hiiiii i got asked for how i color gold. tbh most of the time i just blob shapes in but i can try to explain my process too <:v
(i was trying to write more b4 giving up bc my handwriting is a mess)
here is an elf ear to start with! i just paint on top of my sketch for gold but feel free to line art or do whatever is your normal process
we need to keep in mind gold is reflective! so while picking a light source keep in mind there will be light bouncing back. typically i do this by not coloring the shadows all the way to the edge, but if there are multiple sources be ready for some bounce light action too
heres some colors! the second lightest shade is the base color we'll be working with. feel free to make the gold cool or warm toned, i just usually make my gold warm toned. in theory this also works with rose gold and silver, so feel free to play around with colors!
we're gonna keep in mind the light source, which i will be using the same as the example photo roughly. again i'm really messy with gold i just slap it on on top and it usually works okay but refine the shapes if you wanna!
first shadows! i keep these towards the middle to build shape. playing with different shapes of shadows will give different form to the metal but tbh.... i build most of my form in the highlights
second shadows: i focus these usually closer to the light source, but you can also do darker near the rebound light. again, try not to color directly to the edge to keep it looking very shiny
darkest shadows! like before, but smaller. here you can also add in different colors blobbed in the shadows if you want. i find its easiest to see reflections in the 'shadowed' parts of metal. add in your character's hair color, clothing color, or even the bg color if you want!
example with my nerevar picture of the reflections: you can see the blueish-grey of his collar in the gold to give it more dimension! even if you're working with abstract shapes it can help sell the illusion with more detail.
next up is highlights which i use a blending mode for (actually every highlight in anything i draw uses it but i feel for metal it REALLY helps): Add (glow)
or at least, it's called that in CSP. in other programs it might have a different name.
first highlights i like to draw rays of light from the light source and blend the parts furthest from the light. you can curve these according to shape but tbh most of the time i just do this. or you can softly add it in very blended like the nerevar picture above for a brighter look
second highlights: i add them in around the top and bottom. keep it organic really if im being honest.
ANDDDDD UR DONE! it should hopefully look like metal. tbh i have no idea what im doing <:v
i hope this helped a lil!
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