Keenspot

by **Jake R** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 2:48 pm

by **Jake R** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 2:50 pm

[placeholder]This is a placeholder![/placeholder]

by **Jake R** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 2:50 pm

So, you people think I need another placeholder?

[edit:] Btw, without realising it I stopped EXACTLY at the end of EGS Volume 1! Next comic to do is http://www.egscomics.com/d/20020902.html, which is the first one in Volume 2. I think this is really funny, mostly because I never actually READ either volume completely, just the stuff that wasn't already online (I like the pretty colored versions better =P) so I didn't even know this until I checked how far along in the volumes I was.

Please note that I have only done story comics (and everything that, according to the archives, belongs in this category) so far. No NP, no fillers, or anything else.

And comments are now also welcome as long as you don't start about 'you haven't done ... yet!'. Nor do I need help at this moment; I feel like doing this on my own, it makes me feel useful for a change. [/edit]

by **Jake R** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:12 pm

Future plans;

- Adding more references. Duh. (After I'm done with Story, I'll start with NP and the fillers).
- Color-coding the main characters for easy searching.
- Adding more dates and arc-names to devide the bigger lists (Tedd and Elliot in 2002 in particular; I'm not even done with 2002 yet and the list is getting huge already).
- Looking for a bit of colored fan-art which can be used as secundary color reference.
- Getting more people to look at this. ;_;

by **Dayantis** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:12 pm

OOh, nice colour reference. That must've taken a while...

by **Jake R** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:16 pm

Dayantis wrote:OOh, nice colour reference. That must've taken a while...

A VISITOR! =D

Yes. Hours. Stopped counting at 3. Please continue visiting every once in a while, I shall be updating this until I'm either done, or have given up. Chances are devided 50/50, more/less respectively if enough people tell me to continue!

by **thereisnosaurus** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:57 pm

would anyone be interested in me doing an 'EGS swatch' with all the current characters colour schemes shown? coz I've got one for my own stuff and I can probably whip one up if there's enough interest (god knows there are enough people doing their own colourizations to warrant it)

by **ProfessorTomoe** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:52 pm

There's been some work done in that direction earlier. I put together a reference image that's available here:

http://www.captainz.net/professortomoe/EGSColorKey01.png (warning - very large)

CaptainZ has also done some swatches. Contact him for details.

by **Jake R** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:34 am

That's the kind of replies I was looking for! That collection is definately going to be linked. However, it doesn't show everything people might want to know (for instance, there's only 1 mono-color 'Goo' on there), so for the sake of making this complete I'll just finish the list anyway.

by **Mythos** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 4:15 am

I've put together swatches on my own. Little things in Photoshop, to help with the colorings, but yeah, I based it on the colored pics. Mostly from the later stuff.

by **OzLionHeart** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:08 am

'Tis excellent work. I have bookmarked it for easy access in future.

by **ProfessorTomoe** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:17 am

Jake R wrote:That's the kind of replies I was looking for! That collection is definately going to be linked. However, it doesn't show everything people might want to know (for instance, there's only 1 mono-color 'Goo' on there), so for the sake of making this complete I'll just finish the list anyway.

Yep, the png is definitely not complete. I keep subdirectories with all of the colorized versions in my image directory, just as a precaution.

Please let everyone know when you're done!

by **Jake R** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:26 am

ProfessorTomoe wrote:
Jake R wrote:That's the kind of replies I was looking for! That collection is definately going to be linked. However, it doesn't show everything people might want to know (for instance, there's only 1 mono-color 'Goo' on there), so for the sake of making this complete I'll just finish the list anyway.

Yep, the png is definitely not complete. I keep subdirectories with all of the colorized versions in my image directory, just as a precaution.

Please let everyone know when you're done!

