need help with color

[atsaki]

ive been sketching the whole week for something worth coloring and i ended up with this sketch. Im fairly content with it so i thought id throw some color to it, the problem though is that im what id like to call a Color-retard. I cant color ANYHTING even if my life depende don it and i end up frustrated , stressed out and with terrible headaches.
Ive looked up for a lot of tutorials and even painted from life. why wont my brain process the colors though

ANYWAYS, id like to get some advise about coloring without deforming the structure and making it look like a mutated....thing. At least make it look decent enough for me to show it to someone haha.


Id really love to throw out some color to it but never turns out so well :C
I find myself really limited with digital painting...

[Line]

Well, ignoring the drawing aspect, which does show some discrepancies I believe, why don't you
try starting with your local color, then do a simple separation between light, and shadow...one
tone for the darks of the local color, one for the lights. Don't worry about the edges yet, just
that separation, then re-post it for use to see, and we can take it from there.

[atsaki]

aside from the leg proportion fail (which im yet to fix) what other discrepances are there? i highly referenced the pose and just changed the head position and gave a bit more "dynamism" to the figure. I already tried doing what you mentioned and thats the reason i came here for help. I was hoping i could get some advise when it comes to lighting and giving volumes. I love roughness in my work. Brushes here and there, adds texture and movement to the painting. i do it traditionally a lot but cant seem to achieve it digitally...and thats what is getting on my nerves moslty. I have a lot of pending work i cant finish because of my dullness with the colors...

[dpaint]

AS Line says start with local color for the elements. Use photo reference if necessary; since you say you have ref for the pose. Whats the problem? If you don't attempt and post no one can help you.

[atsaki]

Yes i know, i came here for some advise on colors since thats the problem stuck with atm. I posted the image above to show where i wanted my source of light, yet im still stuck there... i cant seem to make it work. I WILL post more thumbnails to show the progress and yet to ask for more advise and criticism. I think the problem might be i get blocked easily. I`ve been looking for some good lighting references for me to get started as well so if you have something to share would be much appreciated.

[Theeroos]

I'm not so good with color myself, but just try out different things/ways. Since it's digital it won't matter if you mess up anyway (:
I do think you should tighten up the sketch a bit, at least with the hands, you will probably run into problems later on if you start coloring right away, as you haven't defined them properly. What is she doing with her left hand? You need to know these things before starting with color (unless you are already madly skilled, than maybe you can jump straight in)

[atsaki]

thanks for the advise theeros , i cleaned up the sketch more and it helped me set up some volumes with color. I`ll post it later to show you the progress and helpfully get more advise and crit on the process as well

[arenhaus]

If you don't know where to begin, why not get "Color and Light" by James Gurney and read it, then practice what you learn from the book?