayscale To Color Art Process ... and why I don't use it

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Learn about the grayscale to color digital painting process and important art fundamentals along the way! Technique talk and painting fundamentals.
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[@marcobucci]

I hate to admit this, but that 'bat' pun at 15:40 was not intentional. But talk about your happy accidents!

[@kushkungvivo744]

Marco Bucci you're a genius

[@pitrek121g]

My happy accident was finding your channel! So helpful, cheers!

[@JPR4Y]

Marco Bucci Sooo Beaurifuuulll The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.

[@MusicalRaichu]

don't worry, i didn't even bat an eylid. while i agree that it's best to consider colour from the outset, you did remind me that values play a significant role which i kind of forgot--i should watch your earlier videos again. hey i never knew about gradient map. i wouldn't use it to colour an image, but it might come in handy to achieve interesting effects.

[@thatlolou6967]

lol xDDD I rly love your way of talking tho, it motivates a lot, somehow!! ^^ and your lessons are soooooo helpful, tysm~!! x3

[@i5anna1000]

I have another suggestion: While working in Photoshop, go to: Window--> Arrange --> Another window for (your image). It creates an identical image beside it, in another tab. You can turn that image into grayscale by going to: View --> Proof Setup --> working gray. This way, you're painting in colours while watching your values. It's the best way I've found.

[@marcobucci]

Just tried this. Works great! Thanks for the tip.

[@Szczurzyslawa]

OOOOH I was searching forever how to do that in PS, thank you! (I've seen it before but totally forgot)

[@soulcatproductions]

Oooh yes! And for people on the iPad (like procreate), go to settings -> shortcuts, and turn on triple click home button for instant greyscale switch!

[@alexiz0013]

That's an awesome tip!

[@EchoOfTheVoid]

and if your software doesn't have a function like this, you can add a black fill layer on top, and switch it to color. then just flick it on and off to check values from time to time. its what i do in krita :)

[@a.krishna3924]

I actually...find gray scale - color more difficult, I don't get how ppl do it, because the color afterwards never turn out how I want it

[@SFingaz_Fo20]

the most important thing to have is the correct greyscale values when using blendmodes. and use multiply not soft light overlay etc unless you know what ur doing. simply turning down saturation doesnt give you the true values. instead make a black n white adjustment layer and set everything to 100% to get the correct values. painting in this way give the exaact same result as if you where to glaze and oil painting

[@zorro727]

Cause u are noob

[@a.krishna3924]

StickyFingazFO20 I mean I can make a solid painting if I start grey scale but I feel like it won't be as good if I start with color right away. I do photography, if I'm planning to take BnW pics, I wouldn't take pics with color settings and then turning it BnW digitally later, because I won't aesthetically see it in bnw..if that makes sense.

[@a.krishna3924]

NPC Pika96 i know

[@izzyr9590]

I think its mainly for people that thinks about gray scale and values first before colours. Some people find it really hard to decide what colour they want to use. Its easier to switch colours around this way. For example, if im designing a character with complex clothing and I dont know if he or she should wear black or red sweater, I would do gray scale first. and then try on these colours.

[@Zombie-gd6fw]

This video contains more knowledge than all hours of painting class on the 1st year of my studies together. Thank you. EDIT. Omg, I didn't know there are so many people in similar situation. :O Hope you progress every day~

[@Pegaite]

Same!!

[@SleepyMatt-zzz]

Same. My school was shit.

[@derickdoveglass]

Sshhhhh🤫

[@brendananimation]

yeah... that about sums it

[@esahutske]

Derick Dove 🤣🤣🤣

[@Blacksunshine2802]

I'm amazed! This guy is not your average "how to draw" youtuber. We got some clean and analytic explanation useful for even professionals. Not to mention the incredible illustrations and real time examples making it so easily understandable. I wish you were my mentor. Hats off!

[@marcobucci]

Thanks!

[@autumn3432]

a lot of people say grayscale to color is very easy to beginner, but I think, its work only for artist that already has a very good understanding about color

[@Novanim]

Marco Bucci just single-handedly saved thousands of dollars worth of art classes to most art students in the worlds with this amazing video.

[@marcobucci]

haha, thanks for watching! This video is presented with a hefty bias (even attached that in the video's title) so do be sure to further explore the grayscale technique, both on your own and from artists who favour it, so you may ultimately come to your own decision(s)! All the best with your work,

[@jimshoos5272]

😂❓

[@KatBlaque]

THANK YOU. I tried this technique the other day (I paint in color) and it was so frustrating and I couldn't igure out why. Was hard for me to not feel like a failure. ._.

[@anormalandnon-suspiciousbo5290]

I wouldn’t expect you to be here, I love your vids :D

[@raspberryjamus287]

Kat blaque? On my painting tutorial? Lmao surprised to see you here

[@roverclover3178]

It was so easy for me

[@SlayPlenty]

failing is fine.

[@laniakeas92]

You are just very good in understanding colors. That's why it feels wrong and artificial for you. In nature it doesn't work this way

[@thiagoolive28]

it's amazing how you get straight to the point of the topics that we students want to know (but nobody explained) ... just THANK YOU very much!!! (your book is unbelievable)

[@marcobucci]

Thanks!

