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My Recent Posts · ( 9-Apr-08

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With Ad Astra, I'm trying new things and feeling my way to find the things the work best and make for a more interesting visual. I've been coloring on the computer for years, but I've rarely utilized the tools to their fullest as I am learning to do, now.

With my latest strip, page 6 of Ad Astra #1, I wanted to find some way to make it look rainy that wasn't the traditional gloom and line work. The time is near mid-day, so I wanted light and I wanted to try to capture the misty look of a cool, rainy day. I'm pretty happy with the way it came out.

I'm playing with other tools, as well, including Google Sketchup and Adobe Streamline to make the models and stuff I do in Sketchup look better in the comic.

I won't stop tweaking the comic for some time, as I find new things I like and maybe things that make it easier for me.

One of the things I'm debating with myself is the way I color the comic. I'm not sure if the feathered, diffused brush is really the best way to go, but I don't have much practice with hard edged coloring, though I know it is effective.

Story development will be slower than in many comics, partly because I am updating only twice a week, but also because I am not constrained by page limits. If I think a particular story is interesting or fun, I may expand it.

I am always looking for feedback. I can't promise I'll answer every question, or that I'll follow every suggestion, but I will read them and consider them.

Joe

My Recent Posts · (10-Apr-08

I think you should give harder edged coloring a try. Your linework tends towards the more abstract/cartoony in Ad Astra, and using a feathered coloring style (at least on the foreground figures) gets what I think of as the Space Jam Effect. Bold lines call for bold colors, mixing bold lines with subtle colors looks kinda weird.

My Recent Posts · (10-Apr-08

Dave,
I've been thinking the same thing, I just have to work on it so that I feel confident. I'm thinking of coloring in Illustrator or some othe vector app and that would work very well in them. I'm also trying to learn to use the Wacom tablet, but I'm taking it slow.

I tihnk the hard-edge colors on the characters would work, but where I run into a problem is on faces. I try it and I just don't like the way it looks. I'm sure that's just my clumsiness, but it's something I'm working on.

Oh, hey, that's for sending Andy my way. I'm about halfway through penciling his commision.

Really enjoying the stuff from Radner's journal, BTW, it's fun getting a look inside a supervillain. The stuff about naming conventions was interesting, too. Should be required reading for comic writers. (For anyone reading this who's all confused, now, check out Dave's Academy of Super-Heroes stuff!)

Joe

Edit...
Here's a piece I just colored. Did it for an ad in an upcoming anthology called Cornerstone (#2). The ad's in grayscale, but I thought it would give me a good test piece, so I don't screw up something I may need, later.

I think if I am careful, I can make this work.

My Recent Posts · (16-Apr-08

I switched the way I color for the next strip. I use hard-edge color for the figures but feathered for the background. This helps marry the Sketchup models to the backgrounds, since the way it colors gives those soft color transitions. I could do all the color when I'm coloring everything else, but it seems to work, this way, so I think I'll stick with it.

I found that, doing the modeling on the figures works better if I try to do a more like what is done in the Superman/Batman/justice League animated series, where "shading" has as much to do with modeling form as with lighting.

I'm still getting the hand of it, but I think it's going to work for me. Thanks for suggesting it, Dave.

When are you going to retire the colored pencils and felt-tip pens for photoshop?

Joe

My Recent Posts · (17-Apr-08

Ah, but I have no desire to go pro, so I'll stick with the tools I'm comfortable with. :) I like markers and pencils.

BTW, is there a way to add a "jump to unread post" function on this board? There doesn't seem to be a way to do it now, which means if any threads get particularly active it'll become difficult to follow them.

---Dave

My Recent Posts · (18-Apr-08

I'll check for that feature.

The main thing that made me want to color digitally is filling backgrounds.

If you get the urge to play with it, you can download the GIMP free and it does almost everything Photoshop does. For vector stuff Inkscape appears to be a pretty good solution for those who don't want to spend money to try it. I'm a big fan of free software.

I mostly use an ancient photo editor program called Picture Publisher from Micrografx, but they don't exist anymore. Corel bought them, and I've never had much luck with Corel's software. Although, I did like the clip art package I bought from corel a hundred years ago, that has a bunch of official seals from various gov't agencies and such.

Also, you don't have to be a pro to appreciate multiple UNDOs, when you're coloring a piece of line art. I do the clean up digitally, too, so I never use white out. Hate the lumps that stuff leaves on a page. And coloring over it is impossible to get it to look right.
Joe

My Recent Posts · (27-Apr-08

Well, we had a little drama with the WCN host, but now that seems to be settled. Whew. I was afraid I'd need to repost a month's worth of strips. Only had to do three, as it turned out.

