User blog:Loupi/Tutorial:Skin Tone

User Josh27 has asked me to make a tutorial on how i change a part in a sprite to look like skin be it either light or dark etc.

(Note: Some images are cropped by the wikia so open them in a new window to view them in full-size.)

So we open a random sprite. I'll be using Crystal for this tutorial.

http://i.imgur.com/5qQjjYN.png

If you're going for a specific character then it's a good idea to use the eyedropper tool to select a skin color right from an image of said character.

http://i.imgur.com/0PmRYnY.png

I'm gonna use a skin tone study image i found on google to get a dark-skinned color.

http://i.imgur.com/RW0SFbE.png

Now back to our sprite we make a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer while the skin color is our foreground color (Check my other tutorials for further details on how to use adjustment layers). Click Colorize. You'll notice that Photoshop has tried to set the values to create that color but of course it doesn't always look good.

http://i.imgur.com/3VFp82y.png

First of all we're gonna use Layer Masks to make the adj. layer affect only the face and arms (or whichever part you want) on Crystal's body. Turn the layer mask black to hide all of it then paint with white over the areas you want affected (remember to have selected the layer mask thumbnail).

http://i.imgur.com/AtihYAU.png

Now we can go back and edit the values in the H/S layer and/or add more adj layers to get the desired color.

To go back to the adj layers window/panel simply double click on the Layer Thumbnail.

http://i.imgur.com/g3MqFHQ.png

I've increased the Saturation and Decreased the Lightness. You'll notice that i've accidentally painted some areas around Crystal's body too so the layer affects the white below the Crystal layer too. To make the layer affect only Crystal go between the two layers and hit alt + left click. Your cursor will change to an arrow pointing down and a box.

http://i.imgur.com/UHr0SCX.png

Now you might be satisfied with what you've come up with but maybe not. You can add more adjustment layers and play around with the values. I'll add a Brightness/Contrast adj layer for example.

http://i.imgur.com/L61VvKb.png

http://i.imgur.com/qS1NAAY.png

To copy the layer mask of the H/S adj layer on to the B/C one (or any other for that matter) click alt, left click and drag the layer mask above the above layer. This works for regular layers too.

Now we'll try to change the color of Crystal's arms and legs into the color of her face.

Follow the same procedure and select the color off of Crystal's face. Make a H/S adj layer and click Colorize. Edit the layer masks so it affects only Crystal's arms and legs. Add a B/C one too and edit the values as you seem fit. Sometimes the order of the layers matters so try to swap them around and see what happens.

This is what i've come up with.

http://i.imgur.com/QSpB82S.png

Of course this method doesn't always work depending on the sprite. Hope this tutorial somewhat helped though!