I noticed that when I saw your pages. Very nice, by the way. Your use of color is sparse but interesting. I, and I think others, are watching closely.
When working on mine I wanted to produce a palate of textures as well as colors that spoke to character, mood and expression. I wanted Giselle to be vivid, energetic, but a bit rough and I consciously chose reds and bristly textures to represent her.
For Max I wanted his dominant feature to be an aura of calm. I chose to add blue overtones to his shirt for this express purpose, and use green backgrounds for him specifically not only to exude a cool and naturalistic exterior but as a juxtaposition to Giselle. Use of complementary colors between these two suggests not only a clash, but a sense of destiny, as if they were designed expressly for the other to complement rather than supplement, which is one of my overarching themes. I hope the suggestion is that these two people make one another better, more vibrant and alive than they could be with anyone else.
I specifically use blocks for Max in backgrounds to suggest his inner machinery of fitting what happens into his known universe. I hope this comes across as thoughtful but potentially rigid. It is very much his character. In costume I'll continue with smooth whites, blues, and loose-woven taupe. I want him to feel calm, genuine, but distant. I hope that comes through, but I don't know.
For Reggie, grays and blacks were a natural. Her deliberately orange hair is so vibrant that even though it's simple it remains in the forefront and full of motion. I wanted to portray industry, competency, and resiliency but a sort of jagged kind of desperate immediacy. She won't get many pages very soon, so I'm very worried about how well subtlety will work with her, as she is in no way subtle. Grey will always be very dominant in her costuming. For her backgrounds, a swirling marble I think is most appropriate.
For the comic as a whole, I didn't give it much thought. It's meant to be naturalistic, and contemporary. Other than pushing tall objects next to Max, or moving objects next to Giselle, the backgrounds themselves have shown little purpose. I did, however, intentionally use an albino cardinal as a metaphorical device, but I wasn't saying anything other than rarity, piqued interest, and respite.
I suppose that's the best term to use for the mood of the first phase of my comic so far: respite. As much as it has been laden with exterior action, I wanted to juxtapose Giselle's initial mental state of harried, pushed, scrutinized, with a sense of soothing and freeing calm. I'll continue that theme until the mood necessarily changes when her inner state changes.
I hope that makes some sense, and is of some help. I enjoyed your pages, by the way.
