How to Color Black Over Grayscale
I wanted to share a quick tip about what to do if you want to color something black over grayscale. Black is a tricky color over grayscale since you can't color the entire area solid black. It would just cover up all the highlights.
So let's get started!
On the left hand side, you can see a before image. I decided I wanted to make the bust of her corset and the shoulder/chest straps black. You can see that those areas are already quite dark, but they aren't "popping" off the page yet. So we can do better!
This technique generally works best on a grayscale image where the section already looks quite dark, almost like it was colored black originally. If you want to color something black that is lighter on a grayscale image, I would suggest first applying a medium/dark grey color to the whole area using a marker. Then you could follow along with this tutorial the same way.
Next, we need a black and a white colored pencil. This works best with a very soft creamy, smooth colored pencil that lays down color very easily. I've found that Prismacolor Premiers and my Lyra Rembrandt Polycolors work the best. Unfortunately, my Marco Raffines and Crayola Twistables didn't work as well, but they still do work! So if you have those, give them a try and see if you like the effect. I found that they just didn't end up being quite as dark and vivid as the other brands.
Start with the black colored pencil and apply it to the darkest areas of the grayscale image. I pressed fairly hard on the darkest areas and laid down the color as smooth/dark as it would go. Then work your way towards the lighter areas of the grayscale while also slightly decreasing your pencil pressure so that it's not quite as dark. Stop before you get to the really light areas, we don't want any black there.
Then take your white colored pencil and we're going to do the same thing we did with the black colored pencil, but in reverse. Start in the lightest areas and press fairly hard to create the whitest area you can. Then work your way towards the darker areas and blend in with the black by just coloring right over it. Stop before you get to the darkest areas. We don't want any white there. You can keep the pencil pressure fairly firm, because the white won't be as visible. When you color over the black with the white, it will blend together and create some gray tones in the middle.
And there you go! We now have a nice black area with white highlights over grayscale. You will notice that the area will seem more black the more you finish coloring the image. As soon as I colored that little section of her skin and a little bit of her clothes, the black stood out and seemed to have even more dimension to it.
So let's get started!
On the left hand side, you can see a before image. I decided I wanted to make the bust of her corset and the shoulder/chest straps black. You can see that those areas are already quite dark, but they aren't "popping" off the page yet. So we can do better!
This technique generally works best on a grayscale image where the section already looks quite dark, almost like it was colored black originally. If you want to color something black that is lighter on a grayscale image, I would suggest first applying a medium/dark grey color to the whole area using a marker. Then you could follow along with this tutorial the same way.
Next, we need a black and a white colored pencil. This works best with a very soft creamy, smooth colored pencil that lays down color very easily. I've found that Prismacolor Premiers and my Lyra Rembrandt Polycolors work the best. Unfortunately, my Marco Raffines and Crayola Twistables didn't work as well, but they still do work! So if you have those, give them a try and see if you like the effect. I found that they just didn't end up being quite as dark and vivid as the other brands.
Start with the black colored pencil and apply it to the darkest areas of the grayscale image. I pressed fairly hard on the darkest areas and laid down the color as smooth/dark as it would go. Then work your way towards the lighter areas of the grayscale while also slightly decreasing your pencil pressure so that it's not quite as dark. Stop before you get to the really light areas, we don't want any black there.
Then take your white colored pencil and we're going to do the same thing we did with the black colored pencil, but in reverse. Start in the lightest areas and press fairly hard to create the whitest area you can. Then work your way towards the darker areas and blend in with the black by just coloring right over it. Stop before you get to the darkest areas. We don't want any white there. You can keep the pencil pressure fairly firm, because the white won't be as visible. When you color over the black with the white, it will blend together and create some gray tones in the middle.
And there you go! We now have a nice black area with white highlights over grayscale. You will notice that the area will seem more black the more you finish coloring the image. As soon as I colored that little section of her skin and a little bit of her clothes, the black stood out and seemed to have even more dimension to it.
