Colouring? Can we REALLY be bothered?

[DeadAccount]

I do hate flatting and I did contemplate doing a B&W/grayscale comic, but colour is crucial for me. I like playing around with the lighting and mood in my pages, and since I don't do many black shadows in my inking, all of it falls onto colouring. I change my colour pallettes pretty much every time a scene changes to keep myself from getting bored

[aFistFull]

Very much agree. Sin City pops into my mind straight away. The stark black and white can create very powerful imagery.

[aFistFull]

Funny, I'm the opposite. I LOVE the sketching part. At times it's frustrating but I do love it. I suppose that's why the comic industry is so divided up with, artist, colourist, inker, etc.

[aFistFull]

@vincentprendick That is a good idea. I like the Mom Jokes one (don't see a lot of pink in comics).

@kurapikasuki Well, damn. That sucks. I have slight joint pain too in my wrist and elbow at times from a stupid self-inflicted injury. I find the LINE is a site with people that are a lot more critical without the helpful feedback.

@Shanny8 I will admit that it's quite fun messing around with different brushes.

@christinaeliz Ha! You've gotta put that idea forward. 'Make This Pretty' button would be amazing. Your black and white/screentone work very well with the style of your comic (great art btw).

@elixiadragmire Holy shit you went full on with the colour didn't you? Not THAT is the stuff I love yet find so difficult to do.

@VermillionWorks VERY accurate.

@Hot_Coffee I agree. If it's 80's I personally feel that the bright pastel/neon colours are very important.

@Bloomer I feel your pain. The comics are great but DAMN expensive. I agree. One comic of bombastic colour could be needed whilst another slightly bleak feel would be better. Gotta say, your comic colours has an 80'sish vibe too it. Very nice.

@carloswebcomic Damn those shallow reader.

SOMETIMES I almost find myself rewriting a scene because I think about the colours involved.

[Greg_Dickson]

I think it all depends on the amount of time you have to commit to colouring, or how experienced and fast you are at it. I personally value consistent updates more than being stuck on a page for weeks, making sure the colouring is just right. Since I'm new to colouring, I took the time to do it for my first cover page, and it took me every spare moment of my week, as I just barely finished it before my posting day. I'm exceptionally slow at it to begin with. I'm sure with enough experience and time, I could figure out some shortcuts or become naturally faster at it, but I would just find it too stressful to give that type of time commitment every single week. While it's true colour comics are generally more appealing, I think we have to invest in the means to complete our comics that make us the most comfortable. If you're spending 20 extra hours a week colouring one page while working another job, maybe it's not worth partaking in at the moment.

[infectedbloodcomics]

All my comics so far have been in B&W, but I'm switching to coloring for my next, long story for several reasons.

First off, people, especially on the web, like colors: printed comics can get away with B&W, but let's face it, you likely turn off a large number of potential readers online if you don't have catchy colors.

Second, it's a challenge: I want to learn how to color, because I want my art to shine as much as possible in my eyes as well as my readers' eyes. Perfecting yourself means constantly pushing your boundaries and breaking through your limits!

Finally, I am now at a point where I am kind of satisfied with my line art, and I believe that coloring will not cover its defects, but bring out its quality. I really dislike comics with shiny colors that just cover up line art flaws. I don't want mine to end up like that!

So, yes, coloring adds to production time, but I think it's really worth it most of the time! Just pace yourself

[69Michi]

I actually do LOVE sketching! Though I only like sketching single art, what I don't like is the layout part of the comic and especially paneling because I'm not sure of what I'm doing yet and what angle I should draw my characters in so they don't look repetitive T_T but that is true haha! Personally as much as I enjoy coloring, I would love if I can find a helping hand in someone who can do the flatcoloring process for me, it usually takes up the most time in my process haha

[elixiadragmire]

its what I enjoy doing even if it drives me bamy, th results are too good a payoff!

[azamraharjo]

Hi. I think most "western" comic and "webcomic" I found is usually coloured. Perhaps this "trend" (if it is a trend) made some of us think that if we don't use colour it will be "lifeless" or "lack of something".

Do you read Japanese comics (manga)? Most of them are black and white with grays or screentones. I think these black and white mangas could speak louder and bolder even without colours. I even would not have it any other way.

Regarding me, if I need to do colour, I just do it (it's nor least favourite or most favourite). This might be a subjective preference but I do really enjoy doing black and white and trying my best to "speak" with only with them. And my upcoming comic will mostly be in black and white.

