The OFU Coloring Project
Posted November 17th, 2008 by Howard TaylerAs I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m recoloring all 234 rows of comics that go into Schlock Mercenary: Out From Under (Update: It’s now called Scrapyard of Insufferable Arrogance) so that the book looks better.
From time to time I question the wisdom of this. I don’t know that it will result in extra sales, and even if it does I suspect that they fall beyond the point of diminishing returns. The bean-counter in me says the strips are good enough as-is, and I should get over it.
Then I come across a row like the one below.
My “touch-ups” make it look more like this.
And I feel justified in my work. I’m not changing the line art (well… not much. A few lines, here and there, but only the very worst offenders) but the depth that I’m getting from simple gradient fills and cel-shading is adding a lot to the project.
I hope you all like it. I only have 152 rows left out of 234. I’m 35% done!
Explore posts in the same categories: Cartooning, Merchandise
November 17th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
The spotlight effect alone doubles the impact of that strip.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
That is, of course, why I picked THAT one to show off. There are others that are quite good, but this one went from substandard to shiny with one artistic decision (and about fifteen minutes of noodling around with layers, feathered selections, gradients, and transparency.)
November 17th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I’ll buy it.
I’ll review it.
I’ll even preface it:)
November 17th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen a standard-color and a shaded version of the same strip side-by-side. That looks mind-bogglingly incredible.
November 17th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Wow! Now that is worth the price of admission alone. I can see why you feel justified, because you are.
Awesome transformation. If the rest of the book looks a quarter as good, I may have to stop reading online and go strictly to the print only version.
I’m kidding of course, I could sooner give up breathing as give up my daily Schlock fix.
November 17th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
It’s not going to change whether or not I buy it, since I didn’t even recognize you were changing things (mostly because I’m conditioned to the new better style now). But I do appreciate it a great deal, and may make a difference for others.
November 17th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
And here I thought I’d talked you out of this sort of thing at one of the early Penguicons.
The strip succeeded with the art as it was. While it might be reasonable for an enhanced version at a later date, to see this sort of revisionism in the first and probably only issue that will cover those strips is terribly disappointing. If this sort of thing is to be standard behavior for future books, I have probably bought my last with The Teraport Wars, which does not appear to have been altered from the archives.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
@ mwg: I don’t recall the conversation. Sorry. And while the strip may have succeeded, I never felt like it excelled. I don’t want to clear the bar. I want to clear the moon.
It has always been my plan to do better coloring for the print versions of the comic from strip 1001 forward. Under New Management and The Blackness Between both had Sunday-style colors throughout (mostly done by Jean Fioca), while the strips on the web remain flatly flood-filled.
I’m not changing the story, though in some cases the new coloring style may punch up the delivery of a few panels. It’s the same sort of thing I throw down every Sunday online, and on the occasional important weekday strip as well.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
In case anyone’s wondering, the strip Howard showed us the reworked version of is here.
mwg: Greedo shot first! So there.
… Well, he didn’t mean to. He was just waving his gun menacingly and it went off. And Han was so totally gonna shoot him anyway.
But the songs in the original Return of the Jedi were better than the ones in the Special Edition. You’ve got to draw the line somewhere. Here’s where I draw it:
* A genuine improvement (like Howard’s improved colouring) is good.
* Avoiding a rating upgrade to PG-13, by making it so that the only people who realise that Han would have shot first are those who are smart enough to know why it would have been justified, is… forgivable. Plus the idea that Greedo’s fate was sealed by his own unsafe weapon-handling is kinda funny – sort of a reverse Pulp Fiction. Karmic, even.
* Getting rid of “dated” songs and replacing them with something that will later be even more dated, is <description removed to keep things civil>.
Howard: When the books catch up to the online version, will you redo the art on the early strips, and publish a special edition of The Tub of Happiness?
Actually, doing that well could be difficult. Your new art style is too good to fit the fourth-wall breaches in some of the early strips.
Oh, and on today’s strip: I love the (literally) last line. “Diffuse cloud of radioactive meat-vapour.” Awesome description.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Mmm, meat vapour.
Personally, I would buy the books either way (once my poor car stops sucking down my paychecks). I got into Schlock three years ago, and I stuck with it because of the sheer quality of the writing. It pulled me in, like a kind of good black hole that doesn’t end in crushing defeat for its victims.
But, if I can get the earlier versions of the high quality writing with the nice sparkly artwork of the newer quality writing, so much the better.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:41 am
Yes, we can all aspire to go out as such.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Totally. Worth. It.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:16 am
There ought to be a quasi-energic being with a REALLY DEEP VOICE who could spare a moment to say:
“Howard, you’re doing a good job. Keep at it.”
