A Very Different Coloring Method (than mine anyway)

Colorist Tamra Bonvillain is a friend of mine, and she has a VERY different method of coloring than I do. I thought it was pretty interesting, so I thought I'd do a video to explain the basic concepts anyway. 

Tamra paints on masked "Solid Color" adjustment layers with a different layer for each color. She also does some things grouping layers and combining them with Levels adjustments layers that I do get into yet. I'm still figuring it out too. 

This method does have some advantages, and I learned a lot trying to figure it out! I won't be changing to this method or or anything, but I do think I'll be using parts of this method for certain things. It's always good to learn new tricks.

Anyway, enjoy the video!

Coloring contest!

Hey! To celebrate 12,000 YouTube subscribers, I’m doing a coloring contest! The winner will be enrolled in my coloring course and receive a full portfolio review. Second place also gets enrolled. Third place… steak knives… just kidding, there’s no steak knives and no third place.

If you aren’t familiar with my course, you can read about it here: http://learn.comiccolor.com/courses/coloring-comics-dl

It’s very thorough--10 hours of tutorials, and it includes all of my Photoshop presets, settings, brushes, etc. It also has a syllabus, so you know it’s legit!

I don’t want you working too long on this, so it’s just one panel for fun. You can download the image here (kindly donated by pro penciller and colleague Max Dunbar (LEGENDS OF BALDUR’S GATE, RED SONJA, SLASH & BURN): https://www.dropbox.com/…/ColoringComics-coloring_contest_M… Click the three dots on the top right to download it.

I’ll be looking for clarity and focus more than fancy lights and shadows. Storytelling is what coloring comics is all about. Highlight what’s important; minimize what isn’t. No script here, so just assume the girl coming through the door is the focus of the panel. Hair/skin colors don’t matter. I won’t judge on things like that.

Post your entry by uploading a link to the image in a comment on this post. Do not email them. (I’ll also be seeing if you can follow instructions!) :)

The contest ends on June 20, and I’ll decide a winner shortly after that. Best of luck!

Source: https://www.facebook.com/kmichaelrussell/posts/1196463170372277

New interview from Graphic Policy

Graphic Policy did an interview with me on coloring and my course! Check it out here: 

https://graphicpolicy.com/2016/05/12/an-interview-with-colorist-k-michael-russell/

New tutorial series starting: How NOT to Color Comics!

I'm starting a new tutorial series on YouTube called How NOT to Color Comics! 

I'll be talking about a lot of common mistakes--most things I used to do at some point.... haha... 

Check out this week's video here on AIRBRUSH EVERYTHING MODE! :) 

Answering an FAQ about breaking in as a colorist

Since the announcement of a new Image Comics project I'm coloring, GLITTERBOMB, with writer Jim Zub (THUNDERBOLTS, WAYWARD, SKULLKICKERS, et al), I've been asked a few times about how to "break in" with Image. I need a post to point people too. :) 

I'm no grizzled vet or anything myself. I'm still a relative rookie compared to a lot of other colorists, and there isn't really a formula for "breaking in" of course, but this is my two cents.

First off--a little background... 

Image isn't really one thing. Their books are owned by the creators of the respective titles, and Image (the company) doesn't really put teams together or hire colorists directly--or at least not in my experience. 

Usually the creators will put together a team themselves and pitch the book with the team already in place. So there's no one single place to submit portfolios or anything.

Back in December of 2013, I didn't have many credits under my belt at all. My friend, writer, and former collaborator Mark Bertolini posted on Facebook that Jim Zub was looking for a colorist for a new creator-owned project. Mark and I did a pitch together once.

Jim had posted about it on Twitter and his blog. The post is still up here: http://www.jimzub.com/colorist-wanted-coloring-notes/ 

And the Twitter post: 

I barely even used Twitter at the time, but I sent my portfolio (along with about 100 others--I later found out). Shortly after that, I was selected to work on this pitch! I was actually his second pick, but the first pick's schedule didn't work out. That was my introduction to Jim Zub. 

The pitch wasn't picked up unfortunately, but I stayed in touch--checking in every few months. Jim's long-time letterer Marshall Dillon forwarded my name to Jim again in September 2015 to work on the GLITTERBOMB pitch. 

Every series I've ever worked on started the same way.

I colored a four page short for Tim Seeley for Black Mask Studios in late 2013 on the recommendation of a penciller I'd worked with previously on... yep, another short. I colored yet another short written by Tim for IN THE DARK after trying out for Rachel Deering. I wouldn't have known about that project if it weren't posted on Facebook by one of the first writers I ever collaborated with -- Magnus Aspli. I started coloring Tim's HACK/SLASH a few weeks after all that.

Another four-page short I colored led into a on-going monthly series. This hasn't been announced yet. More on this soon.

So it's a small industry. Everybody seems to know everybody else. I guess the moral of the story is that no job should be too small. You never know where it might lead. Befriend other creators. Hit your deadlines. Be nice. Be patient. 

If it takes you five years to work for a major publisher, are you still interested? That will separate most beginners that "make it" from the one's that don't. 

I hope this helps someone! Best of luck. :) 

 

New project announcement: GLITTERBOMB

Hey people! I just closed on a new house on Monday, and I'm in the process of packing and moving, but I wanted to take a second to announce my new project! 

It's called GLITTERBOMB, and Image Comics will be publishing it! Jim Zub is writing. Djbril Morisette-Phan is drawing. Marshall Dillon is lettering, and I'm coloring! 

Here's some articles on the project: 

AV Club
CBR
Bleeding Cool
JimZub.com
Hollywood Reporter
Geekdad.com
Down The Tubes

Here's some of the promo images. 

Here's a quick YouTube video on GLITTERBOMB and a new option on my coloring course... live classes! 

Anyway! I have to get back to packing! 

Want critiques? Do sequential pages!

If you are coloring for fun and have no interest in becoming a colorist, that's great, and this post is not for you. Color whatever you want! :)

Coloring pinups is fun and easy, and I remember practicing on them when I first got a tablet, but they can't show how well you can tell a story, and that's what editors want to see. That's what coloring in comics is. A pinup is a single image, by the way... like a cover or splash page or just a single drawing. Comic book pages are generally made up of sequential art... pages with multiple panels.

I actually like giving critiques. Weirdo, right? I wish I received more of them early on myself. If you've asked me for a critique, and I didn't give one or you got a very short one, I was either really busy at the time, or you sent me a pinup. NOTE: I can't do critiques for everyone that asks anyway, but sending a pinup guarantees you won't. 

There's actually very little one can tell about a colorist from a pinup. As long as your lighting is passable, that's pretty much it. Rendering styles just aren't that important in the big picture.

Can you create focal points on a page? Can you minimize what isn't important? Can you highlight what is? Can you create drama? Can you evoke a mood? Can you clarify scene or location changes? Can you highlight an important moment? Can you create depth and atmosphere? Can you separate your planes (foreground, mid-ground, background)? Are you consistent from page to page? That's what someone looking to hire you needs to see! 

Anyway, this isn't a knock on anyone here doing pinups for fun, but they are useless in a coloring portfolio, so why not work on something that CAN go in a portfolio?

And don't mean for this to come off as a rant, but after the 3rd tweet, email, or comment this week wanting critiques on a pinup, I had to reiterate this somewhere! :)

Happy colorin',

KMR