not started yet
This is the plan for this module as it stands. It gets revisited once it’s reached — kept if it
still fits, changed or swapped out if something better turns up along the way.
When: only once you can construct and pose a character from imagination on
paper — roughly the end of module 05, into module 06. Digital drawing is a separate motor and
software skill; layering it on too early spends hours you don’t have to spare.
Procreate’s official “Beginners Series” — free, four-part, on Procreate’s
own YouTube channel: brushes, layers, gestures, painting and editing tools.
Free beginner Procreate playlists from creators like Lisa Bardot.
Free alternatives if you’d rather not buy software yet: Krita (desktop) or
Ibis Paint / Medibang (tablet).
first steps
Re-do a few of your own line/ellipse warm-ups digitally to calibrate to the screen, learn layers
(sketch → ink → color), and settle on two or three brushes you like. Don’t chase advanced rendering.
Color it: flatting basics
Once your layer workflow is comfortable, learn flatting — filling each area of
your linework with a flat, solid color on its own layer before any shading. It’s the standard
first step in digital comic coloring, and the difference between a coloring session that takes
20 minutes and one that takes 3: this Procreate walkthrough shows the selection-and-fill method.
keep it simple
Pick 3–5 colors total for your first colored page. A limited palette forces decisions that
actually read, and it’s far more forgiving than choosing from millions of colors with no plan.
Choosing a palette, not just filling it in
Flatting is mechanical; picking colors that actually read is a separate skill most free
“how to color” tutorials skip. Working comic colorist
K. Michael Russell teaches color theory alongside flatting for free on his own site and
YouTube — the same lessons he sells in his paid courses, offered as free trials. The Sequential
Artists Workshop’s free “How To Color Your Comics” is a shorter, practical companion: get
your values right before worrying about which exact hue you picked — readable line art
beats a pretty palette every time.
Redo a few of your own line/ellipse warm-ups digitally
Set up a sketch → ink → color layer workflow
Pick your 2–3 go-to brushes
Practice flatting a page: solid color fills before any shadingVideo
Pick a 3–5 color limited palette for your first colored page
Read a real color-theory lesson before picking your paletteK. Michael Russell — free color & flatting tutorials:LessonSequential Artists Workshop — How To Color Your Comics:Lesson
Part of Djaunt