[@starfart69]

"I kinda feel like I'm painting on glass or something" Artists who paint on glass: I will pretend I didn't see this

[@popenieafantome9527]

Different medians, different preferences.

[@leileaves4947]

I watched this years ago and as a result, I stopped trying to push grayscale to color method. Now we're here and found that it's the best method for me! I agree with the reasons why grayscale to color doesn't feel right like about controlling the edges. So what I did was I just added my own twist in the technique. Instead of rendering the drawing in grayscale, I apply the color layer first (I use soft light instead color layer mode), then I make a new layer where I render the values + colors. That way I have more control! I do have a video of my digital art process so if you're interested you can check it out. You just really need to find a way to make things work sometimes. I struggle a lot with colors that's why I chose to give this method another try!

[@alleycatblues865]

THANK YOU. I learned Digital Painting in school doing the greyscale to color method and It always felt off. I forced myself to do it because that is how I was taught. I not only hated how my pieces were turning out, I really disliked the process... I feel that's something important that artists don't talk about enough. Once I shunned what I was taught and started digitally painting straight to color, it was fun again. My work has increased and so has my mental state, haha!

[@corylcreates]

"The way your process feels to you has a significant outcome." I think this sums up why some people love this technique and others don't. I struggle with value and identifying value (maybe I'm just a bad artist), so taking the time to focus on shadows and light helps me to improve my sense of form in a painting. It also helps me to not use flat colours in a cel-shading style. I get the option to practice blending edges, paying attention to light and shadow, and focusing on form and shape. When I move to the colour, I don't use Overlay, Multiply, or Color; I use Light layers (soft light, hard light, etc.) and those act different as well. I get the chance to see how the colour works in the value and adjust based on my eye. My process doesn't take a saturated colour, smear it over the values, and then call it done. I have a very different way of painting than you do. Your art uses lots of textured brushes to add accents, and that's not how I paint. I don't need to add colour to a halftone brush or a broken glass brush, because that's not part of my process. I use fewer than three brushes in my art. Your technique, however, relies on those splashes of coloured texture for the "expression" in your image. The techniques you demonstrated to do colour are glazing, and that's not everyone's process either. I'm paused right now at 12:18 just because what you said really made me want to say all this. :P It's very interesting to see your process and how different it is to mine.

[@blankflank3488]

I pretty much completely agree with you. I only JUST started with digital art, so I'm a noob, but I would like to at least try grayscale to color. I totally understand what he's saying about it being extra work, but I don't think it's too bad if you use a different style with fewer colors, and a different approach to adding the color. I just watched a Draw with Jazza video where his grayscale-to-color image looked great and seemed really fast, becuz it was relatively simple and stylized. Bucci's style seems to be replicating that of real life paint, while I like a more... I dunno, artificial feel to my work? Like a cartoon with rather simplistic colors and values, but with realistic proportions and stuff. However I'd like to branch out to make not a "real" painting, but practice more with realistic shading instead of, as you said, cell-shading style, which I think will also help me branch out to not needing to use (often bold) lineart when I feel like giving that a try.

[@JaelBreton]

Wow! After all these years of trying to understand or trying to accept coloring from greyscale to color, I finally found the answer! Many artists encourage this method but I always struggled because it never felt complete or cohesive. So many extra steps just to include color. Sometimes I'd rather just keep it greyscale and call it finish. But I love color. Another answer you gave me that I didn't even know I was looking for was how to start with color. I was mind blown when you mentioned you started with neutral colors and added more or less saturation based on how you felt along the way. That's such an amazing way, I must try. Thank you so much for this video. It's just what I needed to start changing.

[@anima94]

Another thing you didn't mention (I think) is drawing straight with color but having a pure black layer on top that is set to saturation(this turns it into grayscale without changing the values like desaturating normally does). Then you can enable this layer from time to time to see your values and disable again to continue painting in color.

[@hazelhen5401]

colour is by far the most daunting aspect of a picture for me. Maybe its because I'm colourblind. I often run into a wall where my colours don't look quite right, even to me, when I start greyscale - but I can actually finish an image without stressing so much haha

[@SylvesterMassey]

Always waiting for Marco Bucci's color theory videos !

[@endhirs6059]

Sylvester Massey same xdd

[@marcobucci]

Thanks Sylvester!

[@deejjohn5279]

I've seen a couple comments that mention that glazing shouldn't be used as a technique in painting, and this is just untrue. The old masters didn't do it soley out of necessity, they also did it to achieve radiant, almost glowing tones. The under layers reflect through the glaze layers and give an effect that can only be achieved through glazing. This is all speaking about oil painting though, so is it different on Photoshop? Im not entirely sure. But to say that glazing is a beginner technique, or that it isn't worth the time- is just Ill informed.

[@sianmilne4879]

Also watercolour is like 80% glazing, not just oils

[@user-qm3eg5yo6n]

"Glazing" in photoshop also helps make colors look richer.

[@erixlloliver-darkmusic]

The only clever comment in this video!

