Grayscale To Color Art Process … and why I don't use it

39 thoughts on “Grayscale To Color Art Process … and why I don't use it”

1. I hate to admit this, but that 'bat' pun at 15:40 was not intentional. But talk about your happy accidents!

2. That is some high level insight

3. Thank you so much, this video literally instantly changed my life. I’ve painted more pieces I’m happy with in the 24 hours after watching this + your other videos on color than I have in the past three years, it’s like you flipped on the switch in my brain enabling me to paint with color. So glad I decided to click on this

4. I never using gray scale cuz I don't know how to, this is the first time I understand gray scale
   and I will just go back to my original way now haha

5. Oh my god, this comment section! "This is technique is bad." "You can't do this right if you do it this way." "Traditional painters don't do that." "It's unnatural." "Only amateurs do that." "Only cause you're a noob!" HOLY CRAP! STOP!

   Listen, there are many ways of getting to the same end goal in art and while one way works for some people, another way works for other people. We are all different. Our brains are different. Just use what you like best. Some ways fit your style or method better. Some ways you find more intuitive than others. Others you find the result more pleasing to the eye. There's more, but if I were to list all of the different things that effect how you feel about something pertaining to art method, technique, style, etc. I'd be here all day.

   For example, Marco uses a painterly style so grayscale to color doesn't really work for him. That's not to say a painterly style can't be made to work with grayscale to color, but it doesn't for Marco. And that's OKAY. He prefers to go straight to color. I personally, prefer grayscale to color. My style is not painterly. I find it faster and I find it easier to color. I like the control it gives me. The method fits me and I like it, therefore, I use it. Art is subjective and so is how you make it.

   TLDR:
   Different strokes for different folks. Pun intended.

   Also, yes this is my second comment, but I feel it's important to say even if no one is gonna see this comment.

   Update: Had no idea changing one word ("achieve" to "make") for what I felt was better wording would remove the heart, but oh well. :') Thank you for the heart, Marco. And keep up the stellar work!

6. I'm amazed! This guy is not your average "how to draw" youtuber. We got some clean and analytic explanation useful for even professionals. Not to mention the incredible illustrations and real time examples making it so easily understandable. I wish you were my mentor. Hats off!

7. I am still trying to change my painting process from gray scale to full color.
   I was so so so addicted to gray scale -> color, because the first time I tried it, it worked so bloody well!
   It was the best artwork that I created so far, I've tried to paint something similar, but it just didn't feel as good as the first one I made.

   I recently noticed that I have the same problem that mentioned in your video. Like, I was painting the color on glass.

   I really need to stop this, I guess…

8. Segregation joke? Um, seriously?

9. Damn, this answered so many questions, many I didn't even know I had. You're fantastic! Subscribed.

10. On 7:15 how do you define those types of light??

11. how can i get your brush stock?

12. To check my values I use an easy way suggested by Jordan Grimmer. Go to View –> Proof Setup –> Custom. In Proof Conditions device to simulate switch to working gray dot gain 20%. Now you can switch between color and grayscale using the Shortcut/Hotkey Ctrl+Y or Cmd+Y. Also even if you're working in grayscale mode, when colorpicking, you will still pick the colors, not the grayscale you're seeing. So you can actually "paint in Grascale" while actually painting in Color. Check out his video for better info and a demo. This has helped me a lot 🙂

13. You make a lot of great points, but students going into concept art in particular should keep in mind that painting natively in color does incur a time and mental energy penalty. When you are under the gun to crank out and explore ideas in an iterative process, worrying about color can actually cloud the visual form of objects and distract your brain from the pure shapes of things.

    For this reason it's very common to do a black and white/ greyscale version first to solve the design forms, layout, lighting etc. Then once a concept is approved, color can be addressed if needed. Excluding color minimizes the variables to consider. The results are not as painterly as direct-to-color, but offer more flexibility and speed. Students should get comfortable with both approaches, and hone their techniques on making glazed works feel more natural.

