I think painting in B&W before coloring also helps show more contrast. 

I’m a bit worried that it would look washed out in a background though. I tend to use bright colors. This method seems better if you are using a more subdued color palette.

Trying a new coloring method. Testing it on a cute little commission I got (the commissioner is so awesome to let me try it :’) <3 ) It goes: sketch -greyscale shading - color overlay.

I know a lot of people are taught to digitally paint like that but I have always done shading while I was coloring the image. Doing the shading before makes it look a lot cleaner I think. It is a bit quicker to get done too. Though It is not fully finished yet.

Commission for Adam0800 on FA. I think I am getting really obsessed with backgrounds lately. Rocks are so fun to paint! <3!