These are tips on how to optimize the production of comics which are produced by a large number of staff members. The presence of an editor enables consistent quality control without being biased toward one artist’s personality. The publishing company editor is in contact with the artists at all stages of the process and manages the progress. Today, digital fonts are commonly used, but the tasks of directing or working on unique balloon shapes and drawn text continues. In American comics, there are letterers who hand-draw text in balloons and for onomatopoeia. Backgrounds may be realistic or comic-like and the visual appeal can be enhanced by variations in lines and touch. They strive to apply base colors according to the line art and to apply shadows and highlights. The colorist colors based on the line art. In addition to drawing uniform, clear lines, they shade based on the light source to streamline the flow later on. The artist who draws preliminary sketches based on the panel design is called a penciller. Panels are considered based on both elements and then leads to how the entire page will flow. In order to transform the original creator’s ideas into a comic, it is essential for the artist to create visuals, such as designing characters and props, and for the writer to pursue the story through writing the script. It is the author’s creation that lays the base for everything. The original author’s ideas, which create the basis of the story, contribute to all aspects of the characters and story.ĭigital comics can be expanded into content such as animation and live-action films if the characters become popular. Instead of having the artist personality personally producing everything, the publisher/production company directs the comic and characters, allowing for the smooth production of work with a unified setting. The greatest benefit of the division of labor in comic production is the increase in workflow optimization.

Understanding the Roles in Comic Production Teams

Depending on the title, one person may handle multiple positions. The following is a description of the division of labor for major American comic books.

Good character design leads to character development. By working out the characters’ backgrounds early in the production process, they can be portrayed in an appealing manner during the panel layout and drawing production process. When character designs are specific and well-done, they allow the drawing team that does work later on to understand the characters. Another way would be giving the supporting characters a more restrained design than the main characters. One way to do this is to reflect the relationship between the characters in the design, by means such as contrasting the colors of the protagonist and antagonist. The plot and script serve as the backbone to characters so that they will be memorable to the readers. The design of the protagonist and the antagonist rival is particularly important. Trial and error is also necessary to determine body proportions and how to unify the balance between the body and head in the comic. It is common practice to design orthographic drawings so that the character can be drawn from all angles.Ĭharacter design involves giving distinctive facial features, hairstyles, clothing, and the like. The character design is determined by the background you decided during the plotting phase. This article originally appeared in ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. A trip full of learning, discovering, creating and of course, mistakes as well. My social media platforms are a journal of my artistic journey. And unless I upload the drawing online it’s likely that I'll come back to it and waste more time. These steps are: adding a little more Color or Glow Dodge (like the bokeh lights you can see in the picture adding a Color Balance Layer and adding a signature. What helps me to walk away from the drawing (when I'm unable to grasp that I don't need to create a masterpiece every time I draw) is my list of things I can do to help close the chapter. Am I finished? Should I add more? Does it look good? Can it look better? Often I'll blast through the entire illustration process, then sit in front of the canvas adding and deleting layers for hours, only to end up exactly where I started.

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