Customer Reviews

DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering Comics

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

LETTERING:
Mr. Todd Klein is a seasond veteran in the field of comic book lettering and I've never seen a more concise, enagaging, and useful field guide on the subject of lettering in our industry. Along with the ABC's of computer lettering (pun intended), Mr. Klein pulls back the shroud of mystery on hand lettering; tools, tips and great advice. This is the most definitive text ever written on the subject, hands down.

COLORING:
As far as comic coloring is concerned, there are many places online to get the hard and fast techincal aspects of the trade, but the most important lessons Mark Chiarello gives the reader is color theory as it realtes to comics... How color evokes mood, how complimentary and muted tones can be used most effectively -- and perhaps the most important lesson in computer coloring: what NOT to do. The majority of examples in this section provide a sample of technique gone wrong as well as what to aim for. Another great lesson lost on most colorists is made a priority here: Let the art dictate the style of coloring.

I wish I'd had this book when I first started out. It will be kept in easy reach in my studio from now on!

Nate Piekos
Director, Blambot Comic Fonts & Lettering

Just to start off - if you are just beginning to learn how to do computer coloring, DO NOT buy this book. Not yet, at least. The DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering Comics is not written for the novice, but seems largely aimed at those who have had at least some experience with coloring before. While I'm sure I'll get some use out of this book later on, right now it is simply sitting on my shelf, unused, next to my other computer coloring books.

The DC Comics Guides are always interesting, but they never offer what is really needed - hands-on examples and tutorials. Computer coloring is difficult enough - especially in the early stages when you are trying to isolate your line art and get it ready for coloring in the first place (this can be a highly difficult and, indeed, frustrating process) and you need a book that will hold your hand through the process. The DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering is, unfortunately, not that book. While DC certainly means well, trying to publish useful books with their brand name to get a foothold in the "How to Draw" market, they haven't yet hit upon a successful formula in my opinion.

Why isn't this book successful, you ask? First, the lack of "how tos". There is really not one part of this book that offers tutorials with step-by-step instructions and screen shots to help you out. This is a book on the theory of coloring - in other words, once you know what you're doing, it will teach you how to improve, create subtlety, select the right colors and effects, etc. It is a finesse book, for those who want to add that extra something to their work. For those of us who are still on the first level, learning what to do, this book is a ways ahead of us. This goes for the "lettering" portion of this book as well. Second, the unclear instructions. Their section on how to set up your files for coloring, for example, is so confusing that I had to go through the steps several times, over and over again, and I'm still not convinced I've gotten it right. If you're trying to teach a subject, you've got to be able to communicate more clearly than this.

For those who want really good books on computer coloring, here are three that I recommend without reservation:

1. Hi-Fi Color For Comics: Digital Techniques for Professional Results - An amazing resource with a excellent DVD-ROM full of exercises you can do along with the book.

2. How To Color For Comics - While not as great as "Hi-Fi", this book is great at teaching understanding of more painterly techniques in comic book coloring and can help troubleshoot some issues. Also has a great DVD-ROM full of tutorials and exercises you can do along with the book. Though it's out of print, it's worth the trouble to get it.

3. Digital Manga Workshop: An Artist's Guide to Creating Manga Illustrations on Your Computer - A great book on how to achieve cel-style coloring and other effects, especially if you are a manga enthusiast.

If you want a great book on how to do comic book lettering, here is my suggestion:

1. Comic Book Lettering: The Comicraft Way - This, quite literally, is the last word in comic book lettering, and is very inexpensive.

Good luck with your artistic endeavors!

It's refreshing when a book as thorough as this comes out, AND it's written by industry professionals.

The colouring section was very informative, giving both colour theory, balanced with practical steps and illustrations. I found the reviews on colouring fads such as using Photoshop filters/SFX to be informative.

The thing that stands out from all other material I've read on colouring comics are the definitive procedures and clear explanations on things to do and to avoid.

THE LETTERING SECTION was just as good. With good examples and explanations as to WHY and HOW things are done.

If you're into comic colouring and/or lettering, this book must adorn your shelf; It is that helpful.

Klein and Chairello have authored a well written and informative book on a craft of comics/ graphic story telling vastly ingnored UNTIL the advent of digital technology.

