[emiiyon]

ok, so basically, this is how i colored this picture. i figured maybe some of you would be interested in how i did it, so here we go.
some basic knowledge about shading might be required for this, but experimenting is fun too!

first things first, switch your pen's round hard edge to the square hard edge. somehow, the square brush just makes everything look nicer.

2 LAYERS

next step, your background. i suggest always coloring your background first. why? because it will help you figure out lighting. different backgrounds have different effects on the color of the shading and highlighting. but i wont get too much into that for this tutorial.
after you have your background figured out, you're going to start a new layer and draw with your pen brush, any color, and set to square hard edge. i had my opacity at around 60 or 70 to draw the sketch.

3 LAYERS

your third step is to color the picture in on a new layer. include shading and all. it doesn't have to be perfect (actually, the sloppier, the better), just make sure to follow your light sources.
when you've finished that, pick darker more saturated colors of the base colors to fill in the sketch lines. this will make your editing easier in the fourth step. although, it isn't exactly required. it all depends on the effect you wish to achieve.

1 LAYER

the final step is to just go at it. merge all layers together (scary i know) and clean up your lines. this will require the blending tool to smooth out colors. your color picker is your best friend in this situation. continue to use the square pen brush to bring out the highlights and shadows of the figure. it shouldn't be too much work cause you've already shaded in the previous step.
the final touch ups are adding little white glimmers of light and extra highlighting on top of the piece. i compare this part of the process to painting an actual picture. it makes it even more fun if you try touching up without using your ctrl-z.

[hasu]

wow this is very helpful,
thank you for the tips! :>

[johnny dude]

Very helpful, I'll try to keep some of these in mind when doing my next pictures. Thank you! :) <3

[HorseJess]

Markmarkmark<3

[GREML0RD]

Marking for future reference.

[.Autumn.]

Wow, this is amazing! I must try this, thank you so much!

[groenii]

omg thanks so much!

[PeanutButterRum]

Ahh marrk man