Affinity by Canva for DRAWING #3 ： Coloring

Hi. Now we're in part 3, so let's keep going. Coloring. We'll go through everything step by step, super easy, super basic, and something you'll actually use all the time. Let's jump right in. First method, Reference Layer. This one's pretty common like in Procreate, Clip Studio Paint. Okay. Going to the Pixel Studio. Create a new pixel layer at the bottom of the Layers panel. Rename to Color. Grab the Flood Fill tool. In the Context toolbar at the top, set the Source to Current Layer and below. Then start filling in the colors. If the color doesn't fill the whole area, just increase the Tolerance value. To select a color, use the Picker in the Color panel. Hold and drag to the color you want. It's faster than using the Picker tool. Okay. That's it for the Reference Layer method. Now adding details using Protect Alpha. Select your color layer. Switch to the Paint Brush tool. And look for Protect Alpha in the Context toolbar at the top. Not using wet edges, turn it off. Click Protect Alpha. Start painting in the details. And when you're done, don't forget to turn Protect Alpha off. Protect Alpha locks the transparency of a layer so you can only paint on existing pixels, not empty areas. Another way, use a Clipping Mask. Create a new pixel layer. Drag it right on top of the color layer to make it a Clipping Mask. And paint in the details. You already know how to use Clipping Mask. Alright, done. Next method, Vector Fill Holds. Vector work relies on shapes and objects to perform different tasks. So first, we need to turn our stroke curves into shapes. Select all the stroke curves inside your ink group, then right-click, Expand Stroke. After that, use Boolean Add to combine them into a single shape. Ctrl-J duplicate it. Rename the copy color. Pick color Light Brown for the bear. Right-click, Geometry, Fill Holds. Cool. I love this command. Fill holes fill small gaps inside a closed vector shape so the area becomes solid. Now you have the base color. Select the ink layer, use the Vector Flood Fill tool to fill in the remaining areas. Next up, adding more details. Select the color shape, and click Insert inside the selection icon at the top. In Illustrator, this is called Draw Inside. I mentioned this icon back in Part 1 Interface How To. Go check it out again, because we'll be using it a lot. Now you can start refining the details with the Pencil tool. Add shading and color using the Brush Path tool, even the Pixel Paint Brush tool. They all work perfectly with this method. Affinity's this version now includes Vector Image Trace. Try searching for tutorials on YouTube to see how you can draw something in the Pixel Studio. And then convert it into vector artwork. Why go vector? Because it's easy to edit, sharp, scalable, high quality. And perfect for projects like print ads, t-shirts, or packaging design. Alright. There are so many ways to color your artwork. It really depends on your experience, what you're most comfortable with. Combining pixel and vector techniques gives you a lot of creative freedom, and it's definitely worth trying. Actually, each technique isn't just for drawing, can apply them to other types of design work too. Don't forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you won't miss the next video. Thanks for watching, see you in Part 4.