[@dobanyi]

I think its completely different in Photoshop. In oil all the benefits of the glazing technique comes from the material itself. How light bounces off and scatters through the different layers, how different pigments let colours through, etc. It's a physical phenomenon. None of this is applicable to digital "glazing". Even if you take a photo of an old master's work, a lot of the extra quality of the glazing will get lost.

[@RalvinTY]

I'm at the beginner stage. That is why I am using values for now. Since back when I was a total noob. I just pringled colors into my art like a maniac. So, I just wanted to understand values much more. So, I chose to work with values.

[@ratulebah3497]

Me too I'm a beginner when I color my painting it looks ugly cause I don't understand color theory so that's why I learn about values first then the color theory

[@titus9303]

I feel like the greyscale method works great for drawing focused artists for more comicbook type work, and can really help them get exposure to the color world if they are lacking. The non greyscale methods would obviously be more appealing for those painter focused artists and of course the work style that goes with it. There are all kind of hybrids and thats great. Just do what fits you. its just amazing to have to many options and styles, just keep creating 👍

[@XPSChaos]

I was literally going to email you asking about this the other day. What kind of mind reading wizard are you?

[@shadabshadman7827]

A bucci good one...

[@THUNGUNS]

A colourful one

[@shawn.m.schmidt]

Both approaches are correct to the purpose of a particular piece. The benefit of the grisaille technique, when done traditionally, is it can let an inner light created in the monochromatic layer come through the glazing that just isn't quite possible when working with opaque color. That being said I haven't been able to work out the same effect when working with digital paints. The commentary is a valid perspective. But, so is working in value first, in the right setting.

[@Lambda12357]

"Right off the bat" while painting Batman, I hope the pun was intended!

[@marcobucci]

It ... was not.

[@dizeart]

@@marcobucci this is so disappointing

[@SleepyMatt-zzz]

I wish I had teachers like you in university. Your audio book gave me a lot to think about. Especially the "art is not academia" line.

[@SEGAClownboss]

I never used the grayscale method and I had such a hard time with it cos it seemed like every concept artist used it. I always just splotched colour right from the beginning. These are the very flaws you brought up here, and you also gave me some other useful tips. Much obliged, Marco.

[@eiwaMovies]

Thank you for this very good video. Still I think that you missed one major point: You ARE already a professional. You know how values, shapes, light and so on work. The problem is, that everybody starts out with colors and gets into this "Microsoft Paint" style with the colors, because they get easily confused and they often spend many years to figure out what is wrong in their art. Seperating colors from the other aspects is something I highly recommend everyone who starts out with art. You should focus on the fundamentals first before trying to get to expression. I totally agree with you on that point, throwing in the colors more quickly is mostly more expressive but nothing we should start with if we really want to improve. It helps me a lot, to leave out the colors first and I learned a lot about, why my colors did not work in the painting. Greyscale to color IS a very hard thing to do, because we often don't understand the connection between colors and values as you have shown in this video. But by using this technique we will learn from it and understand how this all works together until, if we prefere it that way, start painting directly in color. Greyscale is also a way to figure out compositions much easier, btw :) Also you should consider, that you have a very painterly style which is really not fitting for the greyscale technique. I think it depends also much on what you want to paint and what style you are doing :) Have a nice day and looking forward to your next video!

[@a-carvalho8751]

Dude, I gotta say you have some of the most eloquent explanations I've ever heard about actually almost anything, not just related to art. I'm in love with your channel content. Keep it up!

[@marcobucci]

Thanks a lot!

[@milksweet6038]

You have a wonderful radio voice! Thanks for the video I’m a gouache & watercolor painter who doesn’t really understand how to paint digitally but have been trying to wrap my head around what ppl are doing when I see a painting start in greyscale & end in color & not understanding why it looks off to me personally. Love the way you paint!

[@marcobucci]

Thanks!

[@sarahkturner8862]

You can always make even the smallest things about painting really interesting to learn about! Starting off immediately with color definitely gives more expression and energy to a piece, and I like the multiple options you gave in turning grayscale into color. I still personally prefer to start off with a grayscale sketch in my paintings, but I know I’ll start to think of how to preserve shapes and edges with the opaque color layers from now on!

[@CosmicLeche]

In the past few years, I've started painting digitally a lot more, and not too long ago, an art teacher of mine held a intense, five day traditional painting workshop thats focal point was working with colours. It was like acrylic bootcamp. I learned a lot during the whole thing, and I basically modelled my digital painting technique after it. Then, during a feedback session, I had that same teacher tell me I should use the greyscale to colour technique. Lots of mixed messages in that school.

[@rainbowfox1934]

I understand what you are saying. I have focused almost entirely on color. It is like learning a language. Focusing on color language gives you fluency. Then, learn to do a griselle with color in mind from the beginning. Complete.

[@chrantheman]

You pronounce everything very clearly, have a nice tone of voice and explain everything so even a very novice painter like me understood your process, thank you very much for this video Marco.

[@Kayseurounet]

Agreed with everything you've said in this video. I myself have been using the "gateway" method for a while now, and I'm starting to feel more&more comfortable with direct colors, so I definitely encourage other people to do the same if they're in that same "in-between" spot.