BOTH sections COLORING & LETTERING will be the watermark for other authors to achieve.

The COLORING section addresses the AESTHETIC side of the craft along with the MECHANICS behind it.

I have other books on the craft of comics:
1. Read this book FIRST, apply the concepts to your own work; THEN read OTHER books related to coloring/lettering.
2. Look at NATURE to get color ideas, read magazines, bus ads and observe typeface designs.
3. CREATE YOUR OWN FONTS!!!

This isn't the first "DC Comics Guide" I've purchased. Prior to this, I also purchased "Writing" (meh) and "Inking" (FANTASTIC!). This book comes somewhere between the two.

The first half of the book was great. The lessons on color were more helpful than the four years of color theory shoved down my throat at the university. The first part was solid and helpful for more than just comic art.

The lettering sections were informative as well, but there wasn't as much thought and theory behind it as there was a "how-to" section on software and tools that most people don't have.

You sometimes have to read outside of your field to understand central aspects that goes unsaid or unexplained. As a filmmaker, I've looked to other how-to comics and graphic novel books for help, but they didn't bridge any gap between the page and screen. Alas, in the first few pages, all the questions I've had of color theory and applying it are answered with accompanying illustrations. Right away you can see the dramatic effect of a color value in a black and white image. The last book that attempted to cover this that I read was Sight and Vision, and it kind of confused issues by being too academic. This is very direct.

This book focuses on Photoshop and Illustrator, and explains the workflows for each. Again, very direct on the ideas behind WHY you do something, provides the HOW, leaving it to the reader to put in the time to get good through practice. The ilustrator portion will have you doing quick balloons in no time. Even if you don't know Illustrator or can't get through the manual.

So if you're unsure of why you would color correct an image- get this book. If you're unsure of why you should even bother to worry about the colors of sets and costumes- get this book. Again, I've been aware of these issues and theories, but this one book just made me say "Hey! I got it! I understand the jargon finally!" And not only do I get it, I understand WHY an image works, and how to make it work for the emotion desired. For the cover price, that's a low fee for a personal triumph!

Finally, this is a practical book. There are books on doing fantasy art and sci fi art, but this focuses on an extremely important art of coloring and lettering. Read this first!

This is by far the most informative book I have come across for lettering and coloring comics. it gives you step by step instructions on how to scan your art, prep it in photoshop, color it, letter it and finally the clean up process. heck, it even goes into how to submit it to the publisher. it also gives non step by step info on things such as color theory and the use of photoshop filters. WAY better than any Marvel book i've read so far.

The section on coloring was nice actually; its pretty informative regarding the history of the industry, the professional terminology, and the aspects of coloring. The process of coloring that they run you through is interesting but a little vague on how its done. For my money its almost better to get the Hi Fi Coloring book by Image.

The Lettering section is pretty informative, I still have to go back and read the last of it but it was written pretty well so far.

I bought this book after buying The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics. I was looking for something with tutorials on actually making comics (the actual doing, not just the set up). I walk away from reading this book with mixed feelings. The color theory and principles of coloring was great, as was the entire section on lettering. But there was nothing on actually coloring in a step by step kind of way. If you're looking for a book on HOW to color, this is not your book. If you're looking for a book on what to keep in mind WHEN coloring, then this is your book. Also if you don't care about color and just want lettering than this is your book (the lettering has more in the way of tutorials).

One thing I forgot to mention before, the book is edited a little weird. There is a picture on just about every page. On a number of pages the paragraphs are split between two pages. You wouldn't think that this is that big of a deal, but many times I finished reading a paragraph and then looked at the pictures to see what they were talking about, and then started reading again on the next page only to find that the next paragraph started on the page I just got done reading. Or I would have to turn a page to finish a paragraph and then turn it back to look at the examples. This isn't a deal breaker. It is just a distracting break in the flow of the book. Someone could have easily changed the sizes of the images to keep everything on one page, so it just seems kind of lazy.

This book is a great help to my comics work as well as my illustration and fine art work. It gives great instructions for traditional and digital coloring and lettering. Though some of the computer instructions are aimed more toward Mac users, and a little outdated, it is still very useful and gives you plenty of info to figure out how to do things on other systems. Great buy!