Basics of digital color management for artists

In this video I explain the main concepts needed to draw and paint digital color images. I focus on the aspects that are more crucial for digital artists, but photographers too can find useful information.

When you start a new painting in your favourite application you are requested to choose image size, color mode, color profile, bit depth, and so on... Most of the times we go with the default settings or with some usual choices that we know that work. But the wrong choice may lead to poor results and often you can't correct it afterwards without quality loss. Understanding these settings is crucial to start with the right foot.

At the end of these videos you'll have a better understanding of the choices presented in the tipical "New Image" dialog in a painting application. You'll also understand if and how this settings can be changed or converted for an existing image.

I'll give you my advices on what are the best practices for digital art, according to my experience and knowledge. I cover the common problems that you can have when your destination is a printed image and you want to have the best preview of printed colors on your screen.

This lesson explains basic concepts that are at the root of any digital art software, it's not restricted to a specific application. For explanations and examples I use Photoshop, Krita, Affinity Designer and Clip Studio Paint.

The main focus is on color images; black and white is only partially covered and will be subject of a future lesson. Also file formats for saving are not explained here but you'll find more about that in a future video. 

The concepts covered are the following:

• Understanding and choosing the best image size and resolution;
• What are color modes (bitmap, gray, RGB, CMYK) and when to use them;
• What is bit depth (8bit/16bit) an why can be useful;
• Explaining RGB, that's the most used color mode;
• Choosing the right color profile (sRGB, AdobeRGB...) for your art;
• Previewing on the screen the colors that you'll have on paper;
• Conversion between color profiles;
• Using tools like color picker warning and gamut warning to avoid using colors that can't be printed.

Includes:

• About 90 minutes of english narrated videos, splitted in chapters
• PDF with summarized information

Software used:

Photoshop (all versions), Krita, Affinity Designer, Clip Studio Paint.
But the concepts explained are common to any digital painting application.

About me:

I'm a comic book artist that works in France and Italy for the main publishers in the industry (Glènat, Bonelli, Delcourt, Marvel, Panini...). I've been a colorist for 10 years, working on thousand of pages and many different artists and styles.