I need help, ya see, I just started my semi-first hand drawn comic. I got recent word of my shading being off by a mile. Can you take a look at this page and tell me exactly what's wrong with the shading?

{Note: I know that in some panels, I didn't shade. Namely, the second. I'm still new to this, remember?)

Looks great to me. Your style is really cool, what's the bother with shading?

I see nothing wrong with the shading. If you want a bolder, more dramatic effect, you could try making the shaded areas darker, so there's more contrast between the light and shadows. If you want to take things further, you could have two levels of shading, so there's a light shade, then a darker shade for heavily shadowed areas. Looks pretty decent to me though.

Thanks for the tip. It's just, I was told by this person that it was terrible, and he blasted all over my page.

I usually don't take people too seriously when they feel the need to say "THIS LOOKS HORRIBLE" and then don't give an explanation as to why. It looks fine to me, too. You may want to consider adding in some highlights to make things look a little more "rounded" (like on the tops of the bushes or in the character's hair), but other than that, I think it's fine.

If drawing a comic has taught me one enduring thing, it's that you can't please everybody. Also, there's a distinct difference between something that needs improving and something that one person doesn't like. If you get regular comments from various people saying that something is bad or needs changing, then maybe consider changing it, but a single opinion isn't worth worrying over too much, unless it's something you also think needs to be changed.

Thanks for the really good advice. I wish I could show you how incredibly ANNOYING the guy who told me is. He just has this weird mutual hatred for me for some reason, and usually goes to any of my comics to point out my mistakes to everyone. (He did the EXACT SAME THING today.) I knew I probably shouldn't have listened to him, but since I just made the transition from sprite comic to drawn comic, and he's sometimes right, I guess I just needed more opinions.

Anyway, thanks again for the advice. That means alot coming from great artists like you guys.

Your shading isn't that bad. It's about the quality of my shading when I started out.

Also, I read some of your comments. The other person did seem like an asshole, but calling him an "imbecile who can't see colors right" right back at him doesn't really help your case too much.

You're right, but if you've known him as long as I have, that's a compliment. I really wish he'd just leave me alone. ;_;

To be honest, so long as you stay consistent on the direction of the light, the shading is good. You have a few switch-a-roos in there (but I suspect it's the shadow cast by his hair-spike) but overall it's pretty solid. I haven't dealt with a heckler yet (as my comic is still in the stages of infancy) but I can say with certainty that you should pay him no mind. And hey, he's giving you pageviews and comments, so who's to say he's not a fan? The goal of any comic artist/writer should be to create passionate readers, and it seems as if you've created one. He cares SO much about the quality of your comic, that he wants you to improve! (Sure that's probably not true, and he's probably just a jackass, but hey -- say what you will)

Keep on keepin' on man.

Shading is fine, try texturing.

The shading is basic, but it doesnt damage the panels. I do see that you used the same color in several objects on the same panel, so i can only say you need to individualize the colors a bit. for example, the worm and the ground in the first panel, the green from the earth and the green from the trees.

BTW.. try not to use the photoshop "lens flare" filter. That gives an amateurish look to the images, and since you are making flat 2D colors it contrasts too much. Since your making a pokemon comic, see how they made these kind of effects in the cartoon and translate it to your panel.., itll look way better than with the filter.

One last thing... its hard to tell if its day or night. It appears to be night, but there are warm colors suggesting daylight, if its night, but dont know how to obtain a night color you can try this:

.- in photoshop, pick colors near the left side. the left side tend to go to the gray scale, making them better suited for night colors.

.-another thing you can try is create a new layer over the color and fill it with a blue color ( you can try this color #6596e8) then make the layer mode from "normal" to "color", and adjust either the fill or opacity to 40%. Notice the change in mood and you'll get a better feel of the night.

If you want full night effect, leave the opacity or fill at 100%, and make the layer mode into "HUE".. this will get you a blue shaded mood.

.-If its in day light, then instead of the blue color, fill the layer with this color (#ffd375) and make the layer mode into "soft light".

The photoshop layer modes are great foreffects and color fixes, id suggest you experiment with them :)

Edit: i was forgetting.. in the night, the shadows are reaaaaally soft because there isnt a strong like in front of the objects, and if there is a lamp or something, you add light to the image, not shadows. (its kind of long to explain though :P)

Shading looks just fine. Perhaps be a bit more bold and play with light sources and let the dark and light areas stand out more. At the moment they almost blend together.

( And huge respect to you for actually drawing the comic and not getting weak and just use sprites. )

glenfx
BTW.. try not to use the photoshop "lens flare" filter. That gives an amateurish look to the images, and since you are making flat 2D colors it contrasts too much.

I'd say that is a good advice for ANY comic. It really cheapens any comic and should NEVER be used.

The thing with shading is that not using it doesn't affect your image but using it poorly can be detrimental. Honestly, in your case use shading only when it's necessary. The goal is to add shadow to certain areas to give an otherwise 2D image the appearance of depth.

Just take a look at yourself in the mirror with the overhead lights on. Notice how shadows appear in crevices like under your nose, under your lip, in wrinkles, and under your armpits. Same thing with objects; trees should have leaf-shaped shadows around the edges to make it look like the leaves are popping out and receding, rocks should have jagged shadows to show how it juts out in different areas, etc.

Shading is something that you can only get good at with practice and it takes extra time so practice away.

Kinuchio
Thanks for the really good advice. I wish I could show you how incredibly ANNOYING the guy who told me is. He just has this weird mutual hatred for me for some reason, and usually goes to any of my comics to point out my mistakes to everyone. (He did the EXACT SAME THING today.) I knew I probably shouldn't have listened to him, but since I just made the transition from sprite comic to drawn comic, and he's sometimes right, I guess I just needed more opinions.

Anyway, thanks again for the advice. That means alot coming from great artists like you guys.

who might this guy be? Kevin O.o?

Hijuda
Your shading isn't that bad. It's about the quality of my shading when I started out.

Also, I read some of your comments. The other person did seem like an asshole, but calling him an "imbecile who can't see colors right" right back at him doesn't really help your case too much.

that's because he is one :p

Just stay consistent with the light source. And make sure you pick a lighter color that doesn't look too off with your base color(s).

I like your art style! I wish I could draw backgrounds like that! Teach me? lol. XD

Necropost (from over a year ago). +_+
Hopefully the OP got everything they needed out of this already.

We don't need any necroposting around here, the guy made this thread over a year ago. He'll probably never read any of the replies people might make at this point. (Qijun, try not to dig up old threads for the sake of gossip, ok?)