    Time permitting, works painted directly in color have a nuance and subtly in the brush marks that is impossible to fully mimic in glazing without spending as nearly much time as you would have taken to do it in color the first time. The direct mixing of colors can produce very vibrant and fresh feeling paintings that convey natural media's richness and happy accidents.

14. your style is such a color bomb tho and i dont want anything like it. ill stick with greyscale

15. I tried the gray to color just to see why people would do it. It was absolutely annoying for me who has only ever started off with colour to begin with. Then i tried again just to see if i can get it to the same high saturated cartoonish colours i prefer. It takes more time and getting the correct intensity and shade/intent (because i know what i want) is awful. I did it but i would never do it again.
    In my opinion. Gray scale should only be used for that. Or a somewhat noir effect to highlight desaturation vs saturation. Anything else… might as well start with color.
    By the way your style highly reminds me of paul cezanne or toulouse lautrec

16. how do you pronounce your name bucci? like buc-chi?

17. square

18. hmm interesting! yeah i guess im gonna do what you suggested, strting with greyscale but inteoducing colour early on.

    im having a hard time switchinh from teaditional to digital art and this overwhelming palette makes me super nervous… totally gonna try your approach

19. Thank you so much for this video Marco.

20. Love this video and your reason for working with color straight away. Excited about working with colors now, thank you!
    If you're interested in saving the planet and animals from abuse and certain death, going vegan will help. Watch Cowspiracy for the environmental consequences of meat/dairy, What the Health and The Game Changers for health consequences, and Dominion (2018) to see what goes on behind closed doors.

21. The greater challenge to myself now is to do the grayscale painting to glaze color using acrylic on canvas

22. Good video! I've found that working gray scale first can help me figure out my values but it is sometimes better to start the painting over in color with the grey scale as more of a reference to fall back on. James Gurney pointed out in his blog a similar tip with the use of reference pictures, as to use black and white photos instead of color, but to each their own. I think it is interesting how Alex Ross (who primarily used gouache), paints in black in white first and adds color on top after, because it really doesn't show in a lot of his illustrations

23. “Color has been segregated”

24. I'm colour blind so I'm really fuocked

25. Sir an excellent video:)

26. Am I the only one who only uses overlay to add colors to grayscale…

    I use overlay, but the overlay has its own shading… then if its not enough, I add a multiply layer

27. I think for begginers is best to use values and when they feels pro to break the rules and know ps…use the random and fun process…. thx

28. dude, do you have a shrine? id pray there!

29. Massive respect to artists who use grayscale and have amazing results.

30. Look up art germ's video if you want to see what it actually looks like turning grayscale into color, not just over painting with some opacity filter.

31. I wouldn’t think of painting grayscale to convert it to color, just because it’s simpler for me to do it with color from the start. But I watched this video anyway, and I learned so much from it regardless! You are truly the best resource on painting, on the web, and off the web. So much pure knowledge – I grow as an artist after watching each of your videos. Thank you so much!

32. But to find perfect colours and paint is really hard and I never get what I want and in gray-scale I will able to paint perfectly but I really don't support gradient map cause it does Colour what I want but also colour those parts that I don't want to be coloured

33. H

34. Personally, I find Grey scale to be reliable with desaturated colors on a multiply layer, otherwise you're simply asking too much of the values, which can't necessarily give you tone.

35. thank you

36. I love your style man

37. Great video! I'm glad you put "… why I don't use it" in your title as opposed to something like "… why you shouldn't use it." All people are different and, at the end of the day, the process by which one creates an art piece is as personal as the art piece itself.

38. I think that starting with a grey scale is good if you want to add to the entire page/figure a prevalent tone/Hue. Like a green light for example… also in the films they do something similar (Matrix). But than the prevalent color is an atmosphere that you give to the entire work… Than the character itself can lose the center of attention and switch to the general atmosphere of the picture

39. Fun. Now that I've finally gotten ahead with my 2D, I'll have to start again.

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