Table Of Content
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CONTEN
Introduction by lim Sterance
PART ONE:
COLOR NG
ONE © What is Coloring?
TWO © The Principles of Color
THREE * Storytelling with C
PART TWO:
THE COMPUTER AS A COLORING TOOL
FOUR © Computers and Comic Book Coloring
FIVE © Getting Started with Coloring
SIX + An In-Depth Look ot Applying Color
SEVEN © Coloring Style
EIGHT * The Traps cf Computer Coloring
NINE + From Computer to Printed Poge
TEN © Showing Your Work
PART THREE
LETTERING
ELEVEN © Lettering
TWELYE * Tools and Materials
THIRTEEN * Getting S
FOURTEEN «
FIFTEEN © Display Lettering and Sound Effects
SIXTEEN * Other Elements on the Page
ed with Lettering
‘ext and Balloons
etterin
SEVENTEEN * Advanced Techniques
EIGHTEEN * Logo Design
PART FOUR:
COMFUTER LETTER N
NINETEEN * Hardware and Software
TWENTY © Fonts and Type
TWENTY-ONE © Using Illustrator
TWENTY-TWO * Work ng with Ari and Scons
TWENTY-THREE * Working with Co or
TWENTY-FOUR * The Final Produc
ndex
INTRODUCTION
AWAKENED AESTHETIC: THE POWER OF COLOR
Inthe process that begins with a blank sheet of paper, the Ac of Coloeing Comics can
be the nut fa sine being pad for & Crayola habit or the mest Fasting (hay=
ing your peers refer to you as the Fuekson Pollock of Comics). The act of selecting
colors and integrating them within a panel frame requires skill iilar to tat of paint-
Jng-—except the image is aleady there
So. what's the big desl?” Move tha you ieaize
Early “craftsmen” painted men's suts green and orange (so readers could eas
ily keep tack of characers), never dreaming that color coulé be used fo Help build
rnamtive sequences, shill attention from one panel © another, punch yp deamat
beats, generate atmosphere, create compositional bilaee, define emosons, Heighten
suspense and mystery, suggest Neat ané cold and desolation, even articulate flash-
backs. Consequently, the icons wha shouléeced the comics universe for generations
failec te embrace une ofthe most effective wespons ava lable in thet Timited gee ph-
jc arsenal: color
I you doubt it, lok at almost any eomie published before 1985, apply the
ideological concepts witir these pages. and youll discover, more oft than not thst
color was simply another aspect ofthe assembly-Line mentality that defined the madi-
‘uma ayant eeusent wsnte ly Unoxe who simply lscked the vision ake,
‘courage to expaad comics” dimensions beyond the stereotypical form it had become.
"Two reasons: the fist is that (with the exception of comic-strp eretoss who
colored their ova mateil) the work was relegated to non-atits afew of whom
‘might qalify a erafisnen, The secon is dat page rates wete anita; eoiss om
salary ha to produce tenor more pages in an average workday (those with auchentic
artiste ability soon Fecame perciller or inkers), Instead of be:ng provocative and
inspirational, the result was often rushed, isp, undramati, confusing, or absurd —
and fled to enhance the storytelling process, whith isthe hear ef the comes form.
Instead of serving the material, it often did the opposite. Believe it or na, eo
‘ring was frequently let ze she printer!
While it might seem sacrilegious to state, few; if ary, artists and editors eon
sieered coloring as important as words and pictures, never yuite understarding that
ood olor ean make a bad image appealing and tht had calor eam deste
\linaryiniage, Forunately, thei rviliation began 1 disipate,primatily due 70 the
self-conscious concerns of a new weve of ereors who muscled the old gaurd out of
leis complacent niches
‘When digital cole materialized in the 'Ms, he option of coloring was trast
Jno ereaors? hands though not every srsator san color}. Mocs importantly, the
process vats transformed by the possibility uilizing millions colors (previously
only a few dozen were available) and a spectrum of vole and precise special FX
Predictably, the new weapon was abuses much as it was used with inteprity new
ertheless, it caused color w become an equal slement in comics’ artistic equation (and
‘one so portant dt Ive etrisened the pero fram 19NS co the present The Pigital
Age of Comics.)
‘While much has hoon published shout writing and drawing, the dynamics of
coloring and lotering have been essentially ignored. Fortunately his volurse resolves
hat oversight
Authordartivilesigner Mark Chiarello has demonstrated his mastery of color
in every medium from paint 0 Photoshop, and his expressive models here are
designed to aise the seststic consciousness af thone who read comics snd those who
create hem, amateurs and experts, fans ard prs ake. Within these pages, he reveals
the secrets of his at fn the prototypical hasies othe explicitly experimental, from
creating coherent, cramatic color © the inticacies of its psychological use and
beyond,
CCaltgraphie wizerd Todd Klein minors the achievement wth his overviow
‘on maiters typographic, demonstrating tht he Art of Lettering can be no less el
Jenging shan the omer aspoets which invalve the puzzle of producing. supevior
comet a seule cllahoration betwen the ay, the heat, al the imagination,
STERANKO
Taravghout the history of comic books, coloring was never considered very’ important, It was
always a rushed, last minute pat of the ereative process, and very rarely thought of at creative,
‘Well, sims change, Coloring is naw considered hy many te as important to comic Books as any
cher espect of tie exeative process. Without a good colorist, che visual pune and appeal of a
‘comic book isin jeopatdy
‘We've all seen dozens of examples of mediocre art jobs that were “saved” by great coloring
pbs, Where mood, dimension, aspth, and atmosphere are ahsent inthe pereils and inks, «alent
ed colorist ean supply all of those life-giving elements. Conversely, we've seen H-st-rate artwork
suined by uninspired. back coloring. Finely rendered aud inked comies ave been deflated too
many’ times by coloring that was Blan er gash,
‘The goa! of an affective colorist isthe same £8 that ef every ether creator working on a
ccomie: to tell a ear and exgaging stery. Many skills eontibute to this objective, .neluding being
able to set niood, flow a story dough different scenes. and support the dramatic inensions of
the seriter and sti,
‘The first part of ths book deals with the complex aesthetic question: “How do T choose
colers?” The answer can be inezed:bly simple or ridiculously complex. The secoad pat tikes aut
in-depth lock atthe computer and the remarkable role it has played ia the att of eoloring comic
books.
