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[RyanHuggins]

So, I'm coloring. I've never really colored before and I feel like I'm pretty bad at it (or at least really, really slow). Hopefully, I can keep this topic going. I'm not an artist really, moreso a programmer/designer, but I guess I'm pretty decent at art in some situations as well.





Ultimately, the Emma Watson one isn't a perfect likeness, so I'm disappointed. Haha. But I guess it's good for my third "realistic" portrait ever. Color or not (The other two were handdrawn pencil).

[John Sandoval]

Add more contrast to the face. Throw in some purples and blues.

[blankslatejoe]

Yea, the face needs more contrast. But be careful about where you stick those blues/purples. They're needed in the shadows/boney areas of the face, but I think the fleshy parts--the cheeks, the neck, etc, actually need more warmth to them (orange and pink).

Here's an awesome conceptart.org thread that might help!
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=125491

Also, what app are you painting in? You might find more intuitive blending control if you play around with PaintTool Sai or ArtRage, rather than photoshop/gimp.

[keo]

must just be the colors and the kids that keep me alive...

The problem is you are not looking close enough, you think her skin is peachy, her hair is blonde, and then you make your palette based off what you registered.  Look again closer, and examine the shadows the highlights.  There's color in those shadow and highlights they aren't just darker and lighter versions of those skin color, they have colors all to themselves.  They have hints of blues and reds and greens.  And not only that but they are on the warmer side and not the cold side, she is a living breathing warm human.  Your colors are lifeless, on the colder side, mostly unsaturated, its like you applied blush on a corpse, its freaky, no offense.

Here take a look for a second


The colors are a bit exaggerated here, but notice the difference, the image feels full, the contrast between the colors makes it pop out more.  Warm colors come at you, cold colors recede, remember that, it pushes and pulls the figure.

You might not actually see blues or greens but they are there.  When you start out painting, there is a tendency to gloss over colors, rather than looking you quickly register what color should be there.  

If anything it's just good to vary the colors in your highlights and shadows.

[RyanHuggins]

Sorry about not responding to your posts guys! I figured that after like 3 days of no responses I wouldn't get any. I haven't drawn anything realistic since either.

I think I will try again soon taking notes from what you guys said. I may draw my next picture with more dramatic colors than necessary to help with my color picking. Thanks for the comments!

As a note, I use Paint Tool SAI, I'm just new to the whole coloring thing. I usually just do lineart stuff (cleaner than the second picture, but I'm messing with a sketchier, quicker style).