Colourising my composition

Colourising my composition. - I want the colours to be quite bold and contrasting. perhaps reds and yellows? i think they could fit well with the theme of violence and gore. Perhaps other combinations would be less obvious?

 To add colour to the design in initial removed all background from each scanned in element, before adding a new layer for the colour.

• its important to set this layer to be set to clipping mask in order for the colour to not bleed over the edges. Choosing the option of multiply - this way the colour will feature behind the black outline i have drawn.
• once the sections is filled, its easy testing a variety of combinations of colour.

• Next i wanted to expeiermnt with the background. I really liked the idea of layering the image over a textured mono print to bring more depth and grit to the image. I think if just filling the elements with block colour the composition could look a little flat and boring, perhaps too clean cut for the concept i wanted to display?
• There are so many options of colour I'm finsinf it difficult to decide at this stage! i think here the combinations are one too many. The texture is perhaps i little overpowering and the added green  means the image is a bit distracting, and not that easy to look at.

 I felt that too many colours and tones over complicate the design so i stripped back the layers. 

This is the result, and the most successful combination in my eyes.
Reducing the texture  will allow the type to become more prominent and eye-catching! it still provides enough surface detail however. reducing the colours; the face looks more fitting when the colour blends with that of the background. Using the same colour but a different shade makes the imagery much more cohesive.

- final improvement. - using the rubber too to blend the edges of the neck with the background. gives a more professional finish.