For The Colorists Out There...

[nikkigraves]

I just recently started to try to work more on coloring in the stuff I've created. What helps you guys get a realistic look on what you've done? I always have a hard time once I hit the shading with color - I'm always afraid too much shadows are going to ruin the picture (plus with the inked pages I get from the other guys, I'm not sure how much I need with the way they do stuff.)

Offering up a piece I've done for reference to what I'm talking about.
((Pencils/Inks by Jim Dole, Coloring by me.))

[seraph]

Well, I think (as a wannbe penciler), that given the trend with some style currently, a LOT more responsibilities fall on the colorist for setting shadows, light sources, etc. Take the Invincible Iron Man series, for example.. it's rare to find an ACTUAL drawn in shadow in that book. It's 90% color.

Or Mike Choi's stuff on X-Force, for example. Great artist... no penciled in shadows.

[rhughes]

Yeah, Mike just got done singing the praises of colorists (and inkers) on his DA journal. One of the things he mentioned is that he doesn't set up very much in the way of shadows and depends on his colorist to establish that.

On topic, the big thing to try and remember when doing your shadowed areas is to try not to obscure the lineart too much. You can suggest that an area is in shadow without having to color it black. In the pic you have posted, the lines become almost unreadable in the really dark areas, and that's just not good. Like it or not, pencillers are still the stars of the books, and if we obscure their lines when it's not needed, we're not doing our jobs right.

[theartslave]

One thing I noticed about your piece is that the colors are really rich and saturated even in the background. I would reduce the saturation and/or increase the lightness for the objects that recede in space, with objects that are furthest away being the lightest or least saturated (not zero saturated, but the least in relation to the mid- and foreground). It lends the sense of atmosphere, like there's actually air in between the viewer and the background. For your background gradient, I would have kept the darker green lighter than the one you used. Did you do this in RGB? Your values are great, and the buildings look nice and blocky, there's a good sense of the lighting in the city... All I can really see is the saturation issue. Otherwise it looks like you're pretty much taking care of business!

[nikkigraves]

Thanks guys for your suggestions. Unfortunately due to more than a few things, I've been unable to continue on this project very much. (the problem with being a fulltime art student & ill & taking on extra projects) I started work on the second page, but had to let the original artist finish it. His dA is daafish.deviantart.com

Oh yeah, and this was done in RGB. The original file was huge.