What's your opinion on coloured speech bubbles for different characters?

[smokesalty]

I know this is a kind of random topic but idk, here it is. I'm referring to when every character in a comic has their own speech bubble colour.

I've seen this be done a lot with webtoons, and I don't mind it when done well. I think it can be a pretty cool stylistic choice when done deliberately, and I love when unique characters have unique bubbles if that makes sense.

The thing that annoys me is when it's used as a bit of a crutch- like some webtoons have excessive speech bubbles (sometimes where there is empty space) where the only way you know whose talking is because of the colour of a bubble. Again, probably just a little thing that annoys me, it can be helpful in that regard as well I guess.

I feel like this is a stylistic choice that can work well or really badly, and it has a lot to do with the creator's skill with colour and composition. Like a comic I know does coloured speech bubbles well is Homesick, since it sticks to a colour scheme that works with the bubbles no matter where the characters are. But, I've seen it done where it absolutely clashes with the rest of the colour/ composition.

Just a bit of a discussion to have. And if you do use coloured speech bubbles, how do you make them work with your comic?

[Lensing]

I like how it´s done in the Deadpool comic, his speech bubbles are yellow.
I´m not a big fan of too many colors so white and one extra color is enough for me.
But I like creative panel shapes which fit to the intention of what the character says

[Scarlet_Cryptid]

I'm fine with it IF it's not being overused (like every character having a different color-- that gets confusing and unpleasant really fast). The best way I've seen it used is for a character that has something special or unusual about them-- like a demon who has a grey or red speech bubble to suggest that this being is Definitely Not Human, and also probably Evil.

Save odd-colored speech bubbles for when you need to emphasize that there's something different about a particular speaker, would be my vote. But they CAN work if you're smart with them.

[DualDragons]

If it is used sparingly then it is fine in my opinion. I dislike it when every character has different coloured speech bubbles. Especially if it causes the text to become unreadable.

[conventurecomics]

I think it works depending on the style of your comic. And if your ok with spending a little more time on each speech bubble coloured for your characters.

[faisalhussein394]

I'm not sure about this color speech bubbles, but it can be use due to the expression of the characters and this obviously includes the shape.

If one has a growing rage and the intent to kill, the lower part of his/her speech bubble should look like dripping blood while the white colors within the black stroke is invaded with blood colored gradients.

Or if there is an unnatural being, its speech bubble color should be reversed making the strokes white while the colors within the strokes are black and the text is white. Can be use for anything horrifying like a ghost.

However, I always prefer the traditional way of speech bubbles which is mostly white and black. I only use color bubbles when it is needed to solidify the expressions of the character either sad, rage, or excitement.

[AxemanRifflord]

I’m not sure if I’ve read a comic that overdid different characters having different speech bubble styles. Maybe there were times where the styling itself made it unreadable (bad font or color choice). But never “literally every character had a different speech bubble style.” Maybe my mind just goes to all the classic American published comics that use them (like Watchmen and Sandman).
https://www.deviantart.com/sibauchi/art/Rorschach-faces-Dr-Manhattan-115462082

Or the times where character X says something off panel and character Y (on panel) recognizes their voice and I didn’t realize what was going on until character X’s face shows up.

Maybe you could argue the Jake Hunter games come close. Instead of displaying a character name, it would just show the character’s portrait and change the text color. I think there was a few times where they ran out of colors but the illegibility was never a immersion breaking issue. It did contributeto the pervasive lack of production value. (Let’s just say I could go on about why you probably don’t know who Jake Hunter is.)

[abigaillmartin]

I personally like it. I had it in my older comics but it adds a layer of complexity. I used to have trouble with my characters sounding similar but now I try to give each of them different voices like accents or slang, stuttering etc.

[BoomerZ]

Really dislike it. If you are using it to separate who is talking, truthfully you need to work on your dialogue. The reader should be able to tell who is talking by what is said. It's also very distracting if you use multiple colors as most of the time they are flat colors and most webcomics are flat colors. This makes everything blend in too much. Having dialogue boxes different color than dialogue balloons isn't too bad. But for gods sake don't do black with white letters unless than one character does it as a gimmick (they are evil so it represents their evil voice). IT's very hard for most readers to read.

[thecrystalrook]

I like how Spawn does it - if you're some lunatic from hell, you get a fiery-colored melting speech bubble. Everyone else gets your standard bubble

[BlairFujin]

"Oh, differently coloured speech bubbles for different characters? I have those :D"
reads comments
nervous sweating
should I add those to the list of things I've unknowingly doing wrong? 'xD

[IndigoShirtProd]

It can seem like a crutch if used improperly, especially if dialogue-wise characters speak the same. Though if there's a narrative reason, like the Deadpool example mentioned earlier. All the voices in his head speak differently anyway, but the different speech bubbles really make the words said stand out.

[Effectofgaia]

Nah yours are cute. You’re fine.

[river121693]

I think it's cute, but also a little distracting when the bubble blends in too much with the other color, since there's not as much contrast as stark white like in the last page. Not a big deal tho.

[Jenny-Toons]

They're a pretty cool way to show narrative ques, especially in horror.

For myself, I use them to show:

A) A character isn't human or is no longer human.
B) The information provided has changed the situation/mood of the story.
C) Narrative repetition (such as repeating previous info/dialogue with different meaning).
D) Dramatic irony and let the readers in on hidden information.

Since I work mostly in horror, different colored speech bubbles have really worked in my favor, especially if I'm going for a sudden shift in the mood or want to introduce some horrid scenes. Though I can see how it might feel out of place in, say, a romantic comic or comedy (even then -- could still work depending on how it's implemented).

Like most comic techniques, it's all about practice. Nothing a bit of experimenting can't fix.

[abigaillmartin]

That’s fair. That’s exactly why I stopped making colored speech bubbles. First reason: You can run out of colors might end up using the worst ones for side characters but that’s only if you have a big cast second off it is quite distracting and takes longer than just having black and white speech bubbles

[powerplantanimations]

IIIIIIIII... wouldn't recommend it if I'm being honest? Especially if there may be situations where you won't have color in your episodes? It might be inconsistent and screw with people.

[OohitsEli]

I only do it with my main characters, however I also keep the colors relatively close to black and white with just a slight hint of the different color shining through

[joannekwan]

It doesn't bother me personally so long as the text is still legible. Still, I personally wouldn't do it with my own comics. It just seems like an extra unnecessary step.

Also take into consideration color-blind folks, thus you still need to rely on good ol' bubble standards like placement and tails to denote who's speaking.

[XiuLyn_12]

I think it's helpful to differentiate speech bubbles because sometimes you have to draw a speech bubble without referring it to a character (not sure how to explain this, but I hope you understand, haha!)
It can be confusing to assign a specific color to all characters, especially if you have more than (let's say 10) characters. People can't remember everyone's color.
I think it is better to give it only to the main characters.