How important is coloring?

[dragonfly_kites]

While working on my comic Kings I've been wondering if I should color it or not. My mom who has looked at my comic only once told me that I should because it doesn't catch her attention, and I'm starting to feel that she is right. While my brother said he prefers the black and white. I personally have enjoyed keeping it colorless because for me it takes quite a bit of time to color a page and keeping it black and white means I can release three pages at a time as opposed to one.

What do you guys think? How important is it for a webcomic to be colored? Do you just skim by colorless ones or does it not really matter?

[Ringarune]

I think it's really up to you and what you prefer, I don' think readers on here will discount your comic just because it's black and white, there's a lot of popular ones that are both grayscale as well as color.

I personally switched my comic from black and white to color because I liked the look better and it also helped with clarity of what objects were in the comic. On my part though, coloring takes me about an equal amount of time as black and white does, so it wasn't that bad of a change.

[dragonfly_kites]

See if it took me the same amount of time to color I would definitely color it. I like it's look so much better I feel as though it adds to the characters as well as the environments. My problem is though with a full time job I don't think I can spare the time to properly color it.

[gateofselidor]

Colour comics are more immediately appealing to a reader's eye, but in the long term I don't think it really matters. The quality of the story and how well you can depict it through the art, regardless of medium, is the most important thing.

I colour mine even though it takes a long time, but I enjoy how it looks and consider it worth the somewhat slower updates. In the end, it's more a matter of personal preference than one being better or worse.

[cocktails]

Color is an easier sale I think and it's definitely more wowing. But it's hard to color without getting burnt out. I honestly think black + white, and doing a weekly or monthly color special is probably the best way to go. Unfortunately, like you, I don't have the time either.

[Aspie_Gamer]

If you are a good-great colorist, then by all means go for it. If not, don't sweat it. There's a near even ratio of black and white comics to colored comics.

[joannekwan]

If you think the time put into coloring is worth it, then go ahead!

For me, I have one series done in color, mostly because I use it to practice my color theory. I can afford to color it because it's done in a simpler style and the pages are shorter and smaller. Also I have a cast of colorful characters and black and white won't do them the same justice. As for my other two series, one has 4 tones of gray and the other is strict black and white, they do just fine on the site. My most popular series is the one in grayscale, but I suppose that's more because of the subject matter.

[jordanthelass]

I think it's more of personal preference; but as an artist, it's always good to push yourself.

It also depends on the style of your comic. I looked at yours, and it could go either way. If you have extra time, though, I suggest blocking in some base colors to see what works. Keep in mind that only doing grey-tones can get a little boring sometimes, so it's nice to switch things up and experiment.

Either way, your art looks great! Keep it up! ^_^

[dragonfly_kites]

Thanks guys I think I'm going to color my next page and just see how it looks. (I might even do a before it was colored and after it was colored) just to see if it improves it.

[Vikiro_Hop]

I agree with those above in regards to color definitely catching someones eye. I'll just add that in story comics, interesting character design and good writing will become more important over time than whether or not it's colored. (I'm in the opinion that if coloring would dramatically affect your output and interrupt the flow of story then avoid it.) In episodic stuff especially Gag a Day I think it would be more important to color each page, if a joke doesn't hit the readers can at least enjoy some derpy colored in faces.

[dglisson]

I think you need to look at coloring at least your covers and maybe special pages or episodes. There are two things you have to worry about with a webcomic. The most important is, like a lot of people have said here, that the story and characters and art is good. VERY close behind is: how can you get people to start reading your comic? Because if they don't start reading it they'll never figure out how great your story is.

Get that banner in color, get a thumbnail in color, and have that first page really call out to folks in color is my advice on where you should start. Just my two cents!

[alaingrey]

My advice is to worry less about how much time things take and to think about what your story requires. If your drawings are unclear on their own, a little color can go a long way. if you don't know much about color theory or how to make a page in color cohesive, or don't have a color scheme in mind that adds to the story, I wouldn't bother.

Limiting the colors you choose to use can cut down on time. Make color pallettes ahead of time and limit pages to a main color that adds to the mood of the story.

Sometimes the best option for your narrative is black and white! Just make sure your drawings are clear enough that you don't need color as a crutch.

[Dozzer]

If it helps, I throw color in my series every now and then. I think the speed of outputting content and its writing is important, so most of my series is in b&w. But, I've dedicated a couple of episodes to color just to help establish how the setting and characters would look like with color.

Like what @alaingrey said, a little goes a long way

My series: The Middle Crowd

[orangeh00dey]

Maybe you could release your black and white pages normally, but then go back later when you have some extra time and color, then resubmit them! That way, you still keep your schedule!

[heterodont]

Honestly, if you aren't confident in your coloring skills or if its more effort to color your pages in - I'd suggest avoiding it for now. It'd be fine if you were practicing coloring on smaller, one shot comics, gag a days, or even just title pages. Bad color choices can affect your art negatively. I'd rather read a well made b&w webcomic rather than read a garish, muddy colored webcomic.

What matters is that you like working on it. Comics that clearly show how much a creator enjoys working on it are often times way better than those who's creators are just struggling to do things beyond what they want to actually do because other people told them they'd like it more that way.

[kazukitakamura126]

It's all a matter of preference, just like what everyone else said. Colored artwork is more attention grabbing initially but its the color, panel layout and characters work together to convey your story.

I did black and white in the past but it looked so lifeless (well I suck at making a grayscale comic anyways. :P) Color appeals to me because I also like to design character and I put a strong influence on color symbolism. Since my conversion to color I was able to apply color symbolism to my comics and well so it makes it easier for me to say certain things with my panels.

[Sanz]

I personally think it a matter of preference but color does always catch the eye. even if it s a dab of color on a page like blood or someones eyes. I see people do that alot.

[dragonfly_kites]

Wow there were a lot more responses to this since I last looked at the topic. Since I'm not entirely sure how to answer each one of you in an individual post I want to thank you all for your advice. I think I'm going to go the color route I colored my next page and I really like how it turned out. Even if it's going to take me much longer to produce.

Before:

After:

I think color adds the extra character I needed in my comic to make it more catchy.
When I feel up to it or have free time I'll go back and color my old pages.

[Sanz]

It really looks great in color!! especially that sky! i'm in love with it !

[monotone_ink]

If black and white manga can make awesome and appealing images, then you can too.

I think black and white is beneficial when it comes to saving time, but really, you should what you prefer, just make sure the end result is good.