hi anon! im not sure how to describe my color choosing process since for a lot of it i just kinda.... go with whatever i think looks best, but! i have some tips for improving your coloring skills!

1.) try starting by watching some videos on color theory! understanding how colors interact is the most important part of knowing how to use them. there are tons of videos about it but here are a few i personally liked: x x x

2.) pay attention to the mood and emotions you want to convey in your art. saturation levels, lightness/darkness, and contrast will play a huge part in conveying different moods. this video here can provide some simple insight to what moods different colors can convey.

note how the first image has an overall cool tone, while the other one has a warm tone! the cool tones in the first one create a calm and almost sleepy mood, while the warm tones in the second one make it feel more romantic and summery

3.) try coloring using a limited palette! this tip in particular was the biggest help in developing the way i color. you can find plenty of user made palettes here on tumblr, but i often use colors from images ive found that i think look nice together! here are a few images ive used for color palettes in my art before:

using palettes in art can be challenging at first but it gets easier the more you practice! a tip i have for figuring out how to use them is to pay attention to if the colors all seem balanced. heres an example of balanced colors and unbalanced colors using a palette:

well balanced colors will have good contrast! a good way to check that is to turn the saturation all the way down to 0 and see if everything looks well balanced and has nice contrast. note: the first one isnt necessarily bad, but the second one looks better than the first

4.) a good way to pick your own palettes is to pick 3 main colors and 1 or 2 pop/accent colors! the 3 main colors will be the ones you use the most in the drawing, while the 1 or 2 pop/accent colors will be used for adding interest and contrast to your art! of course, you can choose as many colors as you want, but keeping it to that ratio is what i usually stick to for my coloring

in this one, the main colors are pinks and reds, which set the tone for the image, and the purples/dark grays add interest and contrast to keep the colors from becoming muddy and flat