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MylCreates
Apr '14
1

Sorry for filling up the forums lately (~twiddles thumbs ashamedly~)
Is this a good or bad idea? Would it work in my situation?
In my comic Hacheeachkee33 the overall theme is about going abroad around the universe. The comic has yet a while until we actually we meet another species other than the Machucan so I have some time to think about this. I was thinking that every species from their own planet could have a different font to emphasize their diverse background and personalities (but species between eachother will have the same font), but I'm not sure if that would just make the comic look botched up.

Letus.jpg1406x1963 628 KB

p.s. the guy on the left is a Machucan.
p.s.s. do these fonts fit for a comic and easy reading?

Thanks!

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    Apr '14

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apurviance
Apr '14

Personally, I don't mind digital fonts in comics, but...

It's very easy to let the default text settings slip into your work. If you don't adjust things it'll look "basic" or "amateur". Make sure everything about the text is intentional and improves whatever style or mood you're aiming for. Check the vertical line spacing, the distance between letters (wide or narrow), and make sure whatever font you use has all the characters you might need. I once found one I loved, but it didn't have quotes or most punctuation marks. WTF?!

From a graphic design point of view, fonts are like language accents, which is what I believe you're going for. Finally, if your font is hard to read either use it very sparingly or find a replacement. Script/cursive fonts are the worst. Your readers will thank you.

I also use a different font for a ghost character in my comic37, but he also gets a special spooky speech balloon style to go with it. I even had to switch out his font once his dialog got longer because it wasn't easy to read.

jeremyscottnich
Apr '14

I agree wholeheartedly here. And your comic—I, Mummy96—is a fantastic example of how to use multiple fonts right! Sparingly and when the story dictates it. And it's a great comic otherwise too! I just read through it quickly and subscribed; soon I'll go back and give it some hearts.

OrbitalDeathRay
Apr '14
1

I think it all depends. On one hand, if a character has a very specific type of voice (robotic, for example), it can work just fine. However, you should be careful about using it. Your audience should be able to tell which character is saying what by the way they speak coupled with good speech bubble placement. Things like different fonts can easily become a crutch, but as long as you keep writing dialog well, it shouldn't pose any serious problems.

kristintipping7
Apr '14

Using different fonts for different characters can be challenging, because the fonts have to be distinctive enough for the reader to easily tell them apart, but not so crazy looking that they become difficult to read or cheesy looking. It's generally a good idea to stick with sanserif fonts for dialogue as much as possible. At the moment I'm using one font for all the characters and differentiating them by making their speech bubbles different shapes. It works pretty well since my comic only has a few characters. I'd probably run out of shapes pretty fast if I had a larger cast, though.

davidloveii5
Apr '14

It sounds and looks like a good idea because then you could recognize what character is talking but once you get to a point that your using too many different font it tends to get annoying. Also what if you don't want a character to be known but the font ruins the moment because it shows who's the secret character. It all depends on how good it tends to be so testing it out can leave some reviews weather they're positive or negative.

nibburra
Apr '14

I can work but I say use it sparingly only if you want to convey how the persons speech is different like in accent,language or mood because you could end up giving yourself to much work and it can be a bit overwhelming to the reader.

kotaotan
Apr '14

I use a different font for Archetypes and Higher Beings in my comic but I try not to go overboard with it. The fewer fonts you use the better in nearyly anything you do. If it's just regular characters I always use the same font. I honestly wish I hadn't used the extra fonts, but now I have to out of consistency.

The general rule in graphic design is two to three fonts max in a project and I try to stick to that. With mine it's Letteromatic for dialogue, Georgia for non-dialogue/page numbers, and then the logo font. Then again, to each their own.

EnzoComics
Apr '14

I think it's fine as long as it's not overdone.
As a designer we are discouraged from using too many typefaces on a single project and comics are no diffferent.

If you want a professional example, in Marvel comics the typeface for all characters is generally the same, but when an Asgardian speaks (Thor, Loki, etc.) they use a more royal/old-english looking type to better distinguish them as the gods they are.

MylCreates
Apr '14

Ahhhh, thanks Enzo for the advice. I'll try to look into that.
at a certain point in my comic there will be about 8 characters in my group who all come from different backgrounds, so at that point dialogue may be come messy :s hmmm.

There is a point where one of my main characters: Kadi, "syncs" up with the other main character Proroc so that Proroc can speak the same language as Kadi. Perhaps at this point Proroc's font will become the same font as Kadi's. She does this for every character that joins the group. They only go to 1 world at a time, so the species they'd meet have a font of their own... atleast that's my speculation.

How's that sound? :-/