Value 2 (Grayscale & Color Gradients)

Value 2

Below will cover the different blend modes and gradient maps to use when coloring grayscale artworks, as well as how they are used.

Note: In this tutorial, ibisPaint was used, but all blend modes listed below should be available in some form across all drawing applications!

In order to follow along with the information in this article, you’ll need a grayscale artwork to color. If you’re unfamiliar with illustrating in grayscale, please check out Value 1.

Here is a grayscale artwork before any blend modes were applied. 

Color is a common blend mode used to add color to grayscale. It keeps both the hue and saturation of your chosen color to the image, while affecting your values minimally.

Overlay is also often used when coloring grayscale. It applies the hue of your chosen color, but also increases contrast.

Multiply adds the hue and saturation of your chosen color, and also subtracts your chosen color’s lightness from the image. It’s usually used to add shadows, but Multiply can also be used to add color to a line drawing.

Saturation (when layered over an already colored image) increases or decreases the saturation of the indicated area alongside the overlay color.

In addition to these blend modes, Color Burn, Screen, Lighten, Darken, Color Dodge, and Add can also be used in order to reach a desired effect. I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with what each blend mode does here!

Gradient maps take the values of your image and apply your chosen gradient across it.

Note: Since gradient maps are a premium-only feature on ibisPaint, an alternative to them is listed below.

It’s important to note that gradient maps can affect your values significantly.

Setting your gradient map layer to Color (blend mode) keeps your values consistent.

Although it can provide a slightly different effect, Grayscale (adjustment layer) and Color Range is a decent alternative. Color Range is essentially a lasso tool that selects a specific color/value on your canvas. Setting a Grayscale adjustment layer means that the only thing Color Range will detect is your values. You can use this to manually match your chosen colors to your artwork’s specific values.

If you blur the colored layer and set it to the blend mode Color, you can get a similar effect to Gradient Map + Color.

This method is pretty finicky. You will likely need to mess around with your Color Range settings a lot. You can also use a different program that provides Gradient Map for free, such as Medibang PC or Krita.

I tend to use gradient maps to unify an illustration’s colors, but different artists use it differently. Like everything, I encourage you to mess around with different methods of application!

The effectiveness of Overlay and Color can vary depending on the base values you’re working with. 

If Overlay is used for base coloring, go back over the skin with a Color and/or Color Burn layer to bring vibrancy into the character’s complexion. I usually add cool-toned shadows manually (not with a blend mode) after the coloring is done.

Shadows typically have a cooler tone on the skin (grayish blues, purples, and greens). The border between light and shadow is usually a more saturated shade (reds or oranges). In order to use gradient maps on skin, I highly recommend keeping the skin on a separate layer and following the gradient map provided below. You can mimic these gradients within your drawing application.

Sometimes when you’re done coloring, you might get the sense that your colors don’t mesh together as well as you’d like. By using a gradient map (I used the same one shown before here) and setting the layer to ‘Color’ at low opacity, the illustration’s colors can feel more cohesive as a whole.

Below is the final piece after rendering and additional adjustments:

In order to familiarize yourself with the ins-and-outs of coloring grayscale, I recommend taking a finished artwork of yours, using a grayscale filter on it, and trying to color it using the methods described above.

It’s also a great idea to experiment with different methods of using blend modes and gradient maps. It will become easier to incorporate these tools into your workflow the more you use and familiarize yourself with them.