This tutorial continues where the Line-Art tutorial left off, so we’re assuming you have some line art isolated on its own layer. The technique we’re going to be using is based on the concept of assigning different colours to different layers, and then breaking it down even further into different layers for different objects. Having some idea of how you want the character coloured as you’re heading into this process is certainly helpful, but not necessary.

For this example, I think our girl looks sort of Caucasian, so I’ll paint the skin a sort of pink colour. It’s going to be the first colour layer we set up, and this is how we do it:

1) Select the Layers palette if it’s not already selected.

2) Select the Line Art layer. The new layer will be created above the current layer by default – which is not what we want in the end – but for the purposes of demonstration it’s helpful.

3) Find the little half-black, half-white circular icon at the bottom of the palette and hold it down. This is the Adjustment Layers menu.

4) Select “Solid Colour…” from the top. A colour picker will come up and the whole document will be filled with the currently selected colour.

5) Select the colour you want. Watch the document change colour to keep up as you make your selection. Hit “OK” when you’re happy.

6) Obviously we don’t want the whole image filled with pink (or whatever colour you chose). The area that the Solid Colour Adjustment Layer affects is designated by the mask that’s attached to it.

7) Hold down ALT and click the little icon of the layer mask. You will switch to viewing solely the mask, and right now the mask is completely white. White means “Everything Show Through”. Black means “Nothing Show Through”.

8) Invert the mask. Hit CTRL-I (menu selections are for pansies). The whole thing goes black.

9) Select a brush and paint some white into the mask.

10) Click on the icon of either the Background or Line Art layer to get out of the mask-viewing mode. Notice that wherever you painted in the mask, the selected Solid Colour shows through.

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