I feel like between the colorist, Joe and myself--we're attempting to create a new "language". Not blaze new trails, break a mold or solve pi; mind you, but try to find that happy place with our palette and rendering style(s). We START at Kirby...but knowing how even the PAPER STOCK can change the psychology of what you're looking at, we're attempting to hybrid something that won't be off-putting to new(er) comic book readers.
Taking a shot at a page myself, if only for sample purposes; I discovered another element to complicate matters further: with technology (i.e. computer coloring and Photoshop’s WIDE RANGE OF COLORS), when do you say when. Try it. Take a page, limit your palette and with altruistic intentions, beginning with the utmost respect for old Kirby-era coloring, watch yourself slowly bastardize it, panel by panel. "Oh, he needs to POP more here." "Hmm, let's SCAN this character back so the foreground reads."--all these tricks at our disposal--in our 'arsenal'. Do they even sell DR. MARTIN'S Dyes anymore? Yes, I am a bastard, I succumbed to the siren calls of lens flares and self-colored lines. I am guilty and here is the proof...
By the way--it should be noted that Marc's colors are so much better and refined than what I've done above. I chose this page not for any overall, harmonious composition, but found it's individual panels included the "how-to-sell-expression-thru-color" as their subjects. Hence my qualifier: please don't squint your eyes and take in the whole page at once. I failed in that aspect--and me with meager clicking mouse in hand, hadn't the patience or time to go back and fix panel #2! hahahaha
Someone PLEASE buy me a Centiq!
And then here are some scenes I did with MARKERS many years back. It is world's easier to 'limit' yourself, color-wise, when you are holding only 4 Prismacolors! hahaha
I'm going to wait on posting actual pages until I know the three of us (Marc the colorist, Joe the writer and myself), are happy. I also don't want to take away from any would-be fanfare that might occur with promos that have yet to be seen.
2 comments:
Andy,
I never realized this when I first started checking out your blog, but I really like the way that you render out hands.
I've seen the inks you were asking if they still made them. I don't have any myself, but do have the FW Acrylic Ink sets. I use them on my cardboard pieces with colored pencils and gouache.
-matt
Andy: I love this artwork! I just discovered your blog after reading about Charlatan Ball in Rich Johnston's column. I wasn't even aware of the series, but that cover caught my eye, so I googled it and found you. So now I'm pretty interested. When is it supposed to come out?
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