In
comicsComics is a graphic medium in which images are utilized in order to convey a sequential narrative; the term, derived from massive early use to convey comic themes, came to be applied to all uses of this medium including those which are far from comic...
, a
colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art.
The improvements in the technology used for coloring have had a great impact on the way comics are drawn. Before the use of computers, artists would often use the pen or brush to put in detailed shading effects; now the artist is more likely to leave the drawing open and leave it to the colorist to insert shading through variation in color tones or through adding a layer of translucent black.
In
comicsComics is a graphic medium in which images are utilized in order to convey a sequential narrative; the term, derived from massive early use to convey comic themes, came to be applied to all uses of this medium including those which are far from comic...
, a
colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art.
The improvements in the technology used for coloring have had a great impact on the way comics are drawn. Before the use of computers, artists would often use the pen or brush to put in detailed shading effects; now the artist is more likely to leave the drawing open and leave it to the colorist to insert shading through variation in color tones or through adding a layer of translucent black. Most contemporary colorists work in
digital mediaDigital media are usually electronic media that work on digital codes. Today, computing is primarily based on the binary numeral system. In this case digital refers to the discrete states of "0" and "1" for representing arbitrary data...
using tools such as
Adobe PhotoshopAdobe Photoshop, or simply Photoshop, is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems. It is the current market leader for commercial bitmap and image manipulation software, and is the flagship product of Adobe Systems...
.
Colorists may work directly for comics publishers (either as employees or
freelancerA freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a self-employed person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any particular employer. The term was first used by Sir Walter Scott in Ivanhoe to describe a "medieval mercenary warrior" or "free-lance"...
s), or they may work for coloring studios which offer their services to publishers. American Color,
OlyopticsOlyoptics is a quality full color service bureau for the comic book industry. Founded by Steve Oliff, it has employed many colorists and color separators throughout its history including Ruben Rude....
, and
Digital ChameleonDigital Chameleon was a comic book coloring and inking studio based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They have countless credits for a variety of publishers, and are attributed with being the first studio to make the use of the computer software program Adobe PhotoShop widespread in the comics industry...
are companies notable in this field within the comic strip industry.
History
Originally, comics were colored by cutting out films of various densities in the appropriate shapes to be used in producing color-separated printing plates. The typical colorist worked from photocopies of the inked pages, which they colored with special dyes. (Dr. Martin's Dyes was a brand notable in this field within the comic strip industry.) These colored pages were used as guides by the engraver.
More recently, colorists have worked in transparent media such as watercolors or airbrush, which is then photographed, allowing more subtle and painterly effects.
Colorist
Steve OliffSteve Oliff is an award-winning comic book artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry since 1978.-Biography:...
and his company
OlyopticsOlyoptics is a quality full color service bureau for the comic book industry. Founded by Steve Oliff, it has employed many colorists and color separators throughout its history including Ruben Rude....
were one of the first to use computers to do color separation. Although other companies at the time were experimenting with computers, Oliff and his crew were the first to blend the color guide artist with the separator. In 1987, the Japanese
mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
Akirais a black and white serial manga or graphic novel by Katsuhiro Otomo. Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, the work uses conventions of the cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of turmoil. Initially serialised in the pages of Young Magazine from 1982 until 1990, the work was collected in six volumes...
was in preparation to be translated and published by
Marvel ComicsMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
's
Epic ComicsEpic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.- Origins :...
line. Oliff was chosen as the colorist, and he convinced Marvel that it was time to try computer color. After the publication of
Akira in 1988, computer coloring became increasingly prevalent in the comics industry.
By the early 1990s, even though the larger comics publishers were using computers, there were variations within the field.
DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
allowed only a 64-color palette, while Marvel had expanded it to 125 colors.
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book publisher.Mike Richardson, the owner of several comic book shops in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, began to publish in 1986 with an anthology series called Dark Horse Presents, investing profits from his stores into Dark...
allowed even more variations. The dominant programs in use during that time were Color Prep and Tint Prep, both originally implemented by Olyoptics. In 1993,
Image ComicsImage Comics is an American comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by seven high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties...
' use of computer color and more advanced color separation technology propelledd DC and Marvel to further upgrade their coloring techniques. Finally, in the mid-1990s, Digital Chameleon's facility with Photoshop helped make that program the industry standard.
Notable colorists
- Jack Adler
Jack Adler is an artist who worked as a cover artist and colorist for DC Comics. He was a staff member of DC's production department from 1946–1981, rising steadily up the ranks to production manager and vice president of production....
- George Freeman / Digital Chameleon
Digital Chameleon was a comic book coloring and inking studio based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They have countless credits for a variety of publishers, and are attributed with being the first studio to make the use of the computer software program Adobe PhotoShop widespread in the comics industry...
- Jeromy Cox
- John Higgins
John Higgins is an English comic book artist and writer. He did significant work for 2000 AD, and he has frequently worked with writer Alan Moore, most notably as colourist for Watchmen.-Biography:...
- Matt Hollingsworth
Matt Hollingsworth is a comic book colorist.-Biography:Hollingsworth graduated from the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1991 and began getting regular work from Marvel Comics and DC Comics. In 1993, he was hired to the Dark Horse Comics staff as head of the painted art department...
- Richard Isanove
Richard Isanove is a French artist and painter working in the American Comic Books industry.-Biography:Born in the South of France, Richard studied Film and Animation at the Ecole nationale superieure des arts decoratifs in Paris and moved to the United States in 1994 to study Animation at the...
- Vittorio Leonardo
Vittorio Leonardo, born in Italy in 1947, is a colorist of some famous Franco-Belgian comics series. He worked for the Spirou magazine, and founded the Studio Leonardo, which continued his work.-Biography:...
- Lee Loughridge
Lee Loughridge is an artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry. He is possibly best known for his work on the various Batman Adventures titles.-Bibliography:His other work includes such titles as:*Accelerate*Angel...
- Laura Martin
Laura DePuy Martin is an artist, probably best known for her work as a freelance colorist in the comics industry.-Biography:Laura DePuy is an award-winning colorist who has produced work for several of the major comics companies, including DC Comics, Marvel Comics and CrossGen.A sometimes...
- Steve Oliff
Steve Oliff is an award-winning comic book artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry since 1978.-Biography:...
/ OlyopticsOlyoptics is a quality full color service bureau for the comic book industry. Founded by Steve Oliff, it has employed many colorists and color separators throughout its history including Ruben Rude....
- Alex Sinclair
-Biography:Sinclair is well known for his collaborations with Jim Lee and Scott Williams. He has previously worked on Astro City, Alan Moore's Top 10, Harley Quinn and with Lee & Williams on Batman: Hush, Superman, WildCATs, Gen¹³, and Divine Right...
- Marie Severin
Marie Severin is an American comic book artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics....
- Christina Strain
Christina Strain is a comic book colorist currently working with Marvel Comics, notable for being the colorist of the award-winning series, Runaways. Strain got her start in comics working for Crossgen in 2003. She was a member of UDON from 2003 to 2005, which helped her get her start at Marvel...
- Lynn Varley
Lynn Varley is an award-winning colorist, notable for her collaborations with her former husband, comic book writer/artist Frank Miller, whom she divorced in 2005....
- Glynis Wein
Glynis Wein is an artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry.For several years, she was married to Len Wein.-Bibliography:Comics work includes:* Magik 1983-1984* New Mutants vol...
- Tatjana Wood
Tatjana Wood is an artist who was born Tatjana Weintraub in Darmstadt, Germany. Her father was Jewish, and her mother was Christian. During World War II, she and her brother, Karl Joachim Weintraub, were sent to an international Quaker boarding school in Holland,...