Just, you know, to spare you from wondering if the time is well spent.
- Chris
____
All I ever hoped to find was a self-documenting universe.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:43 am
Sam: What’s this “Han Shot First” nonsense? Greedo never fired
at all — and “anyone who says differently is itching for a fight”. :)
Personally, I prefer the “remastered” version of the comic.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Just goading mwg. Sorry if there’s any collateral damage.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:49 am
mwg: pppppppffffffffffhhhhhhhhh at you. Do *you* know anything about Photoshop, or *any* image manipulator at all? It doesn’t sound like it, and you are clearly in the minority. We’ve heard your opinion, and we’re ignoring it.
Howard - you keep right on doing that, hon; I love the new look! It doesn’t “update it” at all; what it does is bring out how *you* wanted it to look. *Now* we get to see what was originally in the mind of the Creator to begin with! Woohoo!
…and anyone who says otherwise, send ‘em to me. I’ll pound ‘em with my copy of _Photoshop CS for Dummies_ until they see the error of their ways. ;>
November 18th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Oh, as for today’s strip: Isn’t it cute when Kevyn starts to show off his intelligence? And yet, she still loves him…….
November 18th, 2008 at 7:55 am
As long as you’re happy with it, Howard, it rocks.
Well. . . just as long as Schlock doesn’t suddenly appear carrying a walkie-talkie instead of a plasma canon somewhere down the line. . .
November 18th, 2008 at 7:58 am
You know what would have made the reworked strip even more clever . . . If the spotlight were expanded slightly on the character’s right side. We would then be able to answer the age-old question, “Do speech bubbles cast a shadow?”
Not that the reworked version isn’t beautiful . . . I’m just saying . . .
:)
November 18th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Awesome, Howard. Just awesome. Be sure to put in my limit order on ten thousand futures on the new book @ $20. ;-) I’m pretty sure that I can totally flip those on delivery for $25 or even $35 apiece! (In unrelated news, the current state of the stock markets is really lacking in entertainment value. Just glad I bet against oil staying up. I’m just glad that Howard’s here to provide bonus entertainment regardless of the trend of the DOW!!)
@ketira: How was the pot showing off his intelligence in this strip? He was just dissing the kettle for no apparent reason (arrogance).
Good to know that those epaulets are fullerened anti-matter. I’ll keep my distance… even though “When I go, I want to leave a crater, not lie in one.” Heh.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Keep it up Howard…the production values of your books have been flat-out gorgeous.
Not just a fun story, but a quality product.
Much appreciated, and quality, even though it can be difficult to quantify its effect, it can only help.
CUAgain!
November 18th, 2008 at 9:08 am
My, how George Lucas of you! 8-D
(ducks and runs)
Looks great Howard!
November 18th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Great Job! Being a “slight” perfectionist myself and being married to one, I can totally understand the need to touch-up. I really appreciate the effort you put into creating quality art. I’m not an artist but I can appreciate good art. I seem to remember hearing somewhere that art is living and always changing. So it make sense to me that as the artist learns and grows and strengthens in talent then that strength needs to be reflected in his art. Well done, and thank you for sharing your talents with the world and making a difference for the better.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Heh… Excellent job Howard.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Its really funny how you don’t notice gradual art changes. I read the first 5 some years of schlock a couple years ago in the space of about a week, and didn’t notice much, though to be fair, I’m not an artist by any strecth. Then just today someone linked the strip where the first doctor got killed, and I was just boggled by how different everything looks.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Definite improvement. You can hear the heavenly hosts on a sustained choral note as the beam of light shines on the Hero. “The Truth Is Out There Waiting To Be Found!”
Just finished the Teraport Wars. And fished out all the volumes, set them in order and started reading again from the beginning. I find the beginning artwork just as lovable as the latest strips. Elf, “Never, Ever let Schlock ride up there.” causes an instant visual switch with Miss Ventura. Eeew!
November 18th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I’d give up my daily Schlock fix before I’d give up breathing.
Giving up breathing would also end my daily Schlock fix…
November 18th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Oh, sure, with current medical technology it would…
November 18th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
The problem with “Greedo Shot First” wasn’t so much that he did it to keep the movie rating down, or even that it fundamentally changed the character and symbolism of the films ( through that and other edits).
The problem was that HE DESTROYED THE ORIGINAL FILM to do it. The remastered editions are basically different films, but we will never have access to, say, a blu-ray of just the original. The source material no longer exists, according to Lucas. He could have made a killing selling *both* versions, but he’d rather enforce his “original vision” on fans who’ll buy the new version anyway, because it’s better than NO star wars.
All is not lost however, we still have the laser disk version, and that was digitised and included on the last collection IIRC, but it’s not the same as a properly encoded DVD or Blu-Ray made from the original masters.