Ah well, no serious harm done.
Joe

Author	Comment
SingletonJL	About Ad Astra	Lead	[-]
Posts: 7 ( 9-Apr-08 22:40:57) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Tags : None With Ad Astra, I'm trying new things and feeling my way to find the things the work best and make for a more interesting visual. I've been coloring on the computer for years, but I've rarely utilized the tools to their fullest as I am learning to do, now. With my latest strip, page 6 of Ad Astra #1, I wanted to find some way to make it look rainy that wasn't the traditional gloom and line work. The time is near mid-day, so I wanted light and I wanted to try to capture the misty look of a cool, rainy day. I'm pretty happy with the way it came out. I'm playing with other tools, as well, including Google Sketchup and Adobe Streamline to make the models and stuff I do in Sketchup look better in the comic. I won't stop tweaking the comic for some time, as I find new things I like and maybe things that make it easier for me. One of the things I'm debating with myself is the way I color the comic. I'm not sure if the feathered, diffused brush is really the best way to go, but I don't have much practice with hard edged coloring, though I know it is effective. Story development will be slower than in many comics, partly because I am updating only twice a week, but also because I am not constrained by page limits. If I think a particular story is interesting or fun, I may expand it. I am always looking for feedback. I can't promise I'll answer every question, or that I'll follow every suggestion, but I will read them and consider them. Joe HeroBlog Ad Astra
Dvandom		#1	[-]
Posts: 4 (10-Apr-08 09:53:03) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I think you should give harder edged coloring a try. Your linework tends towards the more abstract/cartoony in Ad Astra, and using a feathered coloring style (at least on the foreground figures) gets what I think of as the Space Jam Effect. Bold lines call for bold colors, mixing bold lines with subtle colors looks kinda weird. Opera of the Dvandom - Dave's Online Nest
SingletonJL		#2	[-]
Posts: 7 (10-Apr-08 17:48:51) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Dave, I've been thinking the same thing, I just have to work on it so that I feel confident. I'm thinking of coloring in Illustrator or some othe vector app and that would work very well in them. I'm also trying to learn to use the Wacom tablet, but I'm taking it slow. I tihnk the hard-edge colors on the characters would work, but where I run into a problem is on faces. I try it and I just don't like the way it looks. I'm sure that's just my clumsiness, but it's something I'm working on. Oh, hey, that's for sending Andy my way. I'm about halfway through penciling his commision. Really enjoying the stuff from Radner's journal, BTW, it's fun getting a look inside a supervillain. The stuff about naming conventions was interesting, too. Should be required reading for comic writers. (For anyone reading this who's all confused, now, check out Dave's Academy of Super-Heroes stuff!) Joe Edit... Here's a piece I just colored. Did it for an ad in an upcoming anthology called Cornerstone (#2). The ad's in grayscale, but I thought it would give me a good test piece, so I don't screw up something I may need, later. I think if I am careful, I can make this work. HeroBlog Ad Astra Last Edited By: SingletonJL 11-Apr-08 00:30:48. Edited 1 times.
SingletonJL		#3	[-]
Posts: 7 (16-Apr-08 19:35:40) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I switched the way I color for the next strip. I use hard-edge color for the figures but feathered for the background. This helps marry the Sketchup models to the backgrounds, since the way it colors gives those soft color transitions. I could do all the color when I'm coloring everything else, but it seems to work, this way, so I think I'll stick with it. I found that, doing the modeling on the figures works better if I try to do a more like what is done in the Superman/Batman/justice League animated series, where "shading" has as much to do with modeling form as with lighting. I'm still getting the hand of it, but I think it's going to work for me. Thanks for suggesting it, Dave. When are you going to retire the colored pencils and felt-tip pens for photoshop? Joe HeroBlog Ad Astra
Dvandom		#4	[-]
Posts: 4 (17-Apr-08 10:56:33) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Ah, but I have no desire to go pro, so I'll stick with the tools I'm comfortable with. :) I like markers and pencils. BTW, is there a way to add a "jump to unread post" function on this board? There doesn't seem to be a way to do it now, which means if any threads get particularly active it'll become difficult to follow them. ---Dave Opera of the Dvandom - Dave's Online Nest
SingletonJL		#5	[-]
Posts: 7 (18-Apr-08 03:18:12) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I'll check for that feature. The main thing that made me want to color digitally is filling backgrounds. If you get the urge to play with it, you can download the GIMP free and it does almost everything Photoshop does. For vector stuff Inkscape appears to be a pretty good solution for those who don't want to spend money to try it. I'm a big fan of free software. I mostly use an ancient photo editor program called Picture Publisher from Micrografx, but they don't exist anymore. Corel bought them, and I've never had much luck with Corel's software. Although, I did like the clip art package I bought from corel a hundred years ago, that has a bunch of official seals from various gov't agencies and such. Also, you don't have to be a pro to appreciate multiple UNDOs, when you're coloring a piece of line art. I do the clean up digitally, too, so I never use white out. Hate the lumps that stuff leaves on a page. And coloring over it is impossible to get it to look right. Joe HeroBlog Ad Astra
SingletonJL		#6	[-]
Posts: 7 (27-Apr-08 02:45:15) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Well, we had a little drama with the WCN host, but now that seems to be settled. Whew. I was afraid I'd need to repost a month's worth of strips. Only had to do three, as it turned out. Ah well, no serious harm done. Joe HeroBlog Ad Astra

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