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This week I'm working on coloring the preview images that I posted last month. If this was a late 80's X-Men comic, this page would already be complete.

Comics back then were printed with combinations of four ink colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) in 25% increments, creating a total of only 64 available colors. This is why Superman's costume was always shown with the exact same red, the exact same blue, and the exact same yellow every single time. There just weren't that many variations of blues, reds or yellows available. Over time, those repeated color choices and combinations have become part of the character's iconography. I love using that old color palette because there is no way NOT to create a vibrant and colorful page with lots of contrast, it forces you to use those colors creatively to add emphasis and depth, and it makes the Amazon Arrows look exactly as they would look if they were printed during the silver or bronze age. With modern digital presses, you can use millions of colors and produce an unlimited variety of special effects; however, you can also easily slip into using colors that might look great on your phone or computer monitor, but that end up looking muddy, dark and bland in print. More options doesn't always produce a better final result.

I'm sure I'll get around to adding a few modern special effects before this goes to the printer, but I'm going to try my best to stay as close as possible to the classic 64-color palette. It's fun to see Amazon Arrow wearing the exact same red as Wonder Woman, with the exact same skin tone, and with the exact same blue highlights in her hair.

The IndieGoGo campaign for this graphic novel is still "Indemand" for a limited time!

Here's the link:

igg.me/at/amazonarrow

Description
This week I'm working on coloring the preview images that I posted last month. If this was a late 80's X-Men comic, this page would already be complete.

Comics back then were printed with combinations of four ink colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) in 25% increments, creating a total of only 64 available colors. This is why Superman's costume was always shown with the exact same red, the exact same blue, and the exact same yellow every single time. There just weren't that many variations of blues, reds or yellows available. Over time, those repeated color choices and combinations have become part of the character's iconography. I love using that old color palette because there is no way NOT to create a vibrant and colorful page with lots of contrast, it forces you to use those colors creatively to add emphasis and depth, and it makes the Amazon Arrows look exactly as they would look if they were printed during the silver or bronze age. With modern digital presses, you can use millions of colors and produce an unlimited variety of special effects; however, you can also easily slip into using colors that might look great on your phone or computer monitor, but that end up looking muddy, dark and bland in print. More options doesn't always produce a better final result.

I'm sure I'll get around to adding a few modern special effects before this goes to the printer, but I'm going to try my best to stay as close as possible to the classic 64-color palette. It's fun to see Amazon Arrow wearing the exact same red as Wonder Woman, with the exact same skin tone, and with the exact same blue highlights in her hair.

The IndieGoGo campaign for this graphic novel is still "Indemand" for a limited time!

Here's the link:

igg.me/at/amazonarrow