Anyway, the point is, that after Howard’s touch-ups, of which the one shown was not fundamentally plot-changing, the original comics do not seem to have disappeared, irrevocably or otherwise. Also, the new version looks really good.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Call me old-fashioned, but I expect the first book of any variety of comic to be an as-was collection of the covered material, add-ons are a different matter. If someone wants to do later versions and tinker, fine, these can be premium items, announced revisions, whatever.
Sam and Kateria: Gee, how mature. I expected better than that from the sort of people I’d figure read SM. Web forums have truly degraded the level of discourse on the net.
Howard: At the time you were talking about re-drawing the early strips for publication. This is not exactly what is happening here, but with my preferences for accuracy in re-publication, it is not far off. I told you that I saw no problems with the strips as they were, and was pleased when I saw what appeared to be the original art. I hadn’t considered deliberate fiddling with the colors. You might at least remember the convention referenced as the following day you dumped a bowl of liquid nitrogen into the hotel pool.
Regardless of how good the current versions look, and they are absolutely wonderful if the sample is any guide, I do not consider it appropriate for the first and probably only print edition to be radically different than the on-line form. This is not just a color change. That is what some of the earlier books have undergone, I had to check since it was not so blindingly obvious. Changes of this magnitude are changing the art. For me, that is crossing the line. That sort of change is suited to specialty re-issues and such. I have nothing against such re-issues, when that’s what they are.
I thank you for alerting me to the issue with your announcements. That is the most reasonable things about this whole situation.
It is clear that I am in the minority here. This is very sad, but so be it.
It is your right to handle these things as you wish, but I disagree with your choice, and even though it is most certainly a futile effort, I will exercise the only recourse available to me by not supporting it.
Having said my piece, I will depart. I will not bother you again.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
You do what makes you happy, Howard. Half the time I don’t get around to reading the books other than the bonus story - I buy them to share with others and to keep you and your family fed and happy. :)
November 18th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Did it again. I has somehow forgotten that story line (sorry). So… I had to reread it. The kreelies were next, and I remembered that that one was pretty good. By the end of the kreelies, I knew what was next, and I HAD to read that one…
At least 5 qenuine laugh out louds. Third or fourth time through.
Howard, you rock.
“Do you even see these grey hairs, kid?”
November 19th, 2008 at 12:02 am
I’d say I love it, but my girlfriend would probably say im jelaous. SO, the gf-friendly version of my post:
I really really really really really like the coloring.
Its super cool. Keep it up. And as a previous poster (Sam) said:
Howard: When the books catch up to the online version, will you redo the art on the early strips, and publish a special edition of The Tub of Happiness?
Add: Please?
November 19th, 2008 at 1:51 am
zippthorne: “The remastered editions are basically different films, but
we will never have access to, say, a blu-ray of just the original.”
So long as the DVDs of the “original” exist, the capability exists to
create hi-def versions of the original.
And one other factor: George Lucas is *OLD* — which means one
of these days, he will cease to be a factor in deciding which edition
is the “proper one”, if you understand my meaning…. >:)
“If you sit by the river long enough, you will see your enemy’s
corpse float by.” [ancient Chinese proverb]
“However, launching a few teraport missiles up to the headwaters
will greatly reduce the wait-time.” [Schlock] :)
November 19th, 2008 at 7:40 am
@ mwg: I see where the confusion sprang up. I stated long ago (and many times since) that I was never going to re-do the artwork on the first 1000 strips. It’s not worth recoloring, not most of it anyway, because the line art is so questionable, and once I start in on the line art it’s hard to stop.
BUT… I’ve ALWAYS said that the books will get better color treatment than the web strips. If the books sell well enough, we may even see that color treatment migrate to the web, and panels like the crappy orange one above will be a bad memory found only in the occasional blog post and the Google cache.
It’s very, very frustrating when I set out to do something difficult, artistic, and time-consuming and somebody (read: mwg) says “I’m not buying anything else from you if you keep this up.” That’s a little like telling Grandma that if she’s going to keep using real cinnamon and fresh apples she should just stop making pies for Thanksgiving. But this is the internet. I shouldn’t pay attention to naysayers, and I shouldn’t expect people to have the e-quivalent of basic table manners.
November 19th, 2008 at 8:03 am
@Howard: LOL! I couldn’t have put it better myself! That’s the spirit! Just remember that even when your hand aches from using the mouse too much….. ;)
…..and mwg will be back, just in another form. To him I quote Tom Baker, in his role as the 4th Doctor {who}: “What’s the use of being an adult if you can’t be a child every once in a while?” (No, I don’t remember which episode that was in. But I do remember him saying it.) Also, he mangled my name; you’d think he’d know how to copy & paste. At least he didn’t call me a *tire*….
