Quick Tip: Preparing Line Drawings for Coloring in Photoshop
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In this tutorial, we’ll be learning how to take a paper line drawing and preparing it for coloring in Photoshop. Learn to take your line drawing and clean it up in Photoshop. The image we’ll be using is an original hand drawing provided by myself. The end result is left open for experimentation. Let’s jump into it!
Final Image Preview
Take a look at the line work we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $19/month.
Step 1
We’ll start by desaturating the rough drawing. Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. The reason to desaturate the image, is so that no colors interfere with the following steps.
Step 2
Play around with the levels until the image has little to no midtones. Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Leave the outline fully intact.
Step 3
Next we’ll be selecting the outline. Make sure that the foreground color is the darkest color in the outline. Go to Select > Color Range to select the outline. Adjust the settings to match the image below. This will affect everything that is the foreground color. Make sure to hide all the layers except the layer the outline is on.
Step 4
We will now take the selection and make it it’s own layer, press (Command + J.) At this point, it’s good to delete the layer that has the original line drawing on it, and replace it with a white background.
Step 5
Now double-click the “Outline” Layer and go to Color Overlay. Adjust the settings to match the image below, you may choose whichever color you like though.
At this point, you’re ready to color in your outline in whichever way you prefer to. However, if you choose to read on I will show you
how to do an effect that makes your outline look like a vector outline.
Step 6
The first step in making the outline look more smooth and vector like, is to select the outline layer. To do this Command-click on the layer thumbnail beside the layer’s name. The hand curser will have a dotted box on top of it.
Step 7
Choose the Paths tab located beside the Layers tab. Click on the icon to the left of the New Layer icon. If you hold your curser over the icon, it should read Make work path from selection. After creating a path go back to the layers tab and make a new layer.
Final Line work
Click on the Pen Tool, then Right-click anywhere on the canvas. Choose Fill Path. Adjust the Settings to match the image below. Click OK, then Right-click anywhere on the canvas and choose Delete Path.
Things To Know
We’ll delete the previous outline layer to show the end result. You can see we cleaned up the drawing, and are left with black line work on a white background to color in, we’ve also preserved the sketchy feel of the line quality.
The image you are using to do this effect with should be drawn, painted, inked, etc… on a contrasted background to what you are using to draw with.
Clean lines equals a more clean, smooth end result. If the image is too small the vector effect will simplify lines to the point where you will lose detail. If the image is too large the vector effect will not smooth out imperfections.
Now Color Away!
You are free to color the outline as you please A tablet was used to create the color image below. You could also consider taking the results of this line work into Illustrator and Live Tracing. The techniques shown here are a great way to add some varied line to your vector work as well. These quick tips are open for experimentation. So, have fun with it!
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first :]
simple and super
Looks like a nice technik!
hey thanks for the tips, this is something i always struggle with
You can skip the desaturation step at the beginning by making sure you scan your drawing in greyscale instead of colour.
Nice way to do this in Photoshop! I usually do any sort of thing like this in Illustrator from the get go, using the live trace tool (or doing the vectors myself)
But I do like how this preserves that really sketchy quality.
I’ll have to try it out on my next illustration.
some scanners still scan as line-art which is a good too..
oh god
how useless
Actually I have been using Photoshop for a long time and learned something new (paths from selections), so it’s not useless.
How short sighted and ignorant of you, think before you speak fool.
I agree with the original comment, this tutorial is pretty useless. There are better ways of doing the exact same thing. The final outcome is ugly.
This is a “Quick Tip”, and thats just what it is…as long as some people learned something new then it is not useless
The result is coming much better if the original drawing is sketched on a clean flat sheet of paper instead of a paper-towel from a cafè …
Great Work, will use it in the future
cool technique! I like it.
I don’t get it, if you’re gonna use a tablet to color it, why not just trace it again so that the lines comes out cleaner..
The nice details you see on the napkin are lost by the end of the tutorial..
Yeah, i was about to post the same thing! Its just much better to trace over the lines again so they are much smoother, and if you’re working in illustrator for example they become clean as hell.
These poor tutorials are beginning to tempt me to post something here, I’ve been using photoshop for a few years now and i think i could contribute to the community here.
It’s not that it’s a poor tutorial, it’s just another technique to add to your toolbox. Not all line drawings need to have nice smooth lines, and that’s what this tutorial was about. I think both of you completely missed that point.
But by all means, post a tutorial for something, can never have too many tutorials.
Please, think before you speak. I, for one, tend to draw very intricate sketches and tracing over them would be a hassle. This makes me job a lot easier.
In reply to Adam..I didn’t miss the point at all, I embrace all kinds of art and techniques but to come up with something sloppy then post it as a tutorial is inexcusable..
I think it’s only of convenience now to think that “that’s what it’s supposed to look like.” All I was saying was that if you have a tablet, put it to good use–the original drawing, though on poor paper–is pretty clean so why should the final result look like this?
The details in the original that gave the image character are now lost in the end…simple as that..
HOLLER!
Funny I used a very similar method to make some nice hand made illustrations effects in Photoshop.
Nice post thanks to sharing.
Dude, I was so excited to learn about the “Path from Selection” option. Thanks for the tutorial. I used to make all paths by hand, hopefully this will open up some new doors!
Learned something new, great tip. Thanks for sharing!
I’m going to have to start applying these techniques. I have a lot of sketches that I really want to color, and scanning is really the only option.
nice nice
Been doing this since I start drawing more! It is so much easier to color the illustrations i photoshop!
hey Joe,
do you have an online portfolio/deviantart account or something…?
s
you may also give some tips for draw a human and then these above tips with complete training which i want from you.
Definatly, how do you want to go about setting it up?
This was a great tutorial! Exactly what I needed!
Thanks, thats an amazing tutorial! One of the most useful and clearly written ones I have come across. I can now actually get on with colouring my sketches after wasting far too long trying to find a decent tutorial and not being knowledgeable enough to work out my own way of doing it successfully. It never ceases to amaze me how many cretins will post a negative comment for something like this – if you know it all then what the hell are you doing looking at beginners tutorials? Looking forward to seeing something from you soon Prickesh, that’s if you’re not too busy working on a multi-million dollar project. By the way live trace has it’s uses but also severe limitations which this technique overcomes.
Hey Everyone,
Thanks for all the positive and not so positive feedback. Criticism is a very large part of graphic design, and I’m glad to hear from both sides. As for a portfolio, I will set up an account on “deviantart” sometime in the near future.
Thanks again,
Joe
FYI – it’s cursor, not “curser”.
I VE BEEN LOOKING FOR SIMPLE WAY TO DO SKETCHES FOR GOWN DESIGNS AND COLOR THEM FOR POSTING ON LINE. THIS SOUNDS LIKE IT MIGHT WORK FOR ME.
thank you very much for this tutorial
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This tut saved me. I love psdtuts!
Hey, I’ve been drawing for quite a while and when I was young I toyed with Photoshop as well. I hope on getting it again soon and I was curious as to any tips you could probably give for a beginner “Photoshopper” on coloring and adding shading to colors?
You haven’t mentioned the tolerance used on the “make work path” – could ui let me know please?