Michael Laudrup revisited (an instant tutorial)

Already in 2004 Michael Laudrup was doing very well as head coach - with Brøndby IF (his club during adolescense) he met the mighty FC Barcelona (where he was getting his most prominent run of football as a professional player). The two matches in 2004 UEFA Cup were a success in itself for the small Danish club. Of course Brøndy lost, but in a very honourable way.

Michael Laudrup, The Spanish Dane. Pencil, ink sketch, colouring in Photoshop

I made this drawing in 2004 for the Danish newspaper B.T. in Copenhagen.

Junction: Colouring in Photoshop (instant tutorial).

A preview for the fall semester, digital illustration: Given that you succeeded with a black & white drawing, probably pencil or ink, the digitalisation process (scan, digital camera) often leaves you with a very poor result.

1. The drawing after scanning, way too gray.

2. That is where Photoshop comes in handy: Working exclusively with non-destructive adjustment layers (Black & White, Exposure, Levels) the scan is cleaned up and prepared for the colouring process.











3. And now the creative part, the actual colouring process. Decide what your main objective is, screen or print design, and start using the right colour model rightaway, RGB or CMYK. The more elaborate your colour work is getting, the more difficult to change color mode later on.

Photoshop screenshot: Working with adjustment and "colouring" layers

My preferred tool here is the brush, plain and in airbrush mode, with an opacity of 30-60% and a 90-100% flow. But also the eraser and the smudge tool are very valuable here, if used with care. Last, but not least: regarding complex digital illustration, there is no way around a graphic tablet.