[@jujucatjuca]

Oh wow, I never really liked the grayscale to color technique. Your points on how it makes it harder to incorporate color later helped me figure out why.

[@emil-9432]

I wouldn’t think of painting grayscale to convert it to color, just because it’s simpler for me to do it with color from the start. But I watched this video anyway, and I learned so much from it regardless! You are truly the best resource on painting, on the web, and off the web. So much pure knowledge - I grow as an artist after watching each of your videos. Thank you so much!

[@marksan5043]

I have once made an illustration of new york for a studio in grey scale i drew every little detail about Manhattan, time square and i took 2 months drawing that grey scale painting.. when i wanted to color it it was a big disappointment I wasn't able to create that harmony between the colours and shapes/values/edges.. so i understand everything you said in the video and absolutely agree, you are an amazing teacher please keep going!

[@erym7483]

The "gateway" version reminds me lf what my traditional painting teacher had us do. We never went into a full grayscale painting but maybe 30% and painted ontop. Enough to get the main shapes, because doing a full grayscale and then color feels like painting it twice. Coloring ontop of grayscale digitally is tricky. You have to be a wiz at layer modes and picking colors. Most have desatutated tone and feeling because they go with the values. I think it works depending on the piece, but in general is pretty limiting due to how bright and saturated the colors can possibly look. So for me it's easier to learn grayscale > gateway method > full color

[@xuanxh]

Even though I find it rather hard and I still struggle, I try to go directly with colors as well. If I start with greyscale, I tend to get "stuck" when I start applying the colors, it just looks dull and washed out. When starting the colors, I add a black layer on color mode to check my values from time to time. It's not easy, but at least I look at the pros: the more I work that way, the more I get used to starting directly with colors :)

[@JSpyx]

I know this video is 4 years old...but really thank you. I knew there was something off with gray-scale painting vs coloring. Ive done both, but I just...didn't feel the same with applying colors to a grayscale. I just...wanted to create color values on the go, as Im coloring on already established colors. I always thought the grayscale to color was the superior method when it comes to painting efficiently, but it does go to sacrificing some value etc. I'm just glad this video exist , that another profession artist prefers to not go with the grayscale method.

[@Psil0]

Pretty much the solution I'm slowly building up to. I got stuck recently with trying to add color to a detailed grayscale and hating both the result and experience... I ended up either having to redo everything afterward in color if I wanted to achieve a nice raw look, or simply accepting that it would look kinda muddy. Realized that introducing colors much earlier in the process would still allow me to focus on shapes at first (without color intruding in the process) but would let me have fun with the expressiveness of the colors and detailing process.

[@thewicca6896]

Gosh that painting is beautiful. I wish I had the patience to work on something that massive.

[@bldaugh]

I like grayscale to color pieces, but only if they're used to convey a certain atmosphere in a painting. For instance, it works really well to me if the artist is trying to convey a sad, detached/eerie emotion in a piece or is trying to portray early morning/evening light. However, I don't like it when it is used in pieces that are attempting happier, livelier imagery because the grayscale creates too many desaturated tones that express the opposite of what is intended by the artist, which confuses the viewer. I think grayscale to color is fine as long as it is used appropriately and can have some really cool effects. This was a really great and informative video. You're really good at explaining art processes in a simple but effective way, which is something that I think most art channels lack. I tend to get lost when people try to explain concepts like this. However, I easily understood your message here. : - )

[@littlecurrybread]

Everyone owes it to themselves to watch these videos more than once. So much stuff that I didn’t catch the first time.

[@Randyrocker1]

There's sunshine color and there's rainy day gloom grey scale, more like painting over night to make day. I'd much rather see the sunny side, than to be left in a fog. Thanks for making the art world a little brighter.

[@KaidaYukiFan]

Thank you so much, this video literally instantly changed my life. I’ve painted more pieces I’m happy with in the 24 hours after watching this + your other videos on color than I have in the past three years, it’s like you flipped on the switch in my brain enabling me to paint with color. So glad I decided to click on this

[@syltmacka7355]

That's exactly how i've felt whenever i do it! and i always thought i was just very terrible at comprehending value to color. It might be that some artists have a stronger desire for color expression which would make color first more important. honestly i think the method comes down to what the artist strives for most.

[@ramcharanPhirangi]

I saw this video while searching for grayscale to color. Values are the best way to color shapes. Obviously any kid would know that it doesn't work for textures. Anyone would go for direct colors while working on textures or some complex patterns. 😊👍

[@LionArtStudio]

You are truely a colour master......I love the way you use colour & light , & I instantly recognise your work without even knowing it’s yours. I hope one day I’m able to paint this expressively, & width such conviction.

[@marcobucci]

That's a huge compliment - thanks a lot :)

[@LionArtStudio]

@@marcobucci you've earned it!

[@user-qm3eg5yo6n]

The black and white method works best for moody dark art with minimal color. You put way too many colors in your art too be messing with that approach.

[@WadWizard]

That makes sense, its something ive heard about black and white photography and film that the benefit it has is you can get really rich darks, cause with color you can see much more going on in them but in black and white its just black... well not just black theres subtle variation, but its much harder to distinguish than color variations.

