Non-digital drawing/coloring

[RenO_D]

Hello fellow tapasters,

I noticed browsing the numerous comics on here, that most of them seem to have been digitally drawn and colorized.
Am I mistaken?

The 2 comic stories I posted until now have been drawn with drawing pens and not even colorized, and I can tell it looks rather plain compared to others...

Do you think it is important to learn how to colorize digitally to get viewers or is there is room for other coloring techniques/black and white stories ?

[Iaikaa]

I don't think the technique used for the art makes a huge difference. It is true that coloring comics digitally can easily be eye-catching and such but at least for me personally black & white comics have advantages that colored ones can be lacking too; it's easier to make pages with nice contrasts in b&w than it is in color for example.

I would say it's the most important thing to get your line art really crisp and clean before running into slapping color onto the comic itself and depending on the tone, style and the subject matter of the comic coloring won't necessarily be even needed. I've done most of my comics in b&w for example and only recently went for a colored one because I felt there was things I could do with colors that would be really hard to create in b&w.

[Wishjacked]

I actually draw/color my practice comic totally traditionally, although I ink and color my "real" comic digitally. I typically prefer the look of traditional art, but I've found that with a webcomic where it's important to produce fairly high-quality art on a very regular basis it's much more convenient to go with digital, because it's much easier to fix mistakes and change things that don't work. With a traditional page, you can't hit CTR-Z, so if you draw something that doesn't work, you either have to post it anyway or redraw the whole page.

[Kayke]

I draw/ink my comics (creep and snips) traditionally and then clean up and color digitally. I think digital color is kind of the industry standard at this point, but that doesn't make it a necessity by any means. You can still do a successful comic traditionally and/or in black and white.

Here are a few great comics that are colored traditionally, granted it's a very short list that I can think of off the top of my head:

As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman - colored pencils
Sweet Talk by J Mork ( @bumblegoo) - started off digital and then switched over to water color

And here are some black and white ones that I follow:

Mary Death by Matt Tarpley
Sarah Scribbles by Sarah Andersen
No No Life by Lottie Pencheon - you can see some other comics on her tumblr that are also traditional

I think the main goal should be presenting your ideas in a clear and readable way. If you feel most confident drawing traditionally, then you should practice on honing those skills and techniques in order to make the best comics you can.

[mariusthered]

if you know the basics of non digital coloring it helps you with the digital.

To be honest i much prefer to do artwork away from the computer, I only use digital coloring because of ease and cost for producing work that people need on computers. I think the story is as important as anything but the image must get attention no matter what way you have created it .

[Chiper1811]

I don't think it matters that much. You can still make your comic strips look finished and polished even if you're not colouring it digitally. I draw my comics with traditional media, and then colour it with markers. I use minimal digital touch up, basically to clear up the layout and to make colours brighter. The rest of the digital work is in the lettering since I'm not really good at producing fancy letters. There is another comics planned in the back of my mind, and I intend to use pencil completely for that, possibly in black and white.

It all depends on your style, too, I suppose. Some style can benefit from the rough hand-sketched look while others need digital touch up to make them look neat. Also, what's important is to find a style that is relatable to your readers. And I agree with @Kaykedrawsthings, readability is very important. This is especially important in Tapastic, where most readers read online and/or on mobile (cell) phones.

[henry_]

I don't think it matters which way either. And I happen to think that doing it traditionally will make you stand out. One of the reasons why I like doing mine traditionally.

[jacintawibowo]

I don't think the art media dictates how popular a comic is. The reason why most of us are digital is because it's more convenient (we don't have to buy art supplies, scan our work, etc). Especially for webcomics that have a strict schedule, getting the work done on time is important. Same with working professionally too, some companies don't bother with getting a scanner anymore.

[Doubtcent]

As @jacintawibowo said, it's a lot more convenient to make something digitally if you are publishing digitally.

But if you are selling or publishing straight to print or something like physical artwork, then physical is the way to go.

There are lots of different kinds of comics here on Tapastic, some done traditionally at first, but then touched up by digital.

It all has to do with how comfortable you are in what you make.

Also, if anyone is going traditional, you might want to invest in a good scanner and touch-up software. Just a thought.

[RenO_D]

Okay, thank you everyone for your remarks, it's very comforting!

I guess I mostly have to do a better job cleaning my scans (and continue progressing on the drawing obviously too!)

[zoonland]

I don't think that is that important, if the story is good and the final result is interesting for the audience, it doesn't mean so much if you draw traditionally, digitally, in black and white, with colours, etc.
A little suggestion for your comics: change the font of your lettering. It's hard to read and not very comic-book friendly.