goooorrrrdo
patreon
On the pace and form of the comic
🕑 Added 2021-02-13 21:19:38 +0000 UTCHi! As usual, thank you very much for your support and feedback. Here are some thoughts and news about my art and comics.
When I relaunched BIG BRO in January, I had enough work done on the script, page layouts and even some sketches that I was very optimistic about being able to post new pages every week. I also thought my skills and confidence had grown while I wasn't posting (and during the couple of months where I was only posting illustrations), which is why I'm finally allowing my work to grow as ornate and detailed as I always wanted it to be.
I've mostly lived up to my own expectations, except when it comes to colouring. Long-time supporters may remember that this is the part of the process where I've always been the least confident. Even in my old comics, where the palettes are loud and clashing, it took a lot of time and scrapped attempts to arrive at colour schemes that I felt I could publish. Over time I've improved some – and my life has become more favourable to being focused and productive – so the palettes in this current comic are, I think, nicer... except that it still takes a MASSIVE amount of trial and error to come up with them. I've got a decent handle on sketching, inking, digitizing and lettering every page in the time I have available every week, but colouring remains an INSANE time sink.
And so, even though I announced weekly comic book pages at the start of the year and in my tier descriptions, in practice I've posted the three existing pages of BIG BRO roughly every two weeks. So far you guys have been very supportive, but it would've been fair for you to call me out on not keeping up the pace I promised – and there's definitely some of this adding to the usual, expected pledge turnover.
Something needs to be done. On one side, time and practice are slowly but surely improving my limited eye for colour, and I've never been as satisfied with the visual quality of a comic as I am with the first three pages of BIG BRO – so the demands of colour, crazy as they are, are kind of worth it. On the other side, I'm determined to keep this page active at a solid pace, and I have many, many gainer stories that I want to draw and publish, so I'm tempted to say fuck it and focus on what I know I'm good at. This would mean churning through gainer comics in black and white, at least until this page grows enough that I can afford to collaborate with a colour artist – if that ever happens.
For now, I'm inclined to keep hammering away at colour. Realistically, I can't offer weekly pages in good conscience right now, so I will edit my tier descriptions and page intro to say "regular" uploads, instead of "every week". I won't say "every two weeks" because "a page every week" is still a goal I wanna strive for, and my hope is that post by post I'll make myself reach that speed. These past three pages took two weeks each – ideally, the next one will take a little less than two weeks, and the next one a bit less, until eventually I'm finishing and colouring pages weekly, as initially intended. (Of course, the sketchbook uploads, which are really fun and easy to do, will continue to run weekly.)
Still, I'm interested in what all of you think. Would you prefer black-and-white comics every week on the dot? Or are you happy with full-colour work that takes more than one week, like I've been doing? Let's have a chat in the comments.
EDIT FEB 15 2021: Thank you to everyone who read this post, and specially to those who liked or commented. The responses so far are varied enough that I've decided to turn this into a proper poll, so that the people who don't feel like commenting have an easier time giving me their opinions. I'll post it in a few moments – please participate!
Comments
Thank you for the positive feedback!
Minty
I think the color is totally worth it, I’d love to see you take your time with it and improve over time, and I agree, your colors have been very good on this new comic
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I'm not super sure about the chibi thing, as what I enjoy the most about drawing is detail and texture and proportion and all that – but I totally agree about choosing when to go for flat colors and when to do shadows. I went with the former for this version of BIG BRO, trying to make it manageable, and the latter for the illustrations, as they're relatively simpler than a whole comic book page. Sharing posts here about what currently inspires me would probably very fun, and I'll definitely think about it. And I'm still considering the b/w thing – maybe I'll run a poll, after seeing so many comics favouring that option?
Thanks for your feedback!
Happy to know I can bring some excitement – I'll keep your feedback in mind.
That's a great idea – definitely considering it.
Thank you for your feedback!
That's very encouraging, thanks!
Thank you for telling me – and for being so supportive!
Thank you for letting me know – your opinion helps a lot.
Very glad to hear that <3
That's very supportive – thanks!
Townsg
Weekly black and white
chamomilou
I know how time consuming it can be to re-visit completed sketches to add color. For the MAGNITUDE of the characters you portray, adding an entire color layer is a lot of work! I personally wouldn’t mind at all if you want to switch to B&W/Sketch Variants entirely for this reason. What I’d like for you to take from this is that it’s important that you enjoy creating your art! Also some ideas for future illustrations! -Consider keeping to a minimal color palette with flat colors and no shadows if you need! Working in black and white also has its own charm. -I’d love to see simplified/chibi versions of your characters! Maybe a one-shot comic/short story you have up your sleeve? With a minimal style you might be able to complete a lot more in a short amount of time! -I’d love to see some of your current favorite big boys and maybe things you’ve drawn inspiration from.
Release what you can. The B&W would be nice weekly, but take your time with your work. It’s always exciting whenever you post it.
Strawberry Milkshake
Weekly b&w, with a colorized page once a month?
theseparator
Weekly black and white would be fine with me
Silentommy
I'm certain my canonization as the Patron Saint of impatience is imminent, but I find myself wanting you to have the time to color your works. The only way to get faster is to practice, and the only way to practice is to keep working on it, even if it takes longer.
K
I definitely would like to see those black and white versions weekly, to see how the story progresses, but it’s all about how you want it to be seen. I know I’ll hang around to see the finished product either way
Barta Dávid
Do it the way you prefer. Personally I would like the black and white version to read those weekly. :)
Matt
Do it the way you would want all to see...happy either way.
Orin
I say take your time and do it the way you enjoy
