Creating a Comic Book – Part 2
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Hello again from Chicago, where C2E2 weekend just wrapped up!
In Part One of this article I talked about the origin of this project and how my partners and I get from concept art, to script, to penciled pages. The collaboration continues digitally as we finish the book using a few different tools.
At some point during the penciling process our workflow begins to branch out and grow like a monstrous Gantt chart. While we’re finishing the pencils, Max is also scanning the completed pages for inking and starting that process. As we get towards the end of the project a day’s work could include pencilling, inking, and coloring. We track everything with a big checklist that’s tacked to the studio wall.
Max does all of the digital inking, for two reasons. First, he’s really good at it, and second, it gives all the panels and pages we’ve drawn separately a cohesive feeling. He uses Procreate on the iPad Pro. Max and I both use Procreate a lot for both personal work and client projects, and it’s one of our favorite apps. There are a ton of brushes available and the workspace is clean and easy. Inking can be done on several different layers as needed, which helps me with my coloring later.
After the pages are inked Max exports them out of Procreate as PSDs and then it’s my turn. I connect my iPad Air to my MacBook using the Astropad app, and then I use Photoshop on the iPad to color the pages. Astropad mirrors whatever’s on my laptop screen onto the iPad. It also has handy gestures and other fun features that work with Photoshop. I’ve been using Astropad for several years and it’s always worked great. If you’d like to give it a try, there’s a coupon code at the end of this article for CreativePro readers!
Coloring is done in two stages. First, I “flat” each page—that is, I go through them and apply base colors. The main character colors are already set in place from Revolution’s can art, but all the backgrounds and any additional characters need to be designed. Each location in the story has a different color palette to separate scenes and set the mood. For example, all the temple scenes are a misty blue with tans and violets.
Once that’s done the fun starts: adding all the depth, shadow, highlights, magic, and sparkle. Since I’ve already figured a lot of things out in the flatting stage, this usually goes pretty quickly.
At this point we’re almost done! Pages are passed back to Max and he adds all the text, speech blimps, and sound effects. Placement of these things is an art in itself. The speech blimps are all drawn in Photoshop using shapes and the Pen tool. Sound effects vary—some are fonts that he’s tweaked a bit and some are hand-drawn with effects added.
Once everything is in place Max makes some final adjustments to the overall pages. The brightness is corrected a bit for printing and there are a few small tweaks to harmonize everything. At this point I’m also proofreading everything (art and text), and enlisting the help of friends with fresh eyes to do the same.
The whole book is then presented to the folks at the brewery to get their approval on everything.
Then it’s packed up and delivered to the printer! Printing of Galaxy-Hero has been done each year by JakPrints in Ohio. They do a fabulous job and are always extremely helpful. Depending on our timeline, we have a palette of boxes full of fresh comic books waiting for us at the brewery in about a week or two.
These will be sent out to select bars in Revolution’s distribution area and they’ll be available at Revolution’s two locations here in Chicago. And of course, the main event was C2E2!
Image Courtesy Revolution Brewing
Each year, Revolution has a big display on the main floor with all their merch, including all five issues of Galaxy-Hero. Max and I could be found in Artist Alley, where we had issues available for sale, along with our other comics and personal work.
Cheers!
Interested in trying Astropad? CreativePro readers can head to www.astropad.com/try and enter the promo code GALAXY15 at checkout for a 1-month free trial, plus 15% off their first annual license.
Melissa Sue Stanley and Max Bare are illustrators, designers, and comic creators in Chicago, IL. You can learn more about their work at melissasuestanley.com and maxbareart.com.
Revolution Brewing is Illinois’ largest independently-owned brewery. Visit revbrew.com for more information. Or, if you’re in Chicago, visit the Brew Pub restaurant at 2323 N. Milwaukee Ave. or the Taproom brewery at 3340 N. Kedzie Ave. You can try Galaxy-Hero at either location, and pick up a four-pack with labels designed by Max & Melissa.
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