Don't worry, I most certainly will. In the meantime, I've got a question to ask people experienced with coloring EGS panels;

I noticed that most of you keep Dan's shading, but just add color to the greyscale pictures. If I try putting a 'semi-transparant' ('multiply' or 'overlay' mode or the like) colored layer over the original comics (in GIMP), whatever I do, the grey from the original will make the final result dull. Do you all simply replace the original colors and only keep the outlines, or is there a way to keep using the original pic for the shading without making the colors dull? Please let me know. Posting it here might be the best option for people interested in coloring will most likely look here anyway, and it will prevent me from double-posting as soon as I've got beta v1.2 of this topic done =P

by **Lomgren** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:32 am

If the gray is light enough, it's not a problem. If it's darker, like on hair, I have to use a different layer type to get the color I want, usually.

Also, there is the option of getting rid of all the gray on the original image, making it black and white with only the lines being black, and then coloring using layers. It's not one I usually take.

by **OzLionHeart** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:00 am

I use a separate layer for each colour, and choose the layer mode depending on how dark or light the colour is.

For light colours, I find "Multiply" usually works best.

For dark colours, it pays to experiment a bit. Usually "Overlay" or "Soft Light" works best, but it's worth experimenting to find the best result.

Sometimes adjusting the layer's "opacity" setting can help, too.

(I use Photoshop Elements as my program of choice, but most programs are fairly similar in this regard.)

by **Captain Z** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:04 am

ProfessorTomoe wrote:There's been some work done in that direction earlier. I put together a reference image that's available here:

http://www.captainz.net/professortomoe/EGSColorKey01.png (warning - very large)

CaptainZ has also done some swatches. Contact him for details.

Yup: here's the link

I started work on it several months ago, but unfortunetly I haven't done much of anything over last semester and the summer. Regardless, I was able to catalog most of the colors used on many of the common outfits worn by the main characters.

by **ProfessorTomoe** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:06 am

Here's how I've been handling the greyscale shading lately, in a step-by-step format. I'll use panel six of this installment as a reference. All color values will be in RGB format. I use PSP 8, so you may need to find equivalent tools/commands in your program for this to make sense.

NOTE: before you do anything else (except for possibly erasing background bits you aren't going to keep), promote the image to 24-bit color.

Now, begin by checking the RGB values of the image sections that require color. Break the image down into sections according to the base colors you intend to use (flesh tone, hair color (purple here), clothing, mouth, etc.).

If a section has a noticable instance of pure white (255/255/255), then don't change anything. For example, fTedd's skin in the above installment has large areas of pure white, so for those I make no adjustments. If a section does not have a significant area of pure white, you'll need to make some adjustments. fTedd's hair is a good example of this - it has multiple grey shades, but no visible white.

Start by selecting a single section you wish to color on the base/background layer (don't create other layers until later). If you have a magic wand tool, you can start with that, but you may need to hand-select (or hand-deselect) things at times. Make sure you stay inside the boundaries. Over time, you'll be able to tell by eye how close to the boundaries you can come, but for starters try to select as many pixels as you can up to the pure black (0/0/0) outline.

It's a good idea to save at this point, and perhaps save the selection to the alpha channel as well (just for good measure, in case you need an emergency recovery file).

Once your section is selected, adjust the RGB values so that the lightest pixels are converted to pure white. In PSP 8, you can do this by using the Adjust | Brightness and Contrast | Levels dialog, with the channel set to RGB. This lets you define a minimum and maximum input level (with an adjustable median), which you can then map against a desired output scale. For fTedd's hair, the lightest color is 120/120/120, so I plug 120 into the maximum input level number (all three values will be mapped identically). I leave the minimum set to zero and the median set at the default. I map the output to a scale of 0-255, which means that anything with a value of 120 will be changed to 255, and so on down the scale. It's a purely mathematical function, but it's a lot faster than replacing things by hand.

Your end result will look like this:

Note that I did not select any of the hair that was already pure black (behind the neck, shoulders, etc.). You don't need to color this, so don't waste time selecting it. Just pick out the grey values.

Once you've adjusted one section, move on to the next. (BTW, There aren't any other sections that need adjusting in the example - just the hair.) When you've finished adjusting all of the sections, save a copy as a baseline reference and then start applying colors to layers on top of the background (not to the background itself). Set the layers to a Multiply blend setting at first - that's usually the only setting you'll need for colorizing people, but be ready to improvise if things don't look right.