[@j.2512]

he said he starts with neutrals for a reason. Yo can add a lot more life even to a dark ambient painting if you add color variety in neutral tones, with temperature shifts , rather than just completely neutral grays. Is not about cheery vs gloomy

[@user-qm3eg5yo6n]

I'm saying that you can get away with less colors with that style of art. I didn't say it's a rule.

[@EvilSnips]

I also think he uses very complicated brush strokes as well which made it hard to color after.

[@marcobucci]

@@EvilSnips Good point. If you are working as painterly as I do, that choice alone may eliminate the grayscale-to-color method as a viable option.

[@addiowl8538]

I tend to overlook my painting as a whole when I use color(and I can never do it correctly) so I guess doing value first makes is easier for me

[@leporidae-art]

i dont paint greyscale, tried it once and hated it from the start. BUT!!!! ALL THE HELPFUL BASIC COLOR THEORY AND PAINTING THINGS MADE ME SUBSCRIBE TO YOU AND IT WAS SO SO SO NICE THAT YOU MENTIONED THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD OF ART AT ALL IN THE VIDEO so yeah youre great thanks for this

[@CaptainFutureman]

I love the little tip to sketch in greyscale, but then start colouring early. That kind of gives you the best of both worlds. Definitely going to use that for a bit.

[@Hugop_arts]

Really interesting topic. While I wholeheartedly agree and believe in painting with colors, I think for beginners, grayscale painting is an important step for speedier learning. When you still don't have all the fundamentals down, when you have a finished artwork and decide to evaluate it to realize what you need to keep improving on, it might be a bit hard to distinguish if it's a value problem, a color problem or anything in between. Keeping it grayscale allows for less variants and for beginners to take one step at a time. Even though it's a lengthier process at face value (no pun intended) it helps to learn faster because pinpointing your mistakes is easier. The idea though, is to eventually graduate from that and start painting straight with colors.

[@grenader6409]

Old masters were using grayscale underpainting and their paintings aren't inexpressive. Just use it correctly and then paint over if you wish with color glaze layer or thick normal layer. Grayscale helps to achieve more realistic "Rembrandt" type of painting where you can show form and light interaction with its surface. For cartoon style paintings it just adds complexity.

[@ButchCurry]

The old masters didn't have much choice. A lot of the oil paint they had access to weren't as opaque as the ones that came along later. White is usually the most opaque of all the colors, and the lead white they had wasn't nearly as opaque as the titanium white that came later. They didn't master grisaille + glazing because it was better, they did it because they didn't have a choice.

[@Ryanin2D]

Also, you have to consider that grisaille involves layer fat over thin, in which modulating your paint per layer is a technique in and of itself. Marco wasn't putting down grisaille, just expressing why he doesn't use it. With advancements in technology even not including digital painting, grisaille is now a niche that focuses on achieving mood rather than as the predominate tool at the time. Also, Rembrandt spent a shit load of time painting fat over lean on his painting, which is an arduous process that isn't a feasible workflow in most industry pipelines today due to the massive time restraints on projects

[@kullenberg]

Pretty sure the old masters didn't use photoshop.

[@LAOK242]

So they did an B&W underpainting and then went over it and painted normally on top? They didn't have access to "special layers" so they could've just skipped the underpainging and went straight for it. Their colours look expressive and natural because they were painted straight forward just as you would painting with colour to begin with. The problem with PS is that you end up trying to clean up its mess as the special layers colours look far from natural and you'd be just better off painting in colour to begin with.

[@thashai.a]

The old masters used earth tones for underpaintings and grisaile. They didnt strictly use black and white they always used red, brown, orcher and earth tones.

[@flipChoco2283]

this was really helpful!! ive always heard that greyscale to colour was so much easier but after seeing this, id rather not change. using colour first is way more fun and less daunting.

[@Scereyaha]

This is a large part of why I use this more as a middle step. Like paint in colour, and then when you have problems getting the values just right, make a grey-scale copy and fit that, before going back to colour... it also helps to pick your primary highlight midtone and shadow colour and add a gradient map to the greyscale, thus ensuring that the colours respect all the same shaped and boundaries of their related tones... even if you have to do it in a couple different selections... They say, just before he brings up the gradient map

[@Sky-de7oy]

Exactly! It always felt weird to me to color like that, like it's lacking something and you said it.

[@DL-ty4cu]

I completely agree with your assessment and feelings on this method. However, i am trying to do a preliminary value sketch before painting, because it helps me make a lot of composition and lighting choices. When I go to color, i start from 'scratch' again. But I have already though about the values, so the color choices come more naturally to mind.

[@scribbles1440]

I just want to say thank you for including a transitional/introductory way to start painting directly with color. I'm still not 100% comfortable with color, but I'm really great with values. So I've been doing the initial process and playing to my strengths. But I'm glad you included a way for me to start experimenting with color.

[@motionwindart]

12:45 yes this is it, this is how I've seen everyone use this, this is the point, you just set it as a starting point, I've never seen anyone use it as you've use it at the beginning of the video. As a beginner this is great because you get to experience how things should look like, I mean as you get more experience it doesn't make sense to continue to use it because it's served its purpose, it helped you build knowledge, with that knowledge you can just go straight in color.

