Colorist
Encyclopedia
In comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it is most often done using digital media, with printing separations produced electronically.
Colorists may work directly for comics publishers (either as employees or freelancer
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
s), or they may work for coloring studios which offer their services to publishers. American Color, Olyoptics
Olyoptics
Olyoptics 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, Gloria Vasquez, Abel Mouton, Kiko Taganashi, Kirk Mobert, Marie Saint Clare, Quinn Supplee, Nathan...
, and Digital Chameleon
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...
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. CMYK codes were written on the page to indicate the final printed colors, and these hand-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.
Digital color
Colorist Steve OliffSteve Oliff
Steve Oliff is an American comic book artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry since 1978.-Biography:...
and his company Olyoptics
Olyoptics
Olyoptics 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, Gloria Vasquez, Abel Mouton, Kiko Taganashi, Kirk Mobert, Marie Saint Clare, Quinn Supplee, Nathan...
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 manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Akira
Akira (manga)
is a manga series 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 serialized in the pages of Young Magazine from 1982 until 1990, the work was collected in six volumes by Japanese publisher Kodansha...
was in preparation to be translated and published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
's Epic Comics
Epic Comics
Epic 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 Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
allowed only a 64-color palette, while Marvel had expanded it to 125 colors. Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
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 Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by 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. It was immediately successful, and remains...
' use of computer color and more advanced color separation technology propelled 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.
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
Shading
Shading refers to depicting depth perception in 3D models or illustrations by varying levels of darkness.-Drawing:Shading is a process used in drawing for depicting levels of darkness on paper by applying media more densely or with a darker shade for darker areas, and less densely or with a lighter...
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 media
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
using tools.
Notable colorists
- Jack AdlerJack AdlerJack Adler was 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.Adler's first comics job was for Funny Folks #2...
- George Freeman / Digital ChameleonDigital 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...
- Josette BaujotJosette BaujotJosette Baujot was a Belgian artist and colorist. She is most commonly associated with fellow Belgian comics writer Hergé and his Adventures of Tintin series.- Early life :...
- Jeromy Cox
- Lee HarrisHarris LeveyHarris Levey , whose pseudonyms included Lee Harris, Leland Harris, and Harris Levy, was a comic book artist for DC Comics primarily in the 1940s...
- John HigginsJohn Higgins (comics)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
- Richard Isanove
- Vittorio LeonardoVittorio LeonardoVittorio 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 LoughridgeLee LoughridgeLee 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 MartinLaura MartinLaura DePuy is an award-winning colorist who has produced work for several of the major comics companies, including DC Comics, Marvel Comics and CrossGen.-Career:...
- Dave McCaigDave McCaigDave McCaig is an artist and colorist born in Canada. He also works in the animation industry.Comics he has worked on include Adam Strange, X-Men, Star Wars, Superman: Birthright, The Matrix Comics, Nextwave, New Avengers, Northlanders , American Vampire and Nemisis.Animation projects have included...
- Paul MountsPaul MountsPaul Mounts is an artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry, on comics including Fantastic Four, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Ultimates....
- Steve OliffSteve OliffSteve Oliff is an American comic book artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry since 1978.-Biography:...
/ OlyopticsOlyopticsOlyoptics 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, Gloria Vasquez, Abel Mouton, Kiko Taganashi, Kirk Mobert, Marie Saint Clare, Quinn Supplee, Nathan... - Alex SinclairAlex SinclairAlex Sinclair is an American comic book colorist known for his work with Jim Lee and Scott Williams.-Career:Sinclair is well known for his collaborations with Jim Lee and Scott Williams...
- Marie SeverinMarie SeverinMarie Severin is an American comic book artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics....
- Dave Stewart
- Christina StrainChristina StrainChristina Strain is an American comic book colorist currently working with Marvel Comics, notable for being the colorist of the award-winning series, Runaways.-Career:Strain got her start in comics working for Crossgen in 2003...
- Lynn VarleyLynn VarleyLynn 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.-Biography:...
- Glynis WeinGlynis WeinGlynis Wein is an artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry.For several years, she was married to Len Wein. She returned to her maiden name in 1985.-Bibliography:Comics work includes :...
- Tatjana WoodTatjana WoodTatjana Wood is an American artist and comic book colorist.- Biography :Tatjana's 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...