SlyBrandy's 'Under the Mistletoe' in color

Some time ago, a talented artist known as SlyBrandy saw fit to grace deviantART with a cozy lil SlyxCarmelita pic known as "Under the Mistletoe" (follow this [link] to see it in its original glory). Being a major Sly Cooper fan myself, I took it upon myself to ask SlyBrandy if I could color it, since it was presently displayed in black-and-white form. SlyBrandy agreed, and thus have I taken digital paintbrush in hand to enrich this masterpiece even further!

The major trick was figuring out how to capture the outlines without getting them all scuzzy with extra bits from the surrounding edges. I tried using Magic Wand on them at first, but the resulting lines turned out uneven...but then I got the lightbulb to attack the problem from a different angle, selecting the stretches of white space and erasing them to leave the outlines untouched. From there, it was a simple job of adding color, whipping up a background and some snow, and taking a step back to make sure everything came out well. I also touched up the image JUST a little, adding irises to Sly and Carmelita's eyes--for better or worse.

Just to make sure we're all on the same page: I am NOT the person who drew this pic. All credit goes to SlyBrandy, follow this [link] and comment on the original to give this work its proper due. I just colored it in and added some extra details.