COLOR IN COMICS
This week on the Terrible Anvil, we parsed one of Jess’s favorite topics: COLOR!!
LISTEN ON:
The episode felt like a sequel to last week's talk on MEDIUM because COLOR fun can be had in both the analog and digital realms!
Some tips if you are approaching color or color in comics as a newbie:
Pick just one color at first, especially if working in a new medium/with new tools. If that's not interesting, try two colors, maybe three. By using limited color palettes you will gain confidence and figure out what works with color! You can also print a black and white comic on toned paper, or add one tone in the background if working digitally. Even just using one color (plus black and white) adds a lot of dimension to your work.
New to color? Old hat? Try this! Collaborate with a friend and trade pages with each other to color (and learn how others make their decisions--it will help you notice your own preferences and strategies, too)
Are you color confused? Color curious? When in doubt, think about contrast! Hot take: if something is the 'right' value, it doesn't really matter what color it is.
Err on the side of a lighter color—reading the lines and artwork/what is happening in the panel is more important than the color itself.
Start with an "anchor" color: if something NEEDS to be a certain color (nursing scrubs in Jess’s hospital comics are seal blue, for example) start there. Then each choice after that informs the rest of the palette. Jess noticed Tin Tin wears a bright blue sweater similar to those scrubs so it felt easy to also---
Steal a palette from Hergé's Tin Tin (or look at a comic you love and steal color)
Some ideas from the call chat:
We recalled the part of the Inner Critic Recovery program where Tom colored an entire 40-page coloring book in one hour! He did this in the last hour of 2020, which forced him to make decisions on the fly and narrow down his color palette to finish in time! The fast deadline took the pressure and judgment off.
Jess remembered a time where she worked in a series in gouache (making portraits of Prince, similar to Tom's making flower drawings in Procreate in April) as a way to better understand the medium and try new things in color, and to celebrate her love for Prince and making portraits:
Martha Kuhlman shared: Chris Ware's main characters are in primary colors and the rest is secondary colors and browns:
Tom Hart mentioned a lot of virtuosos of psychedelic color, like Joann Sfar’s Klezmer (right), My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris, Brecht Evans (left), Tommi Parrish, Leela Corman.
Jess noted that when you’re in the midst of making something, knowing exactly what it is or what you’re going for is overrated. You can figure out what it is and what to do next once it’s done!
And Tom added this advice: give yourself the gift of making more work and getting more experience and narrative continuity in your artistic life.
Next week we're recording on FRIDAY AFTERNOON and talking about DIALOGUE! (and scripting and writing comics!)
WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF THE TERRIBLE ANVIL FOR MORE TIPS AND ENCOURAGEMENT!
And join us for more in the FLOW + PUBLISH group at SAW!
You’ll get access to our live calls every Thursday (or Friday!), along with expert guidance and a supportive community to help you get your comics out there.
Happy making!
WANT TO MAKE AND READ MORE COMICS?
Do you have a story inside you that’s just itching to come out, but want some guidance to help push it out?
Learn more about intensive comics learning with teachers at SAW by checking out SAW’s Year-Long Intensive Program and our Six-Month Graphic Novel Intensive.
Be sure to also check out our Online Courses, some courses are offered year-round and are always enrolling while others are limited in space and come around only once a year!
Our Graphic Memoir Intensive runs year round and is always enrolling. It includes access to a vibrant working community, twice-monthly live online check-ins, weekly prompts, and access to SAW’s Monthly Pro Calls!
Our Comics Flow Group, or SAW FLOW MEMBERSHIP, is also year-round and always enrolling and is SAW's MOST AFFORDABLE course option with access to Monthly Pro-Calls!
And, of course, come see what we’re all up to on SAW's Mighty Network anytime!
