#29 – “Some Halls would clear that right up”
Alright, here we are again with another update (yaaaay)! I tried out some new stuff with this comic, but its hard to see what I did, so I probably shouldn’t even mention it, lol. I am, however, back to an age-old question:
Shading on characters. Yes or no?
I tried it, and found it made them not stand out as much from the background as I’d like. But then again, maybe that’s the fault of my horrible background…ing…Skills. Whatever.
Now then, look at this comic: Scary Go Round
Notice anything? That’s right, there’s no shadowing on the backgrounds, and very minimal shading on the characters, and not even all the time! Yet the characters seem to stand out rather well I’d say. Is it the coloring? My complete lack of background drawing skills? Maybe I need thinner lines for the backgrounds…Or maybe I need to draw the backgrounds on paper first, then import them into Photoshop, like I do with the characters!
I’m at a lost, and I feel its an important question, so, uh…Thoughts? ^^;
6 Comments
I think your art looks fine without shading, even in the comics (or especially in the comics) I think, if anything, you’re just over examining the artwork and thinking everything looks poor when it’s not. And yes, I think everything should be drawn individually on paper and then put together composition wise in Photoshop. Though, I really don’t think your backgrounds look that bad either.
And that guy -really- doesn’t look like a principal…
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admin Reply:
November 19th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I can’t help it if I over examine things! Its just who I…
….
Sorry, there was a piece of lint on my desk, had to deal with that. Where was I?
And I know things look okay, but I want them to look “great,” so I’m always trying to improve. I have improved from when I first started though, which is good, but not good enough! >:[
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Firstly: Yay, adorable mole principal. X3 Reminds me of the principal in something like Ranma, if I am thinking of the correct property, as he is one of those silly dressed sorta ones… Or something!
Secondly, I agree with Mouse in that you are probably overanalyzing your work and assuming there are things that are not there… I’ve never noticed a problem with characters blending into the backgrounds. And I also agree that using just the flat colors looks perfectly fine in the comic. Especially when you consider that adding all the little bits of shading and highlighting and whatnot is a lot of extra work, too.. If I were to say why I think the Scary Go Round background thing works how you are claiming, it’s probably because in the current comic (at least current as of the time I’m posting this) most of the panels use lighter pastel type colors. A very light bluish gray for those stone walls, and that light pinkish building. And the contrast is that the artist is using bold colors for the characters. But as I look back through your comics a bit, you do the same thing. You use bold colors for the characters, and lighter pastel type things for the backgrounds, while also adding different colors and shapes and whatnot to make the background more interesting than a singular solid color, they still aren’t busy or full of lines or anything. So, to be honest, I really don’t see at all what you claim to see in your work.. ^.^;; So all the more, I agree with Mouse that you’re probably overanalyzing your work.
I think you’re doing fine, and it continues to look great. So don’t worry so much about it.
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admin Reply:
November 19th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Hehe, I can’t deny that anime and manga have influenced my ideas a bit…That sort of thing is fun though, right? ;p
And maybe I just need to try a different color scheme on things, more pastel colors like you mentioned I’ve been using…I dunno! I just need the time to try out lots of things and see which works best, which I don’t really have at the moment.
Thanks though!
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I agree with everyone else. XD Don’t be your own worst critic, I doubt not drawing for a few days will impact your artistic abilities at all ;p X3 I dunno all that technical mumbo jumbo so I’ll say it in a view of someone who just reads comics.
-It looks farking great the way it is. :3
And I’m liking this principal fella. *nodnod*
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admin Reply:
November 19th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I -am- my own worst critic! On a scale of one to ten, I’d give myself 2 stars.
Yes, I know stars aren’t a number, but that’s what I’d do!
And yay for liking the principal! You’ll see more of him later, he’s an interesting little chap. ;p
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