It ultimately depends on what you want to tell. If you think adding colours is only making it a tedium, then don't.

[AnnaLandin]

It's certainly time-consuming - I spent ages today shading tiled roofs and drawing intricate designs on people's armour - but my comic gets a lot of its atmosphere from the colours, so I find it necessary.

It's also kind of relaxing, in a way? I put on an episode of a podcast (or two or three, depending on length of episode and how much I'm colouring) and kinda zone out while I paint.

I think my least favourite part is convincing my clean sketches to cooperate with the rules of perspective, and inking very repetitive things - like bamboo forests and the aforementioned tiled roofs. If I don't pay attention, that kind of thing wears on my wrist.

[Shanny8]

Actually given the art style, I could dig black & white webcomics as well. The only thing I notice is that when some webcomic artists use color they pull back on the amount of linework/line quality they put on a page. I'm a little guilty of this myself, but for the most part I try to continue to keep my linework in sync with the color.

I think it's great that you want to get better at coloring. I have to admit, I HATED it at first, but after a couple of months I started noticing that I was getting the effect that I wanted, so I kept at it. Coloring is never really something I dread anymore coz I've now gotten into a zone where I have a pattern of how I do the work. The only area I wanna get better at is producing better pages due to understanding color/theory(which is where my color weakness is).

[keii4ii]

The only thing I notice is that when some webcomic artists use color they pull back on the amount of linework/line quality they put on a page.

This is not always a bad thing. You don't want to add anything (including colors) to a picture that's already complete and does not need anything else to it. You want to add colors to a picture waiting to be colored.

Now, this doesn't mean more detailed = less suitable for colors. The amount of detail is just one factor. It's just worth asking: would this picture actually benefit from coloring?

[Shanny8]

I wouldnt say it's bad either...I usually follow the credo that I'm using the colors to make the lineart stand out, and sometimes vice versa. Now in certain areas like some backgrounds, yeah I will pull back on the amount of detail/lines(depending on certain factors).

The point I was making is when some artists pull back on the amount of linework and try to use the color to compensate for it. Depending on the style and the skill level, it doesnt always work.

[infectedbloodcomics]

The point I was making is when some artists pull back on the amount of linework and try to use the color to compensate for it. Depending on the style and the skill level, it doesnt always work.

I completely agree with you. I often see pretty colors on top of a rather sketchy line art and that kinda kills it for me. I guess my point is, splashing line art with colors seems kinda sloppy to me. I believe that readers notice sloppiness in all their forms, so it seems counterproductive to me. I love shortcuts that work, by the way: it's just... this is not a shortcut I personally feel comfortable with, and it turns me off both as a creator and as a reader.

[demthorshie]

Coloring is actually my favorite part of making the comic! Drawing the thing takes the longest and it's pretty much a mind numbing process for me overall. The page just jumps out more when there's color, it brings life to the art. That and my line art alone is kind of crappy imo ...

[Pandastrophic]

Coloring is actually my favorite part of making the comic! Drawing the thing takes the longest and it's pretty much a mind numbing process for me overall.

omg I totally agree with this, colouring for me is the most fun part out of making my comic! I actually sometimes feel like my colouring is a bigger part of my style than anything else (idk if that makes sense) I don't even 'lineart' like my lines are sketchy pencil lines which I feel like matches the colouring but they take ages because I'm much more distracted while working on the lines than when I'm colouring.
Even tho I read b/w comics I doubt I could ever make one because I would get bored from working on it.

[guilleum2]

I'm pretty torn about coloring. I draw traditionally and color digitally which makes it a pain for me. Drawing is already exhausting for me so adding coloring on top of it... I think I would rather just pay someone to do it for me ^^;;

[NickRowler]

So I originally was going to make my comic b/w with some toning but at one point, I realized that I had to shade it.

This was the page where I realized that it was important. It allowed me to have a scene which was easier to tell what was going on as well as have variation in skin and hair tones.

I know it is tedious but I think it makes my comic look a whole lot better and makes it pop. But I know it would better in color but I am not 100% confident in my coloring skills plus grey-shading is so much faster to do.

[acealmansoori]

I think colored pages worked for me, even though it added 4months to finishing this webcomic. It's worth it. It's still in progress, but planning on releasing it by the end of this month.

[acealmansoori]

yes this feeling, its what made me start coloring my pages. Some pages actually became better than what I visioned them.