How to Color a Pixar Character using PS Elements 5.0

Many people have a character drawn and want to make that character look 3-Dimensional. Disney-Pixar has great characters that could serve as useful tools for learning how to color objects using 3-Dimensional effects. Using Dory from Finding Nemo and Photoshop Elements 5.0, anyone can learn how to create simple 3-Dimensional artwork.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Photoshop 5.0

Coloring Dory

1. Pick the colors that will serve as the character base colors. Dory is black, blue, and yellow; these are the colors that are going to be used. Create a new layer on your image and title it “Base.” Now add Dory’s base colors.

2. 
    

   Create a new layer titled “Dark Shade.” Layers are like pieces of paper that are laid on top of one another. What makes layers useful is that some layers can be made partially transparent. That way, small corrections can be made to one part of the image without affecting other parts. Also, the settings of different layers can be changed, causing different layers to interact with one another. For instance, if you set the bottom layer to normal and the top layer to "multiply," the color value of the top and bottom layers will be multiplied together to create a generally darker color. This is useful if you want to darken lighter colors while leaving darker colors alone. Play with the different settings to see what effects you can create.There is a button on the layer panel that says "create new layer." Click this button. You can also move layers up and down on the panel by clicking and dragging them.

3. With this layer, you will be using shades that are one-three shades darker than the base colors you used in step one. Determine where you plan on the light source being; these areas will be attended to later. With the dark shades, you will shade the places opposite of where your light source will be. Places that are underneath (belly, under fins, wrinkles) will be darker than the base and light. Set your paintbrush tool to 13px on the airbrush/blurred brush setting, this will allow for easier blurring. After coloring, use the blur tool to soften your edges. The blur tool opacity shade be set below 50%. If you notice that the shading is too dark overall, change the layer opacity to a level you’re happy with.

4. 
    

   If needed, darken the shading you did in step two to create more depth. Chose shades that are ONE SHADE darker than the previous shade colors you chose in step two. Go over some areas you feel need darkened. With this step, you can shade white areas also. Change the layer opacity to below 50%.

5. Create a new layer and call it “Light Source.” Change the layer opacity to 30%. Use a white paint brush to color in your light areas. The light source enhances the image and makes certain portions of it “pop.”

6. 
    

   When adding the light source is complete, flatten you image. You have now completed the coloring process.

Tips & Warnings

• Create colors “samples” on the side of the image, so that way when you add new layers, all you have to do is use the eyedropper tool to get the color you used previously.
• For coloring large areas, use the magic wand tool to select large areas on the background image, go to the “Base” layer and use the paint bucket to fill those areas.
• You can use “masking” for this process. Again, you the magic wand tool and chose the sections you’re working on. Masking works so you don’t have worry about colors bleeding into sections you don’t want colored.
• If you’re using a tablet, you can create different color effects depending on how light or hard you press. For those who don’t have a tablet, you may need to create a secondary shade layer, which will be shown here as an optional step three.
• If you have multiple areas that are the same color, hold the control key down as you are selecting areas with the magic wand tool, this way, you can color multiple areas using the same color if needed.
• Many people tend to be over-exuberant with the shading. Shading works best when at a minimum, especially for 3-Dimensional objects.