Coloring (comics)
Coloring in comics is a crucial stage in the comic book art production process that follows inking. The colorist's role is to add color to the inked drawings while ensuring consistency and clarity throughout the panels and pages. Understanding the story is vital for a colorist, as color choices are meant to enhance the narrative and illustrations. The practice of coloring comics began with technological advancements that allowed for color printing on newsprint, driven by competition among newspaper publishers in the late 19th century. The early method used, known as the four-color process, limited the palette to combinations of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, resulting in a bold, flat color style that became common in American comics.
Over time, the industry saw a shift towards broader palettes in the 1970s as artists sought to convey mood and depth more effectively. Various coloring media, such as watercolors, colored inks, markers, and digital tools, offer different visual effects, with digital coloring revolutionizing the process and enhancing collaboration among creators. While color expands the potential audience for comics, some artists opt for black and white for artistic reasons, believing it conveys ideas more directly. As technology evolves, comic coloring continues to develop, promising exciting innovations for both artists and fans.
Subject Terms
Coloring (comics)
Definition
Coloring is the stage in the production of comic book art that traditionally follows inking. In this stage, the colorist adds color to the inked drawings. The colorist’s goal is to maintain consistency in the colors from panel to panel and from page to page. Clarity is of equal importance to the colorist. To this end, a good colorist needs to understand the story so that the color choices place emphasis on the illustrations in ways that enhance the narrative.
Introduction
The coloring of comics began when technology made it possible to apply color to newsprint. The rivalry between newspaper owners William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer for circulation numbers encouraged Pulitzer to experiment with printing full-color images on highly absorbent newsprint paper. When Pulitzer’s attempt to reproduce fine art in his newspaper’s pages failed, he turned to printing colorful comic strips. The colored comics were popular with readers and increased newspaper sales dramatically. Because of this proven popularity, colored comics soon came to be used as promotional material for businesses, such as gas stations. Eventually, comic strips became so popular that publishers began to sell collections of strips—the first comic books.
The Four-Color Process
The color in these early endeavors relied on what is known as the four-color process, a primitive method of colorization. In the four-color process, the intensity of the three primary colors—cyan, magenta, and yellow—is restricted to 100, 50, or 25 percent. Black ink is used for the line work and at times to create darker shades. A limited palette of colors could be created by combining the available colors and intensities of ink. The resulting bold, flat color became the standard look of comics in the United States. Artists rarely concerned themselves with the colorization process itself beyond establishing the colors of the costumes or hair colors of the main characters. Colors used for backgrounds and secondary characters were left up to the printer who handled the inks during the printing process.
In Europe, where color printing outpaced color printing in the United States, artists who used flat color did so out of preference rather than necessity. In the 1970’s, influenced in part by a drop in sales, the high cost of color, and the need for smaller print runs, artists in the United States began to look past the four-color tradition and use a broader palate that would help express mood, depth, sensuality, and environment.
Media Choices
A number of different media can be used for coloring comics, and each creates a different look. The choice to work in a particular medium depends on the individual artist’s preferences and what style of coloring best complements the story. Watercolor paints work well over inked drawings but are highly challenging to work with, requiring a lightness of touch. Watercolors can bleed, and coverage can be inconsistent. Colored inks also work well over India ink line work. Pelikan inks, for example, are transparent but permanent. Several coats must be applied to ensure that the colors stay intense and do not fade. Markers and colored pencils can also be used to achieve specific effects.
Advances in technology have revolutionized the coloring process, providing a variety of new tools and techniques. Digital coloring, for example, offers a vast palette of colors, shadings, and special effects. Even with the aid of such technology, the work of coloring a comic book page can be too much for one colorist. For this reason, many colorists employ specialists known as flatters, who lay down a flat layer of color on the art. Once this work is done, the colorist adds additional layers of color, incorporating shading, highlights, and special effects.
Impact
The use of color expanded the audience for sequential art. However, because color printing remains costly and therefore makes the finished books more expensive, many artists have chosen to skip coloring altogether. Choosing black and white over color can also be an artistic choice made to create a certain look or support the tone of the narrative. Some artists believe that the ideas behind the art are communicated more directly in black and white, allowing art to approach printed language. Nevertheless, as technology continues to offer artists more and more options for coloring comics, comic book fans can continue to look for and expect exciting developments in the use of color.
Bibliography
Abel, Jessica, and Matt Madden. Drawing Words and Writing Pictures. New York: First Second Books, 2008. Explains the process of creating comics, including steps such as inking and coloring, through a series of fifteen lessons.
Eisner, Will. Comics and Sequential Art: Principals and Practices from the Legendary Cartoonist. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008. Labels and describes the various components of comic book art, which Eisner refers to as “sequential art.”
McCloud, Scott. Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Explores the process of making comic books and graphic novels and explains the importance of visual elements such as color to the narrative as a whole.
Sabin, Roger. Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels: A History of Comic Art. New York: Phaidon Press, 2001. Traces the history of sequential art from early woodcuts to modern times, focusing on such elements as storytelling, illustration, and coloring.
Schmidt, Andy. The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels. Cincinnati: Impact Books, 2009. Provides tips and advice regarding the creation of comics from professionals working in the industry, including prominent colorists.