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KreativeConfusion
Apr '16

I'm thinking about switching to black and white/ grey scale when I start chapter 2 of my comic. I feel like it would be so much easier for me to get pages out and I might be able to pull off more frequent updates if I can get into the swing of it. However I'm not sure if I want to make the change since I don't want to turn readers off because its not color anymore. I was wondering if anyone made that kind of switch and how it went for them?

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    Apr '16

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    Apr '16
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Doubtcent
Apr '16

I found a happy medium.

If I don't want to color completely, I greyscale it up.
But then select all of the colors present and set the color layers to a single color, like purple or red. For example:
5
This was done in black and white, but then I set the shades and colors to a dark purple.
It's the best of both worlds.

Kaykeactual fraggle
Apr '16

I change my coloring style a few times. I've had people mention it, but I don't think anyone stopped reading because of it.

phen
Apr '16

I also have a comic (Candour is Going Mad3) that I started the prologue in colour and switched to grayscale once that was finished. The reception was great! I didn't lose any followers because of it and I've been slowly gaining since then (plus it totally helped me maintain my output). The biggest thing I had to pay attention to, though, was environment detailing so that the characters didn't get lost in the backgrounds without the colour boundaries.

I gave a quick look over Tipping Point1 and it has a very unique, strong style -- the characters are especially stylish and your gentle, painterly backgrounds would look excellent with a grayscale scheme. I think you can make a strong visual transition! ^^v

SamNoir
Apr '16

I'm kind of having a bit of an internal debate myself about VICTORIAN FOUR. feel free to click on link to see more page examples in B/W and Colour

What do folks like better?

Black and White/Grayscale.

or Colour?

KreativeConfusion
Apr '16
phen

Ahhh well thank you for that ;7; and I'll keep that in mind as well! I realized keeping the characters noticeable can be tricky,

@SamNoir I think your style looks really interesting in color! It reminds me of western comic books so I think readers will like that. I will say color gets more attention too, it just tends to catch the eye more but it can depend on a lot of other things too.

Marton
Apr '16

I did the same change with my comic. Nobody complained.

dracoplato
Apr '16

I did the opposite and switched my comic Zenchav2 to color from BW after the prologue. I only just got to that point in the story on Tap so I don't know reader reaction yet, but for me personally I'm much happier working on it in color. I think it's important as an artist to do what you think will be best for the story, as well as for your own productivity. Doing it in the way that causes the least stress for you is probably most important in the long run.

miseryhunting
Apr '16

I think it doesn't matter as long as you stick with it.
The reader notices.
I had a favourite artist of mine swtich between coloured pages and black and white pages several times and it is really really annoying. The reader doesn't care if you feel insecure or think your style is not good enough - for them to be following your work, they must like it. The reader wants consitency.
However, I think people on Tapastic are generally pretty accepting, because most readers are artists themselves. If you decide you like black and white pages, it's cool too, but be sure you want to make the switch so you don't have to keep changing styles - some people would stick with you, some, who are not as invested, might not.
But if it's only the time that worries you, remember, it's always quality over quantity.

kambreapratt
Apr '16

We tried to switch to B&W once and our readers did not respond well at all, so we switched back.

zerogravityfiction
Apr '16

My comic is black & white, with occasional coloured panels for emphasis. Nobody seems to mind I don't think, although it wasn't a switch so who knows. Imo I don't think it would affect the overall reception of a comic or anything like that, I mean The Walking Dead is black and white. A lot of mangas are too!

KreativeConfusion
Apr '16

@kambreapratt was there a decline in views or did your readers actually voice complaints? Honestly that would be one of my worse fears, having my readers get vocally upset about a change I made @_@

@zerogravityfiction Ahhh I know, and I was thinking of doing something similar to that, but I'm worried about the change in consistency annoying people for a while.

kambreapratt
Apr '16

They actually were very vocal about not wanting it in black and white. They voiced it.

littleelliebot
Apr '16

I did my intro chapter in colour then swapped to partial colour. Mainly eyes, room colour, small details and I tried a thing where when I introduced a new (main) character, I wanted that panel in full colour. but I kinda have gone all over the place with what I do for colouring xD.

I didn't have many readers to begin with, and I dont think I lost any? I've had people say that the way I colour my pages is interesting/they like it but thats about it P :

serverpanda
Apr '16

My comic has been in black and white from the beginning. I know that compared to an earlier incarnation of it that was in colour, my black and white comic sadly does have less readers despite it being of a higher quality (I took some time to do a few art studies before starting the new version). That said, I won't be changing to colour any time soon aside from the usual chapter covers and some illustrations. It just isn't a viable option for me. smile But to me there's not a thing wrong with black and white comics. I'll read them as long as the story is worth it anyways.

indagold
Apr '16

Don't switch styles mid comic. I would do that for a separate comic, but in the middle of comic it just looks weird. I used to do similar things like that when I was starting out and realized how garish and clashing it looked.