I'm (very slowly) working on a series of graphic novels in a dark-comedic vein, and it's gotten me reading a lot of other people's work trying to pick up a few skills by osmosis.
Something I just recently realized is that there are times when a black and white format seems to work better than color. There are even times when color seems to hinder the story. Case in point: the Game of Thrones graphic novel series https://www.google.com/search?q=the...KHR8iDUsQ_AUIBygC&dpr=1#imgrc=zSSE0M7N4xRlLM:
Don't get me wrong: the artwork is good (very good at times) and I'm a serious GoT fan so I enjoyed the series, but at times I found all the color and detail distracting, like it slowed the story down somehow or interrupted the flow. Here's a good example: http://images5.fanpop.com/image/pho...c-novel-sandor-and-sansa-29237442-385-500.png
IMO, you should be able to look at a page and get some quick idea of what's going on even before you start reading the first panel. In the example above, there's so much going on color wise that my eye doesn't automatically know what it's supposed to be focusing on. You pretty much have to start reading the text before it becomes clear (IMO).
I'm pretty much just thinking out loud here, but I really would like to hear what other people think.
In the meantime I'm going to start experimenting with B&W (so cool to be living in the computer age where all you have to do is click a button to make that happen).
Something I just recently realized is that there are times when a black and white format seems to work better than color. There are even times when color seems to hinder the story. Case in point: the Game of Thrones graphic novel series https://www.google.com/search?q=the...KHR8iDUsQ_AUIBygC&dpr=1#imgrc=zSSE0M7N4xRlLM:
Don't get me wrong: the artwork is good (very good at times) and I'm a serious GoT fan so I enjoyed the series, but at times I found all the color and detail distracting, like it slowed the story down somehow or interrupted the flow. Here's a good example: http://images5.fanpop.com/image/pho...c-novel-sandor-and-sansa-29237442-385-500.png
IMO, you should be able to look at a page and get some quick idea of what's going on even before you start reading the first panel. In the example above, there's so much going on color wise that my eye doesn't automatically know what it's supposed to be focusing on. You pretty much have to start reading the text before it becomes clear (IMO).
I'm pretty much just thinking out loud here, but I really would like to hear what other people think.
In the meantime I'm going to start experimenting with B&W (so cool to be living in the computer age where all you have to do is click a button to make that happen).