Set up the layers

In order to color under your sketch, you'll need to create a new layer underneath the sketch. Click on the new layer icon (circled in yellow). Rename it if you whish by double clicking on it, and drag the entire layer underneath the sketch. Leave the layer setting at "Normal". Make sure that layer is highlighted, and it has the little paintbrush icon next to it; working int he wrong layer is bad! Now it's time to start coloring. Select the brush tool from the toolbar.

Now to play with the paintbrush options. Here's where your tablet comes in! Allright! In the navigator screen (it should ordinarily have a thumbnail of your current drawing) select the Paintbrush options. If you have a drawing pad (and this tutorial is based on the fact that I have one...) set the stylus pressures on for "Size" and "Opacity". I rarely change this setting, because it most closely imitates a real paintbrush. If you're only working with a mouse, you'll have to use the opacity slider to change how dark or light the color is that you lay down. In order to get smooth blending, mouse users will need to change the opacity slider constantly. But for tablet users, don't mess with it. We have the opacity and size stylus pressures set, which means the harder you press with your pen, the darker the color, and the bigger the mark. Nifty. Go ahead and click on the Navigator tab again to get it back, you'll need it to zoom in and out.

Now, just start brushing the color in. Think of it as coloring in a coloring book; if you go outside the lines simply erase the acess. Depending on how lazy I feel, sometimes I brush on large areas of color, nd change shades after I color most of it. In this one, I worked in small areas, starting at the top. In order to get a more realistic look and texture, I didn't color in solid colors, I was constantly changing hues; browns and rusty siennas, etc.

The applied colors

This is what Nammers looks like with all of her colors added. The image on the left is what the colors look like, without the sketch on top. As you can see, the sketch covers up some of the "messy" coloring. The shading on the sketch actually serves as shading on the colorized version, too! So really, if you feel the most comfortable drawing with a real pencil or pen in your hand, this is the way to go; drawing on paper but coloring on the computer. That way you can't ruin your origional drawing, and you can experiment with colors and patterns all you like! :}

But, the drawing still looks kinda flat. Time to add some extra shading and highlights.