[SketchyMel]

All of my comics are in black and white, and a lot of my artwork and design is monochromatic. But I’ve noticed that some artists make a point of colouring, or colour for “special” strips.

Has anyone noticed if readers prefer colour? Do you think it makes a difference to the quality of work produced? Are there any "Dos" and "Don'ts" of webcomic colouring you can think of?

[TakaComics]

With doing color or not, it's a question of what you are more comfortable with. When done well, either can set a good mood and tell the story. Think about if Frank Miller or Jeff Smith did color on "Sin City" and "Bone", respectively. Manga is all in Black and white as well, and where manga like "Nausicaa" uses very little tone, manga such as "Land of the Blindfolded" rely heavily on tone.

The only tip I can give is one I see a lot of in webcomics: Don't make the color a throwaway choice. People won't change their mind about a comic just because it's in color, especially if the color doesn't have any thought behind it. And always, ALWAYS make sure the black and white art can stand on it's own before adding the color. What makes Bone so strong now that it's in color is that the art is already telling the story. When a strong colorist works on something like that, it works with that already beautiful black and white art to enhance the mood and the story.

[majic13]

I think that as long as your art communicates with the reader it doesn't matter too much whether or not it's in colour. I do think it's important to pay close attention to colour choices rather than just going wild with the paintbucket, as an inappropriate colour choice can devalue linework that's otherwise perfectly fine.

One thing in favour of black-and-white work is that it's a lot quicker, and if you're trying to put out strips on a regular schedule that can be an important consideration - better to reliably update a black-and-white strip than to keep missing updates because the colouring's taking longer than anticipated.

Otherwise, whether or not you use black-and-white or colour is entirely up to you - I think there are as many popular black-and-white strips as there are colour ones, so it's a matter of personal taste more than anything. If the writing and art quality are up to par, readers will come to your comic whether it's coloured or not.

[KoryBing]

It all depends on what you're going for and what your comic is like. Comics like Bone are gorgeous black and white affairs (even though they are being published in color not. Still not entirely sure how I feel about that, but it is gorgeous in black and white). A lot of Mike Mignola's work was first published in black and white and colored later, and both versions are great.

My comic is in color mostly because I do not feel comfortable in black and white. Black and white is really hard for me, and color helps me define certain things that are confusing with just the line art. It takes an incredible amount of time for me to color a comic, but I think the end result is well worth it.

[Canetoonist]

Color also can make the comic easier to read. The more contrast in the comic, the more you can tell the trees from the forest. Black and white, if done correctly, can also work, of course.

(I'm currently only doing lineart for my most recent updates, because I've entered the final storyline before I do a spinoff of my comic and don't want to have long gaps between updates. That's a special case, though...)

[Gazunta]

It's anecdotal evidence at best, but whenever I do a colour comic its rating on isitfunnytoday.com is markedly better than whenever I do a black and white comic. I guess they're easier to read and therefore, easier to get a positive reaction out of. I really should do more colour, especially if it doesn't take too long.

[mattstout]

I was doing two black and white  strips a week, and then trying for one color strip a week.  Just for fun, I did a whole week of color strips and got lots of comments about how much people liked it better in color.  I would love to draw a great black and white strip, I love the style, but my readers seem to like the color better.  Ever since then I've been doing all color strips, but I haven't committed to doing that forever yet.

[demophon]

Oh man. Well, my strip is in black & white. I've been messing with digital coloring in Gimp & it has proved to be difficult. I suggest we start a color for idiots thread on this forum for people like me.

Frankly, I like my strip in B&W, just like manga, but I know that what I like doesn't necessarily make it good. I would definately like to learn more but I'm at a loss for where to start.

[AndrewDTurnbull]

I'd definitely agree with the points made about making sure the lineart is strong enough to stand up on it's own.

Colour can be good and fun, it all depends on the story/gag you are going for and whether or not it adds to the story.  If it doesn't necessarily do anything don't feel pressured to do it in colour.

Striking black and white art can be just as effective as coloured art.

Andy

[William George]

Has anyone noticed if readers prefer colour? Do you think it makes a difference to the quality of work produced? Are there any "Dos" and "Don'ts" of webcomic colouring you can think of?

1- They usually do. But then again, it doesn't mean you have to do it. There's nothing about your comic that requires color. It's as clear as a church bell.

2- Yes. It makes a shitty comic look a lot better than it really is. I'd link you some that use coloring to cover up the bad art and lousy writing, but that would make people upset because you're not allowed be negative about popular webcomics... that aren't CTRL+ALT+DEL.

So I'll link to my own use of color to cover up artistic crappiness.

3- Dos off the top of my head:

a) Get a tablet, and color it like you were painting with paper and a brush. The bucket tool is helpful, but it's as dumb as a brick. And using a mouse to create is like making love with a baseball mitt as a condom.

b) Find someone who has good fleshtones in their art. Get the hex codes or RGB values for them and save the samples. It'll save a lot of work.

c) When the little exclamation point appears in your color slider, listen to it.

d) Learn basic art techniques. The real world stuff. Like what colors work together, and how to make nice tones and values. Learn how an egg isn't actually white. Learn what "Warm" and "cool" colors are and how they work. Apply it to your digital art.

Don'ts off of the top of my head:

a) All filters look stupid on comic art. Without exception. You want a lens flare? Draw it and color it properly. And the use of a gradient fill should send you into a deep dark pit of shame that you should move heaven and earth to redeem yourself over.

b) Realistic coloring does not match non-realistic art. If you're aiming for photo realism, then go ahead an put in all of those nice gradations and highlights. Otherwise, stick with nothing more complicated than a shadow.

[steamcrow]

I love good quality, black and white comics. The examples sited are great, and I can't get enough of Smith, Mignola, Darrow, etc. line work.

I'd just say do color for a reason.

- I do my comic in color because there IS no linework... everything is defined by the color cells.

- I try to use color to evoke mood and also bring the world of Monstru to life.

- I also do it for differentiation. Most of the webcomics that I see are in B/W. I simply wanted to stand out any possible way that I can. Color is one way to do that.

- I also want to play up my art, as I'm working hard to improve my writing.

However, even in the simplistic way that I handle the art, color does add to my daily labor. It adds time for certain.

One way around that is to use a defined palate of colors, and stick to that.

I really like the "2 color" approach you see out there, with strips like Papercut. Tasty cool!

[Andy Carolan]

I find that color can sometimes take something away from a well drawn comic. Ive started doing my own in color now as i just prefer it that way for my particular style.

[Sen]

Sometimes color or lack of color just matches a comic. It's all about what suits your style, and the comic's purpose.

One of my comics is in B&W, the other in color. There's a reason for this (I couldn't possibly color two comics, one is more manga-ish, and I decided that color would be a big part of the other), and it all comes down to style choices. But don't do color "just because", because then it leads to stuff like William George said (coloring just to compensate for poor art).

[jdalton]

I like colour. Colour is good. I'd say webcomics that are in colour do have a slight advantage over B+W comics. Not that all comics have to be in colour, then, just that if you're on the fence you might want to consider it. In the end you have to do whatever you think will help the comic have its best showing, though.

On the other hand, another thing to consider is that if you ever plan on putting your comic into print, colour comics are significantly more expensive to produce. Which is the main reason so many (print) comics have historically been done in B+W in the first place.

[Sylvia]

I always prefer a comic to be in color.  Yes, always.  Sometimes I won't read a comic because it's in black and white.