How mush shading should be done in comic?

[gudservo]

i always get confused about this shading stuff how much shading should be done in a comic should i shade both the characters and background or not .... i am really confused please share your way of doing it

[SethJH]

Shading, especially in black and white, is absolutely vital to establishing mood, distance/relation in space, and the type of environment the scene is taking place. For color comics, not quite as much (but color adds an entirely different level of complexity).

Personally, I make digital paintings for all my panels- lighting is built in to the process.

I use two different techniques (depending on time available). First technique is the harder but more "true" way of doing it. I establish the light sources, place the characters in the space, and then using "Light Logic" I figure out how things should be shaded. The second technique is quicker but more "cheating", where I make a 3D render of the scene and just paint what the computer figured out for me. (I made the 3D models myself, so it's not stealing. Just "cheating" because I didn't take the time to figure out how it should be lit by hand)

[puppetbomb]

Do you have a specific examples?

Composition will take care of the lion's share of readability, but the level of detail and overall values of the image will affect how readable an image is. For instance, when there's someone dressed in very intricate clothes, putting them on a sparse background will make them pop out. Or in the background is very dark, make the focal object/person very light or white.

While there's no hard or fast rule about shading itself (a character can be shaded and not shaded multiple times in the same page depending on the style and how the panel is cut/composed), I think it's best to keep in mind the focus of the panel/story and build all your decisions off of that.

[DeadAccount]

I don't think there's a right and wrong way of doing it. Some comics work great with just flat colours, some are fully painted...the important thing is making sure it reads well and the values don't blend in together.
In my comic I tend to do cell shading on characters and soft shading on the backgrounds. The more important the detail, the more intricate shading it gets. (though earlier on i was trying to render out EVERY THING EVER, but in the end my time is limited and I have to prioritise)

I guess keep looking at comics you like and reverse-engineer how they do it. Colour and Light by James Gurney is pretty good for leaning colour theory if you want to really get into realism.

[PotooGryphon]

Shading is a stylistic choice. Some comics have it and some just have flat colors.

No shading like Isaac At Life

One tone shading like Postcards in Braille. Notice that each color has 1 tone of shading on it.

Two tone shading like Torakun Comics. It's like 1 tone but with highlights also added in.

One step above that like Sanity Circus. The shading is still simple shapes, however, now we're getting into rim light and more complex shading/highlights.

Full on digital painting like Heart of Keol. Even with this style, the artist picks the panels they go all out on and simplify the shading on panels that aren't as important.

Black and White comics like, my series Oops, require more contrast and black placements.

It's important to have strong silhouettes and a good grasp of foreground, mid ground, background with this style.

Grayscaling also requires a strong understanding of contrast so the page doesn't bleed together into a grey mess.

Chris Wharton of Giants! know what I'm talkin' about. Look at that strong silhouette, black placement, and line hatching.

Or Megan Kearney's Beauty and The Beast has this concept mastered. The background is super dark while the characters stand out in white.

In conclusion, there is no right or wrong amount of shading to use in a comic. It's your style choice to choose how much to add, do what feels right. Just make sure your shading is correct. Shading turns bad when it's not consistent to the light source or if it muddy ups the scene. Use it wisely.

[iddqd]

Hey man, it's a good question! I will assume you mean hatching and crosshatching in a black and white work. I work in pen and ink a lot, and over the years I found that less is more, especially for a comic story. Unless you are Bernie Wrightson, in which case you can use as much shading as you want and still be unrivaled.

I think if there is a rule of thumb on shading, it's that your priority should be such that objects on your page do not blend in together. A very simplified way of thinking about this is if you place very little shading on your character in the foreground, the background should probably be more heavily shaded, so there's a clear distinction between the two. If you place equally little shading in the background, or too much shading on the character, they will blend. I think this is the most common problem with pen-and-ink drawings.

Here's an example from a cover I did for my comic, where I spent a lot of time deliberately figuring out the placement of light and dark areas. Note the contrast between the character's hair and the dark tentacle, or the contrast between a heavily shaded mass of leaves and the very lightly shaded hilt of the sword.

If you wanna see how pros do it, though, take a look at Bernie Wrightson's work, or if you're more manga-minded, check out Kaoru Mori. I also found "The DC guide to inking comics" to be very, very helpful in understanding these things.

[punkarsenic]

its entirely up to you. play it to what works best w your style and how much effort youre willing to put in.

this is from fraction's hawkeye, one of the most successful and popular comics of the year. see? zero shading.
artistically, a tapastic equivalent would be hiddenfolk

on the other hand, this is ultimate spiderman. see how theres loads of shading? can be compared to fisheye placebo here ig.

see how with the hawkeye comics drawing style, itd look really weird with shading, whereas the spiderman drawing style would look lacking without all that shading. so it all depends on your style.

id say if you think something looks a bit flat, or a bit confusing, add some shading. if a panel is supposed to be very pretty, or itsa very large panel with lots of focus, go for shading, otherwise you really dont need to if you dont want to. you might want it for effects like lighting or water though.

i tend to shade darker areas to add depth, but i dont bother with highlights, and if im in a rush or get lazy i can leave shading entirely and not be bothered, it still looks fine.

[DynamoToon]

Just shade the amount you think is necessary.

[abbastudios]

There's nothing confusing about it.

It's based on your own artistic decision.

[serenitysquirrel]

Started out shading a good deal, then a bit. Going forward on my pages, only adding it where really needed, like backgrounds or important shadows. For me it's more of a time thing. Wanting to spend more of it drawing more details.

[TrustyShamrock]

i shade up the wazoo with all my comics on the characters and backrounds the same. buuut i gotta admit its mostly just setting lighting and not for setting the mood and junk. instead i usually use linework the change the mood. like thicker outlines with the characters so they stand out. and even more thickerer lines around somethin thats coming forward in the scene
BUT ANYWAYS heres some exampleh from my comic

i DID kinda use mood lighting in these panels but also blurring helps with the focus and junk

[Bii0]

Depends on how much you want, some use detailed shading and some use no shading. Do whatever amount you personally prefer and what you feel is right for your comic, and figure out if how to use it to make things stand out.

For my two, b&w and color comic I use a lot of shading for everything, but that's just what I like to do.

[qcbl]

Everyone is saying its entirely up to you which is correct.
However since you asked the question I am assuming you are having a hard time deciding which is very common.
The advice I would have for that is to experiment on an example panel for you comic and see what different styles you can come up with. Figure out your strengths and what works for the story. Depending on the tone you want to convey and what your characters are like.
I wish there was a clear cut answer for this myself but keep at it and there is no wrong choice if you are happy with your work.

[mg78]

as said before, it's up to u!
find your styleway!