Theseus versus the Minotaur (Help needed)

[John Doe]

Fairly new to photoshop and just gotten confident enough to try out a full illustration. Need help with the process. Particularly the color part.

Tried rendering it black and white first and then going over it with a color layer. So far, the colors on the minotaur is a bit well wishy washy. Are the values too light? Or should I just increase the opacity when working on the color layer?

[Juki]

I remember struggling to find a coloring way that works for me, I suggest you test out different methods to find out what suits your style best.

I gave up the use of color layer because I found it difficult for me to get strong and accurate colors that way. If the grayscale image values get too dark the coloring gets trickier also IMO.

I usually start sculpting the piece with almost full opacity colors straight from the start to get the colors I want even though it's a bit harder to get the values correct when going straight for the color.

The coloring of the minotaur seems a bit bland and the composition is somewhat cramped/forced at the moment so maybe give the piece some more canvas and room to breathe Maybe try a more widescreenish view with the minotaur in a wider/stronger battle stance and more to the right of Theseus?

Not sure if this was helpful but thought I'd share anyway, keep up the good work.

[wooblood]

Before you go any further on this, I'd really recommend getting your composition (basically the positioning of the characters and how they're interacting, in appropriate perspective) down. Is that really the canvas you're going with, or is it just a partial crop?
Right now it's looking like an Odd Couple portrait.

[strange1900]

I think I have to agree with the other crits in advising you to take a step back before you continue. Before you worry about the colors I think you need a solid drawing; that is, I think you need to make sure that the structure of your piece is sound. At the moment you have two static figures, floating in ambiguous space, which do not interact. At this point you could be the most skilled colorist in the world and not be able to get what you want out of this.
Try building your figures up from a gesture. This should help you alleviate some of the stiffness they currently exhibit. I can see from the angles you placed the figures at that you're trying for dynamism. However, you're treating the human/Minotaur form like a cardboard cut-out. Work with the angles you have for the figures but find the essential movement you'd expect from them, let's see the arch in their backs and the strain in their muscles. Your figures, despite Theseus' sword, don't look like their fighting either. From a quick glance at the piece it seems like the simplest way to account for this is to have your figures break into each-other's space. If Theseus is grappling with the Minotaur and trying to shove his blade home then you're viewer wont have any other choice than to see them interacting and looking like they're really fighting.

[Nezumi Works]

I'll be honest, before I noticed Theseus' sword, I thought they were about to kiss. After, I still wasn't sure, since even with the sword it's a pretty ambiguous pose.

But then, that would make for a much different story.