[@muskturtle8406]

I find painting directly in color is easier, the hue and saturation also affect values, that means I only need to get the value at about 70-80% correct, the rest will be done by the colors once I get the colors right.

[@tommie3700]

Learning greyscale to colour would be especially detrimental when you're painting skin. If you're so used to working with values _only_ you'll probably fall into the common mistake that shadows and highlights are just darker and brighter versions of the base skin tone, which is why skin ends up looking waxy, lifeless and flat. Skin is made up of at least 10 different shades, with different saturation and brightness. I think it's much easier to go from painting colour to painting values than the other way around.

[@Outpost67]

BUCCI GANG BUCCI GANG BUCCI GANG BUCCI GANG

[@lunehowls]

this got 69 likes XD

[@bellenesatan]

Pussy gang is what I've been mumbling reading this.

[@ashleym.7233]

🅱ucci 🅱ang

[@PatrickChapmanuk]

I'm just learning about painting on computer having learned to paint in the conventional way. The only benefits of working in greyscale was to learn the first 3 fundamentals you mention when initially learning to paint. It's similar to painting big to get a better feel of the shapes and edges you're attempting to recreate. However using colour is just another stepping stone to learning to paint. In the real life painting world you really have no choice but to start using colour from the beginning of that learning process. I cannot imagine attempting to introduce colour to an otherwise fully rendered greyscale image. I love computers and really enjoy the process of using Painter on my PC or tablet. It's given me a practical opportunity to start painting again. But perhaps there really are some painting processes which every digital artist can benefit from, by painting with real brushes and canvas first. If only to improve their future digital paintings. Not always practical I grant you, but might help some who are struggling with colour. Try exploring your local area for painting groups. They often provide the best environments to do this practically. Good video.

[@raf74hawk12]

I really appreciate how you thoroughly explained why you don't like this process without making it some proclamation of judgment about how "if you do it this way it's wrong!" Great video!

[@UmouMais]

I totally agree with you Marco. Everytime I begin with color I feel that my art gets a better result. I think this is related to what you said about joy and fun while painting, because lets admit, painting in grayscale first is really boring. And another thing I was just wondering... I dont know any traditional painter who does grayscale technique, so why would we do that right? It is unnatural...

[@RubyLime1]

I don't think that what traditional painters do is what you should be going off - digital art is a very different medium.

[@buttbuttyawn3280]

@@RubyLime1 Shapes, Value, Edges and Colour (as well as brushwork and a decent amount of other choices) are just as important to consider in both digital and traditional painting. To say that you shouldn't learn from the process of of traditional artists because the medium is different is not something I can agree with at all. Sure, the nuances of your medium are different, but if you go back and watch any of Marco's process videos for traditional art (his watercolour boat painting, for example) he's still employing exactly the same decision making process as he does digitally in a lot of the earlier structure stages and the overall composition of a piece.

[@Pegaite]

Finally someone who likes to start with colors! My art teacher is always talking about grayscale and putting the colors afterwards, but it really takes away the fun with art...

[@RubyLime1]

@@buttbuttyawn3280 Oh no don't take it the wrong way; I was referring to him saying "I dont know any traditional painter who does grayscale technique, so why would we do that right? It is unnatural...". This is kind of close-minded thinking if you approach digital painting. I very well know how important traditional painting is to digital painting and how they bridge between each other, but saying that because traditional painters don't do something that digital artists do is suddenly "unnatural" is what I had gripes with. I probably should have phrased my original comment differently :)

[@buttbuttyawn3280]

@@RubyLime1 Ah, I see what you mean now! That makes perfect sense and totally agreed. Apologies, we'll meet halfway and say it was your phrasing and my lack of reading and misinterpretation too, haha.

[@Nyajinsky]

I never understood how to make greyscale to color and was planing to learn it because everybody was saying how better it is. now I don't want to anymore. and I don't even draw the color-y way you do. plus I use color picker too much. that would be impossible in that way.

[@reportaccount474]

a lot of the time, greyscale is just used to find contrast. if you need help with contrast, you might use greyscale. hope this helps :)

[@yurei8004]

Color picker is an extremely bad practice just saying

[@g.mcdonald3356]

@@yurei8004 Or....everyone could just finds what works for them...

[@NovusNiveus]

I need to thank you for making this video, as it helped me to update and massively improve my process. The first time I watched the video, about 18 months ago, I said 'Humbug, underpainting works and I like it', and I carried on that way until very recently. My wife finally convinced me to stop using this method and it instantly elevated the quality of my painting, and having come back to this video several times since I can see that rendering with color is a superior choice. Of course, grayscale painting is useful for many applications, like when you are learning to implement value or if you need to produce something quick and dirty in order to iterate designs, but for the best value and hue relationships you really do need to render in color - it is not only more controllable (by way of adjustment layers) but also produces cleaner and bolder results. TL;DR: Listen to Marco. Once upon a time I was not ready to receive the learnings, but this is truly the way. 👍

[@CourtneyCoulson]

I'm a pen and ink artist who rarely works with colour but I found this fascinating.