You can apply this technique to backgrounds (i.e., non-people) as well, but most of the time it's not required - there's usually some white to be found somewhere in the background. Just keep in mind that the technique is available if you ever do need it.

I hope I haven't left out anything (curse bedtime and going past it for the third straight day), and I hope at least some of this helps. If anything doesn't make sense (possible - bedtime, remember?), please don't hesitate to ask questions.

Thanks!

by **thereisnosaurus** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:35 am

I more meant an actual swatch image that you could open in photoshop and then just use as an eyedropper template for drag-and-drop colouring, rather than a 'reference'...

by **ProfessorTomoe** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:37 am

thereisnosaurus wrote:I more meant an actual swatch image that you could open in photoshop and then just use as an eyedropper template for drag-and-drop colouring, rather than a 'reference'...

Anything new is always helpful when it comes to this stuff! Lay into it!

by **Jake R** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:50 pm

thereisnosaurus wrote:I more meant an actual swatch image that you could open in photoshop and then just use as an eyedropper template for drag-and-drop colouring, rather than a 'reference'...

If anybody posts one / links me to one, I'll include it in the list ^_^

Many thanks to ProfessorTomoe for the very nice tutorial, and Captain Z for the digital color list.

Furthermore; beta v1.2 is done up! Story comics up till (and including) this comic have been added and some minor additions / tweaks have been made to that which was already there, now I will move away from my computer and go to bed early for my back is KILLING ME.

Thanks for the continued support and shown interest, if my back-ache disappears somewhat I will continue tomorrow!

by **OzLionHeart** on Thu Aug 31, 2006 2:01 am

thereisnosaurus wrote:I more meant an actual swatch image that you could open in photoshop and then just use as an eyedropper template for drag-and-drop colouring, rather than a 'reference'...

With that reference page, you have two options that I can suggest:

1) Use the "web colour" values - copy and paste the text into the appropriate box in the colour selection dialogue box;

2) Take a screenshot (or several, depending on how much of the page your monitor will accommodate), and open that in Photoshop.

by **Steven Jester** on Sat Sep 02, 2006 5:56 am

ummm..... Kaoli's color's can be found here

by **ProfessorTomoe** on Sat Sep 02, 2006 6:45 am

Steven Jester wrote:ummm..... Kaoli's color's can be found here

Even though that's the official color, some bunnies seem to have a problem with it. They prefer a shade that's a bit more pastel pink. Several versions of this have been incorporated into fanart and avatars. Not sure how (or if) this should affect any color key project.

I personally got yelled at when I used the official color. Go figure. :-?

by **Steven Jester** on Sat Sep 02, 2006 6:48 am

I don't know why.... I like the color..... and I like that colorization!

by **Jake R** on Sat Sep 02, 2006 7:00 am

Thing is... it's PINK. And with that I mean... REALLY PINK. As gay-supportive as most of the people here are, most are still (or due to the aforementioned fact) not really positive about a pink that bright. It buuuurns!

Anyway; yeah, I knew where to find that. More interesting for me is the mentioned fact that Nioi can change her appearance, including color. Since the difference between her and Kaoli is, if I'm correct, limited to just the difference in appearance (and not the magic which caused it, because it was described as her magic, not the magic of some sort of item)... Kaoli should be able to change her color to a less bright form of pink as well.

So... unless contradicted by one of Dan's occasional posts (or in a comic somewhere), I don't think there's anything wrong with coloring her with a somewhat different color. Or something else entirely. Like bright green with blue spots. But I digress...

Still got pain in my back, but I will now continue with writing beta v1.3! Expect to see at least... 20 or so comics (probably loads more) added to the list in an hour or two... three... dinner break... 4, 5, 6... dunno. Before nightfall (...tomorrow)?

Keenspot

EGS Color reference topic: beta v1.3.1, 04 - 09 - 2006

EGS Color reference topic: beta v1.3.1, 04 - 09 - 2006

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