The last step is equally the most fun and the most work.
What time I save with the simple backgrounds, is spent rendering all the
figures. Above, I’ve applied flat colors to the characters. As I’m still
working in Adobe Illustrator, that means getting the pen tool and creating
paths around the areas, then choosing the color fill for that path. For smaller areas, I use the blob brush to outline the areas, which are then filled in.
Remember, the artwork is on a transparent layer on the
top, so I can see the color shapes underneath as I draw the path. With a
complicated drawing, it can be very time consuming and tedious, but the results
are very satisfying. The colors are sharp and vivid. The file is easily editable
and smaller in size than the same page rendered in Photoshop.
Most comic how-to books treat Photoshop as the only program for
coloring comics. As an experiment I colored an older story using Photoshop. It looked
good, though a bit airbrushed. But the process took more than twice the time to
complete it and the files are huge.
Now there are only a few details left to finish this strip.
I will add some light and shadow to make the figures look rounded. I'll
finish the brick wall in Photoshop and add it to the last panel and make
room for the title logo. That first panel is on a separate layer that can be
turned off. It will only be used in a later version when I rearrange the page
to fit a comic book format.
Tomorrow the finished strip will go up. If you’ve stuck with
me through all this, I hope you’ve enjoyed the posts. It has been fun writing
about my working method.
No comments:
Post a Comment