[@agumaffione]

what I do, as I'm still not so used to color, I open two windows of the same file but one in black and white. I hope that it would be useful to someone. Great video, thanks.

[@noname-rj7dx]

Agustin Maffione I put a black and white filter over it whenever I need to check on my values

[@eybietie]

clicking like before watching means something!

[@ClashixTV]

that ballroom painting is one of the best digital art pieces i've ever seen. the colours are just amazing. I love the windows and lights. and that dress holy crap. how on earth do you do this. :D ;(

[@amylunden8246]

This is such a superb video in so many ways. I’m r/g color blind and have been researching grayscale to color after getting back into working digitally. It’s so much easier for me to separate out the value stage without having to deal with color and then using a gradient map followed by direct painting over it with fresh brush strokes. But this video shows how with a little more confidence I might be able to move on and get comfortable working directly in color. Painting on paper or canvas, I can limit myself to three colors and use color theory to confidently mix what I need, but that is much harder to do digitally when you don’t see color well. So thank you so much for this extremely helpful take on the grayscale process!

[@LAOK242]

I couldn't agree more. Doing greyscale to colour just adds problems and a butt load of unnecessary work, you pretty much have to paint your piece 3 times over (greyscale, colour map, final layer on top) just to achieve the same results. Also colours from overlays, multiplies and colour layers feel extremely artificial, you can immediately tell that it was done by Photoshop. Maybe I'm just buyest because I ale preffer traditional look but this is a tedious technique that's just not worth it.

[@oBCHANo]

3 times the work if you have no idea what you're doing. There's a reason so many professional artists work that way, several reasons actually.

[@Rtz89]

I disagree. Traditionally I love diving right in with opaque colors and mix them on the canvas itself, leaving pure colors within the neutrals in tiny areas. But when I am creating stuff for concept (from my head and multiple references and I am changing planes and light), doing everything in grayscale saves a crap ton of time. You're not painting it 3 times, and even if you were, it's not at the same speed. Imagine you're painting a metal armor, next to a red fabric (cape) and reflective dragon scales all on the same piece. Figuring out the colors and the values all at the same time will take a lot more trial and error than painting everything with just black and white. You don't even have to switch in between colors on each texture since you're only relying on light. And when you glaze, you can also only use opaque brushstrokes in areas of emphasis or that need more layers. So painting it in grayscale and then add opaque or saturated colors on top is not taking the same time to paint it 3 times. It saves hours of figuring out lighting through color.

[@user-kf8fs9zx4g]

Seal What are the reasons?

[@OverH19]

This isn't related to the topic but have anyone ever told you that you and YongYea sound almost exactly the same? Both in tone and the way you speak.

[@marcobucci]

The real question is: how can you know we're not actually the same person?

[@ujtyhbfgtfsdxz]

@@marcobucci *x-files theme plays*

[@marcobucci]

@Lime lol. This is getting outta control.

[@drkmgic]

Omg has I cannot unhear!!

[@lyricjam39]

"painting over glass" you couldn't describe it better

[@Xeikkeiu]

Definitely agree on this - and I think my art improved when I stopped using greyscale to color as a crutch. BUT! One thing I like to do for bigger, more planned illustrations is value thumbnails. Basically, after deciding and sketching down the composition, I copy the picture and place many small versions of it in a new document. I then test out different lighting scenarios on them, and try to figure out the rough values for different parts of the picture. Then, I just use those thumbnails on the side as a help, while I go in directly with color on the real illustration.

[@marek_tarnawski]

My solution for this problem has always been the like presented in the video. Stopping on grayscale image as early as possible and then and then moving with color till the end.

[@wzrdpwrs4426]

For its like most things in the world, starting with values is a tool for certain medias. Being a painterly artist worried about strokes etc then ya starting with values makes no sense at all. If your a concept art using say a digital matte painting style then starting with values make way more sense and works. Different media and styles utilize different tools.

[@CelesteTM98]

You are so expressive and articulate, I am so amazed. Thank you for uploading!

[@CptKosher]

Good video! I've found that working gray scale first can help me figure out my values but it is sometimes better to start the painting over in color with the grey scale as more of a reference to fall back on. James Gurney pointed out in his blog a similar tip with the use of reference pictures, as to use black and white photos instead of color, but to each their own. I think it is interesting how Alex Ross (who primarily used gouache), paints in black in white first and adds color on top after, because it really doesn't show in a lot of his illustrations

[@keithartworker]

very well articulated. Thank you!

[@ragecandy]

idk for me it's the opposite, I prefer having a desaturated look and then paint a few highly saturated areas on top

[@ClearAbyss]

The one you did at the 15 minute mark with the gradient map looks so cool! I've never actually tried the grayscale method, but the gradient mapping looks fun to try out.

[@marcobucci]

It's definitely a nice tool :) There are artists out there who take its use much farther than I did here, so be sure to search that out!

[@robinfox4440]

Your tutorials are incredible; thank you so much for making them. This is the kind of instruction I needed 15 years ago when I was starting in art back in high school.

