Pattern guide
The cel shade (comic) Cerakote pattern
Cel shade turns the part into a comic-book panel: a flat base color, a bold ink outline that traces the part's real edges, a hard-edged shadow zone that follows the photo's actual lighting (screened in halftone dots or hatch lines, or sprayed solid in a fourth tone), crisp specular highlights, and inked detail lines on the part's own creases and hardware. The video-game look — and yes, it works in negative (light lines on a dark base) by swapping the base and line colors.
Live preview rendered in your browser — the same generator the studio applies to your part photo.
How it sprays
Base coat first, then the shadow zone (the stencil export gives you its exact shape), then the linework — hand-painted with a fine tip, brushed, or laser-imaged from the exported files for perfectly crisp outlines. Highlights go on last. Charge for the artistry: this is a showpiece finish.
Choosing colors
One saturated base plus Graphite Black lines and Bright White highlights is the classic look; add a darker shade of the base as a fourth color for a solid two-tone shadow. For the negative version, run a black or midnight base with white or bright lines.
A proven combo to start from
Real catalog colors that work for cel shade (comic) — click any swatch for pairings and similar shades.