Hey guys :3 Some lineart was given to me since the artist was unable to CG it themself. So I attempted to do so. xD This is my first Mene avatar.

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3847/meneavwj8.png

What do you guys think?

If anyone really likes my color, I would be more than happy to co-own a shop with them if they can do the lineart.

Ooh...

The coloring is very nice!

X3

I love how it's blended together so well.~~

Thank you. ^_^ I like going for more of a soft look to the colors.

It's a pretty good attempt. What program do you use to color?

Photoshop CS 2. xD

I don't have a tablet or any of that fancy stuff.

Ok then, one tip I have to give is to set your lineart layer to multiply, then color over it on different layers. That way you won't get the white lines around the lineart.

Wow that made a huge difference. :3 Thanks a bunch. I fixed it.

Yep! I really like the way it came out. It was one of those tips I wish I had known when I first started, it makes all the difference when you first start coloring.

Yeah definitely. ^_^ I couldn't figure out how to get rid of them earlier without using the magic wand tool to select the white and delete it. xD It took longer than it should that way.

It took me hours the first time I colored, then trying to fill in the white spots with the tiniest brush. I also didn't know to use different layers so I kept having to undo when I covered the lineart.

It's all those little tips that suddenly cut down the time and make the program manageable.

Yeah, I just wish I could figure out how to do skin tones well. xD And the blur affect like the one at the edge of your shirt in your sig.

You might want to add more highlight to the hair as well, right now it's in very much similar tone to the rose that I can hardly notice that the rose is there. Also, don't be afraid to add more of darker shades to create better contrast. *nods*

Yeah, the hair I'll admit I had trouble with. o.o I wasn't sure if it was good or bad to have so many different tones in it.

You can try using different levels of opacity to try and get that look. I'm afraid I can't help with it exactly, I was never great at coloring on Photoshop, I prefer OpenCanvas.

Kasimir is right, a greater contrast makes it more interesting. Don't be afraid to play with it, just keep previously saved versions ^^ You might want to pull out some individual clumps of hair to give it more definition

The hair is supposed to be quite shiny, if you really look at it, right now the hair looks pretty much like a piece of cloth because the lack of highlight ^^;

Alright, I made some changes. xD Is this any better?
I didn't clean up the edges just to warn ya.

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9...avatar2vu7.png

Yep, better though I'd suggest using those shades toward reddish-white or even some paler red would make even better result. *nods* Don't be afraid that it would be too shiny, naturally hair is kinda coated with some kind of oil so like I said, it's supposed to be shiny. The only way to prevent the hair from being shiny is that the hair has to be in a very bad condition, almost as rough as broom then it won't reflect to the light well ^^;;

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/1...avatar2ce3.png

Is this any better? o.o
I'm listening to what you guys are saying and just trying to apply it. xD

Now that's a lot better!!! X3333

I don't know if you'd see the same thing like I do or not but now the hair has more depth it gives kinda 3D feeling. *nods nods*

I see what you mean. ^_^ I was just unsure before since I've never seen an actual person with so many tones in their hair so I wasn't really sure if it was a good idea or not. xD

Trust me, even when I work with only B6 and EE pencils during my b&W portrait class, the hair still requires quite a few different shades to make it look nice. Now even I switched to CG, normally when I do the hair, I use at least 4 shades to color. :lol: Just don't be afraid to take some experiments, that way you'll learn faster. :D

Hm...I like the smoothness; it's definitely a good start. Try CGing more, and add detail with every piece you do. You can only get better from here, right?