[@JEQvideos]

I disagree. If anyone wants to jump right into color from the get go because it's fun or more expressive for them, great. Whatever works for you as an artist. For me, reducing the complexity of the work by doing a greyscale first allows me to get the structure of the image down quickly. Then doing the color in a non-destructive manner allows me to explore my color choices and make major changes at pretty much any stage. You associate converting greyscale to color with glazing on another layer-which is basically you coloring the greyscale with whatever tones you pick in the moment. So yeah, I can see that leading to a disconnected feel. But you don't have to do that to convert. I use the gradient map method you mentioned but not as an "automatic" thing. I would lay one down over the entire composition to tie everything together and then blend in additional ones as needed. You could have one for each object if necessary. These will allow you to explore options very quickly and can be changed at any point until you flatten them. And that is in addition to all the other options you have--other types of adjustment layers, filters, direct painting, etc. The ease and flexibility of doing it this was are immense. Starting with color just looks like hell. Even if I was working in traditional media I would do greyscale and color studies before committing to a major painting.

[@marcobucci]

Thanks JEQ - these are all good points. As with any video presenting a bias (mine being the opposite of yours on this, it seems), people will come in on either end of it. Hopefully nobody views my video here as a blanket condemnation of the grayscale technique. I did my best to not present it that way - rather, as things to simply think about. And I hope people read comments like yours, are prompted to explore beyond just this video, then make up their own minds. All the best,

[@sociallyresponsiblexenomor7608]

Greyscale is used frequently by concept artists though remember. If you did a design for a company, and they tell you to change it's colors....

[@rcrisroiu4420]

Thank you for making this video! I thought I was rather lonely in not liking the process of going grayscale first and then adding color; it definitely has it's perks and I use it too! Although I much much prefer doing starting with color/painting in color; it makes painting truly fun.

[@delamaros]

perhasp there are billion of vids on internet about this tecnique....but is the first time I see that good explained, thank you

[@kamiko8021]

lol...showed us how to paint with grayscale while condemning it on the low. Good one

[@gottablast3964]

“color has been SEGREGATED” and i feel SO BAD BUT HAHAH

[@jacobprice3079]

Glad im not the only one who notices this lmao

[@ericakilbourn9716]

This is the video I've been waiting for. 👍 A lot of famous artists use the b&w to color technique and it looks fantastic. But side note. They still scumble and glaze semi-opaque colors to finish the piece. They still end up using solid colors.

[@a13monkey]

Always love your art tips Marco. They way you cut right to the point on the technical stuff, but then express your thoughts when making artistic decisions is exactly what I need to get my mind thinking creatively. I prefer painting with color first as well.

[@Skilital]

Who came here after CD video?

[@TheTenthBlueJay]

Yup

[@MightyXelf]

of course :)

[@agumgumelar3780]

you best teacher sir👏

[@peasantrobot]

you good friend! me likes!

[@agumgumelar3780]

😆

[@NixWingedOne]

I really have do disagree with buccis opinion on grayscale to color overlay to seaming being boring. I really enjoy working like that, it's so rewarding to bring it all together in the seaming part, and tweak everything to a working completion.

[@Fistleo]

I really appreciate this video I've only recently started to try out painting again and I've always had troubles directly painting in color so I decided to go for grey scale first and it kind of gave me this epiphany moment and it wasn't as frustrating for me. I've always had a really hard time with colors, even when doing just line drawings. Now, I'm an animator and I want to eventually go into game art so I think starting out in grey scale but also starting out directly in color both have their respective places. At the moment I want to get the basics of painting down with grey scale, because I feel like it's giving me a good base on the technique and how to THINK during painting and I hope that I can eventually learn colors properly and be less frustrated with those and paint in color directly.

[@mayap8191]

I find it really difficult to blend colours naturally in digital and I Struggle with lighting. I'm also accustomed to pencil sketching, so greyscale feels more natural to me. I think greyscale works best it you have a clear image of the completed piece. ( I haven't actually watched the video yet though...so) ☺

[@whatwouldjeebusdo377]

painting with value and then adding color is only a temporary state in an artists development, meant to help the artist gain a better understanding of value and color both. its not meant to be a technique . Bucci is way past that stage so of course he can now focus fully on his already honed understandings and wield those to shape his expression. many artists just arent at that stage in their development where they know their tools well enough to stand upon them and use them towards their fullest expression. Before you can run and even fly, you have to be able to walk.

[@abandonedaccount747]

agreed

[@brandy1999]

Tell that to Bouguereau, Rembrandt and hundreds of other masters that used grisaille (aka starting with monochrome underpainting) all the time. Stop making posts about things you dont understand pls, no clue why this is upvoted so much.

[@Apusays]

Sorry I had to disagree with you. If you actually worked with AAA company, you'll appreciate this technique as the client will ALWAYS wanted to change things, especially the colours.

[@yellowspike3344]

I dont think its a temporary state because if you look at other artist like one of the more famous one, ross draws he uses a lot of techniques like grayscale and bunch of other effects but it's the end result that matters to him.

[@igors5637]

@@brandy1999 Grisaille doesnt work in digital, the light scattering is not simulated.

[@tyjuarez]

As a film/photography nerd, that gradient map idea is intriguing.

[@adhdbookworm]

You are so poetic with how you describe colour and it definitely helps me understand art a little bit better.