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Quackcast 780 - Background colour
We're doing a cast on background colouring. There are a million was to do colour for your backgrounds, the only important thing is the finished result, it really doesn't matter how you get there, as long as it's not with AI, but learning how others do things can always be helpful. For myself I got where I did by looking at the great work of others and trying to get the same results, plus a LOT of trial and error. I'll outline here a very simplified version of what I do.
I have two main comic styles: a flat cartoony cell shaded style for Bottomless Waitress and a more painterly pseudo realistic style for Pinky TA. These tips apply to both but mainly Pinky TA. First up I work digitally and my lineart is top layer in grey or black, set to "Multiply" so all the non-lines parts are transparent and can show through the colour of the bottom layers. I create about 2 to 4 background layers, depending how complex I want to be. The very bottom layer is my simple fill layer. Usually I decide on a simple gradient for each panel. The gradient is usually made up of no more that 3 colours. It's a good way to very quickly add a sense of depth and visual interest to an image. I usually pick a colour to represent the feeling of the emotional vibe of the scene or something that fits realistically with the image.
On the layer above that I'll colour objects, buildings, and things in the background. I find It's very important to know that the colours of your backgrounds influence the colours of the things within it, especially your characters (if you're doing a more realistic style), and lighting is a massive part of that because without light there is no colour or vision, so know where your light is coming from and what kind of light it is: sunlight, lamps, windows, candles, spotlights, moonlight, universal light etc. That will also infleunce how hard, distinct and dark to make your shadows.
On a layer above those two I'll colour my figures. I take cues from the main background colours on how to colour my characters so that they fit better with the scene, and I also light them the same way. They will still be coloured in their standard colours mostly but the panel colour influences how their shadow colours look. Finally in another layer above the line art I will have an "effects "layer which will go over everything. This could be for bloom effects around bright lights or fire, it could be for smoke or fog, or often I use it for a trick to create "atmospheric perfective": this is where things that are further away become dimmer or faded and it's a very easy way to add depth. To do this I just add a gradient of a single colour- usually white, and set its opacity to fade to zero, with the zero opacity part of the gradient over the foreground and the full white over the background in the distance, then I set the opacity of that layer to be quite low, maybe 15%.
So that's one of my methods. I hope you are able to get something helpful from it! In the cast Tantz and Banes also outline some of their very different techniques. How do you work?
This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's - Miss Sisyphus - Slow, faded monochrome ennui, colour bleeds in gradually, like a stain on paper, filing with life, danger, adventure, futuristic exploration, like a dull and dusty bud, blossoming into a gorgeous flower, full of colour and heady scent. Originally from Quackcast 558, 23rd of November, 2021.
Topics and shownotes
Links
Featured comic: Nemutions Heart - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/feb/17/featured-comic-nemutions-heart/
Featured music: Miss Sisyphus - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Miss_Sisyphus/ - by SinisterDuck, rated M.
Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts!
Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS
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By Michael Morris
3.7
33 ratings
We're doing a cast on background colouring. There are a million was to do colour for your backgrounds, the only important thing is the finished result, it really doesn't matter how you get there, as long as it's not with AI, but learning how others do things can always be helpful. For myself I got where I did by looking at the great work of others and trying to get the same results, plus a LOT of trial and error. I'll outline here a very simplified version of what I do.
I have two main comic styles: a flat cartoony cell shaded style for Bottomless Waitress and a more painterly pseudo realistic style for Pinky TA. These tips apply to both but mainly Pinky TA. First up I work digitally and my lineart is top layer in grey or black, set to "Multiply" so all the non-lines parts are transparent and can show through the colour of the bottom layers. I create about 2 to 4 background layers, depending how complex I want to be. The very bottom layer is my simple fill layer. Usually I decide on a simple gradient for each panel. The gradient is usually made up of no more that 3 colours. It's a good way to very quickly add a sense of depth and visual interest to an image. I usually pick a colour to represent the feeling of the emotional vibe of the scene or something that fits realistically with the image.
On the layer above that I'll colour objects, buildings, and things in the background. I find It's very important to know that the colours of your backgrounds influence the colours of the things within it, especially your characters (if you're doing a more realistic style), and lighting is a massive part of that because without light there is no colour or vision, so know where your light is coming from and what kind of light it is: sunlight, lamps, windows, candles, spotlights, moonlight, universal light etc. That will also infleunce how hard, distinct and dark to make your shadows.
On a layer above those two I'll colour my figures. I take cues from the main background colours on how to colour my characters so that they fit better with the scene, and I also light them the same way. They will still be coloured in their standard colours mostly but the panel colour influences how their shadow colours look. Finally in another layer above the line art I will have an "effects "layer which will go over everything. This could be for bloom effects around bright lights or fire, it could be for smoke or fog, or often I use it for a trick to create "atmospheric perfective": this is where things that are further away become dimmer or faded and it's a very easy way to add depth. To do this I just add a gradient of a single colour- usually white, and set its opacity to fade to zero, with the zero opacity part of the gradient over the foreground and the full white over the background in the distance, then I set the opacity of that layer to be quite low, maybe 15%.
So that's one of my methods. I hope you are able to get something helpful from it! In the cast Tantz and Banes also outline some of their very different techniques. How do you work?
This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's - Miss Sisyphus - Slow, faded monochrome ennui, colour bleeds in gradually, like a stain on paper, filing with life, danger, adventure, futuristic exploration, like a dull and dusty bud, blossoming into a gorgeous flower, full of colour and heady scent. Originally from Quackcast 558, 23rd of November, 2021.
Topics and shownotes
Links
Featured comic: Nemutions Heart - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/feb/17/featured-comic-nemutions-heart/
Featured music: Miss Sisyphus - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Miss_Sisyphus/ - by SinisterDuck, rated M.
Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts!
Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS