So here's the age old question that every new comic artist asks themselves at some point: Should I make it in color, or in black and white?

It's a question I am hard pressed to ask myself with the launching of my new project, and I need some advice on this one.

My conundrum is this: I'm worried that if it is in black in white, it will be too drab. It won't look as good as it would in color, and I'm worried that some panels will become too cluttered. In a lot of ways, color can be used to illustrate emotions on faces (like a blush) and can also show things like the time of day, or the vibrance of certain objects. Backrounds always seem to look better in color.

The drawbacks? It's time consuming to color. I don't have the time to do it! I want to update at least one page per week. If I colored every page in full color I would be lucky to update once every TWO weeks!

What should I do?

I've considered doing a quick coloring as a compromise, but it just looks shoddy and half done. Black and white ended up looking better than my "quick color" job.

Advice people? Color or black and white, what are your thoughts?

If you're good at colouring, go full colour. You'll get better and faster at doing it in no time. Drawing takes me a long time... But colour is my fastest stage!

Well, as somebody who's done both, I've found that, so long as you can colour decently and don't have terrible taste, colour will generally look better and get you more readers.
I recently changed my comic from just toning with grey markers, so using coloured markers. It takes a bit longer, but the results speak for themselves. Not only has readership of my comic doubled, maybe tripled since I made the change, but I can do things I never could have done in B/W, like using colour to set the mood and tone of a scene. The latest page, making the bottom panel cold and calm looking after the hot colours of the 'hellish' dream flashback...well, I couldn't have done that nearly as well in B/W.
http://www.drunkduck.com/FanDanGo/index.php?p=117354

Of course, obviously, black and white has a few advantages. It can be cheaper (unless you're CGing.) It can be attractive to manga fans who like b/w because they're used to it, screentones can be used for an 'authentic' manga look if desired, it can look classy if done well, and obviously, some people have such terrible taste in colour they would be better off in b/w (hahaha). Oh, and obviously, if you plan to print the comic, b/w is cheaper. In the end though, I think from experience, colour wins the day for me.

wehn I first started I decided to go B&W because I didn't know how to digital colour. Also because even if I did or found an alternative route, it'd be time consuming.

After the first 10 strips or so, I did my comics in B&W for a different reason: I loved it.

I've had this arguement in my head a million times: colour or B&W/ hatching or no hatching. In the end it always boils down to this

The beauty of Black and White is it gives you a limited palatte(black and white DUH!) which allows you to use your imagination a lot with the lighting, especially with the greyish areas. Should I colour this grey area black or should I leave it white? Or why don't I just cross hatch. Remember Black and White is NOT JUST GOING OVER YOUR PENCIL LINES IN INK. It also allows you to let your readers use their imagination to fill in the gaps a lot more, like when you read a book. I've toyed around with these ideas quite a lot. Here's some examples:

http://www.drunkduck.com/Random_Idiocity/?p=107934

http://www.drunkduck.com/Random_Idiocity/?p=82736

or one of my personal favourites



On the otherside of the arguement, colour does have a less limited palatte and allows you to explore some diverse and interesting techniques and ideas.

Just look at subcultured's Dreams In Synergy

http://www.drunkduck.com/Dreams_in_Synergy/

or Caggage by Stardusty

http://www.drunkduck.com/Caggage/

In conclusion, both have their very different ups and downs It just depends on what you wanna do and achieve with your comic really

Generally I consider a few factors when making the decision. That would be speed, effort, mood, and overall suitability.

Color has the sexy. People like color. As a result, people will often be drawn to a color comic even if it has a mediocre story and art compared to a black and white one. Many artists use color to compensate for lack of drawing skills when it comes to line art. However, depending on how fast you color, it can take forever and a day to get a page out.

Black and white generally demands a better command of lineart and drawing skill. Also to do it well you need to have a good command of light and shadow. It can be a lot faster to do, easier to reproduce (if you choose to print layer) and add a particular mood to the comic. It may not attract as many people initially as the color comics, but, if the work is there, the people you attract will stay.

I've done comics in both. I found that adding a hint of color here and there to a black and white comic can be just, if not more effective than full color for the right type of comic. It really depends on what you are most comfortable doing and what is right for your comic.

I think it depends on your style of art and taste. There is some art that looks better in B&W than in color.

Wow. Thanks everyone. I wasn't expecting such overwhelming and thourough repsonse. I think that I am going to do my comic in color.

It just looks better. In the end, yeah, its going to take forever and a day. But I like the way it looks better. And who knows, maybe I will get faster at it!

Its been a tough choice, but these repsonses really helped. Thanks!

i used to draw my comics in bw, but halfway i really wanted to do colors. colors is good cause you can express more emotions because certain colors can have a psychological effect on the readers feelings

Well, I've done it. If you want to go and check it out, tell me what you think. Is it too much? I think I've made the right choice, deciding on doing it in color. It takes a lot longer than black and white, but I'm having a lot more fun with it.

After doing both, I figure this. Color is great if you're good at it, while the fastest stage. It certainly does extend your time with work.

Black & White can be amazing if you're good at keeping your art clean. Simplicity is often times the best for comics.


The only problem I have with coloring is different displays give off a slightly different look. Due to varying brightness and such. Like on the nice 17" CRT in my room it looks fine, then the LCD in the living room computer doesn't display as deep of blacks and it's brighter. So the 'darkness' direction of my comic is basically neutured..So be careful keeping that in mind.

Black & White you can't go wrong, brighter screen? Brighter black. Big deal. Hehe

I think that you should do what you think fits your style. I always tend to use black and white digital manga tone with my comics since i am a manga artist who wants to keep the traditional graytones without the work of cutting and pasting by hand. I have seen some amaizing colored comics here... manga included. It's all in what you want to do. Personally I prefer doing my own in manga tone becuase color takes me too long. WHen I do color I tend to go overboard with shading and end up with a pinup instead of a comic page lol. To me, the graytone forces me to make exceptions on certain shading. I guess its just a personal thing. I can go a bit overboard with color at times lol.

I use complete pencil, so it's a bit hard for me to color. I did to two pages in color, though, and I don't like how the inking came out. I'll probably stick with black and white.

i personally love the bold, raw nature of black and white art vs. color. To make something fascinating and beautfiful to the eye with only two colors is can be a bit of a challenge. I know this from working on my comic lol

I find black and white art to make more of an impact on my eyes, if it's skillfully done.
(if not, it just looks ugly o_o)

There is one BIG possible drawback to having your comic in color. IF you ever plan to print your comic for selling, color comics cost twice as much if not more than black and white.

Let me estimate...

lulu.com
color book 6x9: base cost 100 pages $19.53
b+w book 6x9: base cost 100 pages $6.53

JillyFoo
There is one BIG possible drawback to having your comic in color. IF you ever plan to print your comic for selling, color comics cost twice as much if not more than black and white.

Let me estimate...

lulu.com
color book 6x9: base cost 100 pages $19.53
b+w book 6x9: base cost 100 pages $6.53

AMEN

yea , but B+W is BORING !
seriously; who's ever gunna get printed ?

lothar
yea , but B+W is BORING !
seriously; who's ever gunna get printed ?

ahh..well.. a lot of people print for themselves. lulu.com is a self publishing print-on-demand firm. so for artists who travel around selling their wares at conventions and the like (myself included) cost effectiveness is very important. I use comixpress, though.

