Comic Scamp 1

After scamping up my comic, I decided that the original colour scheme seemed too saturated for the genre (post apocalyptic, in a sense). So as an experiment, I tried out a less saturated colour scheme with hints of colour towards the end. I really like the affect this has as it brings focus to certain details, and breaks up the page so it doesn't look monotonous. 

I think that when it comes to my final comic, I will use a low saturated Sepia colour scheme, with bright saturated colours for key details like eyes or light. 

When I build my final product, I think that I will need to design more pages to go into further depth of the story so that it isn't too vague. 

Comic Layout Comparisons

One of the things I find the most interesting about comics is how the layout effect how efficiently the comic flows. Even more so, the impact that shape has on a mood.

In the first example, Marvel's Winter Soldier, it is clear how the use of smaller and larger boxes have been used to demonstrate the difference between thought and setting, and the importance each of these have.
The smaller more aligned boxes are the thoughts of the key character, and are used just to show him entering the building. It gives the reader the sensation that they're walking along side him.
The small boxes are then followed by a large box that scales the room that he had entered. The fact it's large implies that the room is open and busy.
I also really like how the use of over-lapping boxes implies time and adds dramatic affect.
The final box of the double page spread breaks away from the quadrilateral shape, by slanting the corners and having it 'roofed'. This creates a sharp edge to the box, which works with the violent colours and gives the reader sense of rushing and urgency.

In the second example, Neil Gibson's Twisted Dark, Neil uses a larger box to give the impression of space and vastness. This works well because the trees in the partition dwarf the character.
He also creates a sense of steady walking by using identical boxes on the second page.
The four boxes balance the page nicely and add a sense of rhythm.
I really like the contrast between the two pages, as opposed to having two pages made of similar composition (as is the first example).
I feel the use of an enlarged box really sets the mood and gives the reader a sense of what it would feel like to be in the main character's position.

In terms of layout, I feel that the first example is more successful as it really displays the emotion of the story it's telling. Though, the use of the same structure can be a little boring, and that is where I favour Twisted Dark. However, the box shape in Twisted Dark has no variants, and so makes it feel almost repetitive. It is here where the Winter Soldier comic surpasses, as it's exciting box shapes and layout (in terms of layers) reflect the atmosphere without fault.

Painting styles

I was looking at different painting styles for my comic, and I came across an arts who's painting style I really liked. Their Deviantart username is makochan, and they work with grey scale paintings with a coloured layer set to 'over lay.

This is the process I went through to accomplish a similar affect to their work.

I did a basic sketch of what it was I wanted to paint.

I then worked into the sketch with a grey scale paler to create my painting. 

To make the piece a little more aesthetically pleasing, I added in a background with a light gradient to match the highlights and shadows of the character I had painted.

I roughly coloured over the grey scale painting on a new layer and set it to "overlay". This would make it almost transparent but kept the saturation of the colours, as opposed to altering the layer opacity. 

This is the finished sketch. I don't think I will use this technique in the comic as it is very time consuming and I am not overly fond of the over all affect. I think it's because when working over a grey scale painting, the colours can easily lose their saturations. 

Not only that, but painting itself in photoshop without tools such as the 'oil brush' make it very difficult to paint in. 

I think that if I were to try this again, I would use a different software such as Manga Studio Debut 5.