Apr 2022
9 / 13
Apr 2022
May 2022
migxmeg
Apr '22
2

This week I'm trying to get my coloring pipeline put together and pick out some colors for a main character... I could absolutely use some help if anyone is up for giving me a bit of feedback! I'm feeling just a bit stuck/like something isn't quite working.

The hope is to achieve a palette that reads clearly and looks nice for an action comic intended for phone screens. 2nd-4th pictures include a quick concept background (the actual set will be a 3d model but integrating that nicely is a task for later :smile_01:).

Specific coloring pipeline concerns I have are:

  • Do these kinds of saturated/dark colors look bad on mobile?

  • Does this style look weird/bad with action lines - 3rd image? If so, anything I can do to make it work better?

  • The shading is a bit more basic than what I usually do... not sure if it's working or not!

  • I haven't used a sharp rim light on characters before but I think it may be good/necessary here - any critique/tips on how to do that properly?

  • Should I be looking to reduce the darkness/"atmosphere" on the background?

  • Does the texture look bad?

Specific character color design concerns I have (still experimenting and open to ideas!):

  • Clarity - Am I losing some of the design elements that help clarify/highlight action - especially belt and wrist wraps on gloves? I think so... but what to do? Change those elements/shorts and gloves/lighten all of it so the line art is more clear? Hm.

  • Have I got too much that's too close in color value on this outfit? The black and white (below) looks at least ok to my eyes so I can't tell what's bothering me.

  • Is pink not her color? :sweat_02:

These are thoughts I was having but any critique/tips/examples to study are all appreciated!

20220422-colors- no bg.png1194x941 561 KB

20220422-concept-color.png954x752 588 KB

20220422 concept - Al.png954x752 591 KB

20220422 _concept bw.png1194x941 298 KB

  • created

    Apr '22

  • last reply

    May '22
  • 12

    replies

  • 496

    views

  • 6

    users

  • 20

    likes

  • 4

    links

Kaydreamer
Apr '22

There are three things I'll point out regarding mobile viewing here.

  1. A mobile reader could be trying to read your comic in a variety of conditions, including outdoors - which will make dark colours very hard to see or understand. I'd brighten things up here.
  2. Likewise, phone screens are small, and this looks very detailed, even on my laptop. Most of those details will be completely lost on a mobile viewer, and will slow your process down as well. You can add in extra details for zoomed in shots, but otherwise, you should simplify. Clearer, simpler shape language will be easier for your readers to digest.
  3. You can afford to simplify the shading as well, which will have the added advantage of clarifying colour and shape. I didn't much like the idea of simplifying my shading when I started my comic, but it really has made a world of difference the more I've leaned into it.

I hope that helped!

migxmeg
Apr '22

Thank you oh so much - extremely helpful!! And it's such a pet peeve of mine if I have to adjust the brightness when I'm trying to read comics and not disturb the sleeping husband :sweat_02: I'll make sure to turn it down and bring my phone outside after making the adjustments! Will give some thought to which details I can skip/simplify on fb shots. Thank you thank you - I really appreciate your input!

LCT_m_a_d
Apr '22

On my phone, the dark background kinda got ate up by the brightness and glare. I turn off adaptive feature though which most people don't.
I think the color palette could work, but it would depend heavily on how carefully scenes are rendered since most of the colors are muted. Zack Snyder -ish.
Maybe adding a strong cinematic light-source (especially on the blues). Whenever I think of muted colors, I think of realism more than animated or conceptual style.

BoomerZ
Apr '22

I would say its a good color scheme but nothing stands out. If you are going for a realistic look fine but for comics I think you need a focus. Blur your eyes and see what stands out. To me, nothing does. There is a reason batman has a symbol on his chest. Look at most cartoon characters, they have something that draws your eye to them. Most anime uses hair color to do this. The skill of the coloring is very well done, I just think you need a focus point.

migxmeg
Apr '22
LCT_m_a_d

Thank you so much for the feedback!! I'll definitely adjust the overall color balance - seems like I whiffed hard on that one :blep:.

I'll try your suggestion with the strong light source - that sounds worth a shot for sure. I think this point of whether the palette should look more comic-book or webtoon like vs taking some of my coloring habits from painting is a key thing to figure out hmmm. I will experiment some more with that.

Thank you so much for the insights!!!

migxmeg
Apr '22
BoomerZ

Ah, great call and that shouldn't be too hard to execute either - thank you so very much!!

IndigoShirtProd
Apr '22

I'm just going post something quick here since I'm on my way to the gym. I think pink is her color! Coral pinks look great against medium/tan skin tones.

I think the only qualm I have with her palette is that the brown of her breast plate and belt, and the blue of her cape, shorts, and hat are very similar in value, and thus are hard to differentiate from each other. It makes the pink and her skin tone stick out though, and maybe that's what you're going for. But in the instances where her background is dark, you lose these elements a tad, specifically the cape and hat. I think the blue could be a slightly lighter color.

Lastly, I honestly think you could edit her design down a little more, but I prefer simple designs. (I mean have you seen the main character of my action one-shot) So maybe I'm not the best person to go of you like some amount of detail in your character design. :sweat_02:

migxmeg
Apr '22

Thank you so much for helping me out on your way!!

I suspected I was losing those elements, appreciate the confirmation - will be more careful with that and make sure everything is coming through clearly on the desaturated version. I'll see about finding a way to have cake and eat it too with keeping those more clear and still having good contrast between her skin tone and clothes.

I do like complicated designs, but you certainly have a point and I'm sure I'll curse myself at least once or twice drawing this over and over. I'll mull it over and see if there's anything I can trim without missing it! :persevere:

Thanks again for your feedback!

magnavarra
Apr '22

i think pink is not her color. Unless you change her shirt design, From the smaller image it looks like she's nacked because of the same tone the outlines of the shirt are masked under the lifejacket or whatever this garment is. Also she seems to be really fit girl but have you also figured her design from the side view> with that bag on top of her breast it may seem really off balance and unpleasant impact on silhouette.
Another advise concerns this characters role. Whether it a main character or secondary character. Main character should naturally be more interesting and contrast in color while secondary characters should be more average grey or monochrome. Of course it depends on the setting and genre and many either things. Still can be applied to most of the stories.
Also how did you get this BW image? It seems to be wrong on tones.
I suggest to use black layer with color overlay. Because regular desaturation is messing with brightness.

image.png1009x798 258 KB

another good thing to upgrade coloring is using such sites as adobe color to see how different colours work best with each other.

migxmeg
Apr '22

Thank you so much for the feedback!!

I'm fixing that pink shirt right now - would hate for it to look like she's having a failure to wear clothes XD. And yesssss, definitely point taken about the side view - I'll make some sketches and check - perhaps simplifying the design and making sure that doesn't look terrible from the side are things I can do in one go.

I think we're planning to have multiple pov main characters, but she should look like one, on it.

Will look into doing this on my software and go check out Adobe color - thank you so much for the suggestions!

Really appreciate the insights - thank you so much!!

migxmeg
Apr '22

I think I've got a more legible color scheme now - thank you so so much everyone who helped me out on this!!

I workshopped the update & feedback with my writer and am headed back to the drawing board to update the design. Means a great deal to me that you all took time out of your day/comic work to share your thoughts and expertise :coffee_love:.

20220422 - coloring concept I 2.png1194x941 330 KB

1 month later

closed May 22, '22

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.