Any case.. on to the topic...For me, I just happen to like the stark style that you can achieve with black and white that you can't achieve as well in color. That and since I'm not as good at color as I am at black and white, I feel that using color could detract from the quality of my work. I'm still working on my coloring skills, but they aren't quite the level where I would be comfortable offering my color comic work in print form, some of my illustrations maybe. I guess it runs the same for the way I view other folks' colored comics: I think that if the coloring isn't good, and if they can illustrate better in black and white, then they should use black and white!Perhaps a lot of people just like color better for whatever reasons, but I think an artist should definitely play up their strengths (if it's just for practice though, anything goes)

And finally, as some others have said, speed. I like being the sole author/artist of my comic, and not having to depend on coulourer or inker in order to produce pages in a timely fashion. (although I am pretty slow still. that's what I get for tackling so many varied craft projects at one time @_@; not enough time in the day.)

Woah...what a good thread!

Personally, I went with Greytones in my webcomic to capture the old "movie serials" of the 1940's that Republic and Columbia put out. I do the tones with markers to give it a less homogenized tone that computer shading would give. The question is what feeling you want your reader walk away with.

It's all good.

Certainly a well executed cartoon in black and white will always prove superior to an inferior comic, no matter how many colors are used.

Anyone can print their comic, use kinkos. But the black and white comics can be printed cheaper and easier.

My latest project will be published somewhere, so I'm doing it in grayscale so I can spit out a black and white halftone.

Using black and white liberates you from the demands of color theory.

Color theory touches on 'emotional tones' colors posess , as well as evaluating if colors are harmonious or 'clash'. It's a new and optional domain to think about. If you color every panel "realistically", you'll lose out on the thematic and aesthetic possibilities color has to offer. Don't forget the mileage Sin City gets from a SINGLE color. Remember color harmony relates to sameness..

In photoshop you can use color overlays set to "color' and a percentage less than 50% to force color harmony in an image colored first for 'realism'.

That said , many of my favorite comics are black and white. It's a beautiful aesthetic in and of itself. And while a page meant for color may look awful without color, a page meant to look good in black and white will always look good, even if colored. Making the page work in just black and white is the challenge that makes a quality cartoonist.

I was going through this same problem not too long ago. I decided that doing things in black and white just fits better. Color is cool, don't get me wrong, but as stated before it can be very time consuming. I also found that things look much "smoother" without the distraction of colors. If you want a comparison check out my comic. The first couple of pages were done in color, after which i decided to give grayscale a shot.

DemonIzzed is traditional manga style, so color would not only *not* fit, it would actually turn traditional manga fans off. And if you look at the cover of DemonIzzed (the first page), you can see I color pretty good :-) I just like the pure quality of inks and tones.

I've always loved B&W comics myself. It let's my mind fill in the color myself, and usually when I wind up reading a comic that's in color I find myself not enjoying it as much, becuase the artist has forced me to see a certain way. Perfect example would be Fred Perry's Gold Digger series, I LOVED his work in B&W and the raw sketches he used to post on his web site 'cuase my mind would fill in the color, but when he switched to color everything looked too busy in the panels, and I found myself not enjoying the read as much... But that's just me...
I'm keepin my stuff B&W or penciled till I get my new computer built, then I'll think about color... 'Sides, I wind up pulling my hair out trying to pick colors for clothes, backgrounds, tones, gradients, hair, hair highlights, etc...
I like the simpler look ^_^

My 2 cents.
Go B/W most of the time. But if a scene needs colour, don't be afraid to go for it. Watch Sin City, if you havn't already, and take notice of colour placment.

well, i go either way. I do colors, but I confess it is the most consuming part of my comic page making time. I draw and ink Courage Chronicles in about 3-4 hours, and color the colored pages it in about 4-5 hours! Mostly because I keep on changing the way fx are done and the shadings of the colors are fixed now and then.

But fans are keep on saying that my greyscale are the best, so...I return to greyscale.

Tarung Jakarta, on the other hands, are not drawn by me, and I have planned that it will be a full color full effects comic. Coloring each pages of the comic can cost me 8-12 hours, mostly because of the detailings, high resolutions, and mostly because I am still learning how to glamourly-color superheroes type comic book. So that's why Tarung Jakarta is still one weekly update (and the fact that I have to find new penciller for later chapters adds to that)