"Ithaqa" Comic Update #42 How Color Schemes Are Chosen
It is awesome to see Mookie, Hazel, Ruth, and Margaret fully realized and in color! Theresa and I decided to work with a limited color pallette for 2 reasons of equal importance. I'd like to break them down for would be comic book collaborators going forward.
Practical. At the current pace at which Theresa and I are making this comic book series it takes me a little less than a month to write 1 issue, and it takes Theresa 3 months to pencil, ink, and color all by herself. The fact that Theresa is able to put out that much high quality art in that span of time is HUGELY impacted by our decision to not go for full color realism. If making comicbooks was a full time job, then maybe we could do more with less time, but we all gotta pay the bills while we shoot for our dreams.
Artistic. Don't worry, the decision wasn't all about efficiency/penny pinching. I've mentioned before that I view the location of Ithaca almost as a character in its own right, and as integral to the story I want to tell. I suppose maybe the name "Ithaqa" might have tipped you guys off on that one... The setting is crucial to my story and I work hard to weave the history of silent film and the physical beauty of Ithaca into my work as much as possible.
Ithaca is a city that changes drastically over the course of a year. If you brought someone to a gorge in January, and then brought them back in June they'd have a hard time understanding how that the dry bitter cold could transition to such a sweltering humid heat.
Ithaca is a city where you forgot about friends who lived far away during the Winter and then reconnected with them in the Spring because walking uphill in the snow both ways just maybe wasn't worth it. Then there would be an explosion of plant life and heat. You'd find yourself woefully unprepared because a lot of buildings didn't see the need for central air conditioning in a city that stays frozen until May and then freezes again by Halloween.
My point being that the seasons color the city drastically, and I wanted to convey that via our colors. The seasons change, the city changes, and then the mood of the story changes. I wanted this first narrative to take place in the Fall, because it is my favorite time of year in Ithaca. A time of moderate weather, beautiful colors, and bountiful harvests. I wanted Theresa to keep Fall in mind when trying out color palettes, I wanted people to look at a page and feel that it might be pleasantly warm around town, but also that things were drying out. Things are shriveling up and dying.
I have 4 major story arcs planned out for Ithaqa, and though they are over the course of many years, I want them each to take place in a different season. I want the colors to change to match each season, and hopefully with that change the readers will feel the tone shift as well. The narrative of the seasonal cycle works in tandem with what these characters are going through, because after this story "Winter Is Coming" and Winter was very cruel in Ithaca in the 1920's.
Theresa Chiechi's (The Artist) website is here: http://www.theresachiechi.com/
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Ithaca was home to Odysseus, and has become a symbol for the end of a long journey. As the poet Kavafis wrote in his poem Ithaca:
Because it is the journey that matters, not the destination. Fulfillment comes from the experiences you gain, not from reaching the end in itself.
I like a lot your planning about the comic and its story arcs combining so well with the color palette of the seasons involved. It's one of those subtle things in comics that I enjoy a lot -- and to be honest, I prefer to discover them on my own rather than having them pointed out.
As for distributing the finished comic for free, I am not in favor of giving out artwork for free. Sharing these originals with no letters and your descriptions are enough to get an idea of the comic. I believe that the hard work of everyone involved should be paid for, provided there is quality in the finished product -- and in your case, there seems to be good quality.
Thank you for that poem, it's amazing. I'd forgotten that Odysseus had been heading towards Ithaka the whole time...I wonder what fun ways I could use to incorporate that...Certainly I'm putting it in my back pocket for later use!
Sorry for giving you a spoiler on my color scheme(ing) I'll be sure to keep some secrets secret for people to discover on their own!
I appreciate your comments on the quality of Theresa and my work, and I'm hoping that we will be able to find a publisher who gives us a fair deal so that our efforts are suitably rewarded. If we do, I would probably not be allowed to publish the full comic here for free anyway.
Pretty awesome subtle backgrounds!
I love the fact that you'll be altering the color palettes with the seasons. That's awesome. I can already imagine the cool colors of winter, grays and blues when the next arc begins!
I know it's so hard not to get ahead of oneself since at our current pace this Fall arc will take probably over a year, but I can't help but think of the pale blues that then turn into hints of pink, that finally end in verdant green...
Makes you wish you could travel into the future to steal your future finished work just to get to it sooner haha
This is a great post! I've really enjoyed watching the work evolve. It's really cool seeing the color now. I also like your description of Ithaca through the seasons. I've visited, but only in the summer.
Ithaca in the fall is my favorite, it's a shame the best season is so short, but I guess maybe that adds to what makes it so special.
When were you last there?
And thank you for supporting me as the comic has developed!
I believe I visited during the summer of 2000. Besides the gorges, I remember how surprisingly chilly the nights were in August. Nothing like winter I'm sure!
You're welcome, I am looking forward to seeing more developments!
I remember one time in May 2010 walking outside and feeling that something was off, weird. I walked to class and then realized that the sky was blue. That's what was throwing me off haha. God knows how long it had been at that point.
August is a great time of year though, but I'll be visiting in 2 weeks for the cayuga sound festival!
It's always nice to have something to look forward to (like sunlight)!
Have you seen this post by @eroche about the #culturevulture September challenge? Maybe while you're at the festival you'll find a post idea 😎
We've got some ideas for #culturevulture, just have to make them happen!
That's an awesome contest!! I'd love to do a post about Ithaca. Great idea
Great to see the evolution of the work post by post, will the final comic be published here?
I'm not sure yet, I was wondering if there was a way where I could set up a steem store and have people buy the comic with steem. Every page in color will be posted here, but I'm still debating if all the lettered pages will be up here for free.
Have you looked at Open Bazaar? It wouldn't be a steem store like you described, but you can sell products for BTC.
Woah! That's so cool! I'll check that out for sure!