@DarthReed: You forget - Kevyn’s had those since he became commander. Don’t you remember in the strips where he actually set one off?
November 19th, 2008 at 10:47 am
@Howard:
You’re completely correct to do as you want… I’ll be buying it whether or not you do an art upgrade, BUT I’ll be feeling slightly better about my purchase knowing that I’m buying a shinier version than the online one. And getting you to sketch it as usual! If nothing else, then it’s a great incentive for the waverers to grab a copy, and being fussy about what you want in print is absolutely normal… as a recording artist, I wince when I hear early recordings and wish I could go back and re-sing my bits!
November 19th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Hello,
from the previous comments I realize this is a delicate topic, but still I’d like to get this out.
First of all, thank you Howard for the amazing and wonderful world you have created with your comic. I bow in awe before your ability to describe a universe with so much depth, to make us laugh and tremble and live with the heros. The story, and the punchlines, and the subtle minor punchlines and less subtle major punches in between make this comic so wonderful. And now this may be a double-edged comment, but frankly it was never diminished by missing shades or spotlights - “Quit closing our eyes, Doyt! You’re as bad as the Narrator!” still makes me grin over the whole face whenever I read that strip, no matter what the artwork is like.
So there you have it. A reader that with a single sentence dismisses the work and time and heartblood you put into recoloring those strips. Bet that really cheers your up.
Well, I don’t mean to dismiss it. The shades _do_ look great, and it adds to the delivery indeed. And it certainly won’t keep me from getting a 100$ packet of Schlock goodness for the bedside. But the old-fashioned, simple coloring still awakes memories in a way that the remade coloring does not do.
And so if it’s possible, could you please maybe still keep “panels like the crappy orange one above” available on your site? Maybe hidden in the garage, underneath the hedge laser? Pretty pretty please?
A thankful reader.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
One key difference between Howard making coloring changes and Lucas having Greedo shoot first, is that the former makes the work better, the latter makes it worse.
The Han-Greedo shootout is a character-defining moment; change it and you change the story. It actually weakens the ending (when we see the Millenium Falcon coming out of the sun to provide cover fire for Luke in the DeathStar trench) because it’s less of a change for Solo if he’s already been established as not quite as tough and independant (dare I say solo?) as he pretends because he didn’t shoot first.
For an example in another medium of an artist - in this case a recording artist - changing his work for the worse, consider the original recording of “Layla” when Eric Clapton was with Derek and the Dominos, vs his more recent acoustic version. In the former the electric guitar is perfect for the anguished wail of the lyrics, in the latter between the change in tempo and acoustic guitar, Clapton sounds like he’s tranquilized almost to inertness. It just doesn’t go with the words. The comparison would be if Howard did his recoloring to pinks and pastels.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Howard, you are The Artist. We are merely your humble (well, some of us) supplicants, worshiping before the altar of BLAM!
And, no, I won’t tell your bishop.
–GS
November 19th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
As they have said, you’re the artist. And the touch up justifies it. Good job.
And on that note, a little motivation:
*Cracks whip* Back to work! I’m buying three copies when you say it’s on sale! *Cracks whip again*
November 19th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
PS: We love the work, keep it up, yay for howard, we wouldn’t know what to do with our time without you :P
November 19th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Economics, naysayers, and such always seem to argue for the low-cost, satisficing road. Luckily, artists, optimists, and just plain good folks prefer to aim higher and make it shine. Go ahead and do the best you can, not just enough to get by. Plenty of us will be happy to help do what we can.
November 19th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Economics does not always argue for the low-cost approach. A focus on quality is often more profitable in the long term.
November 19th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I presume you all know who Carl Barks was. He created Uncle Scrooge for Disney Comics and wrote and drew most of the best Donald Duck, Jr. Woodchuck and Uncle Scrooge stories. He was refered to as the “Good Duck Man” before anyone know who he was outside of Disney. Howard is a “Good Duck Man”. I say that because Barks was once getting ready to go on a family vacation. But he was right in the middle of a story that involved lemmings. LOTS of lemmings. Dozens in each panel. Several dozen in the larger panels. Lots of artists faced with that sort pressure would have drawn lots of lines suggesting herds of lemmings but no details. Not Barks, he drew each lemming in the panel as a full character. Feet, ears, eyes, noses, every lemming! It was how he approched his ART(yes I know I’m being pretentious).
That Howard would do this shows he is just as committed to his characters and story, and even more to us his audience.
So I paraphrase, Howard, your a Good Schlock Man.
November 19th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I have to admit, I’m surprised Howard. I thought the re-coloring was based on color space problems in printing, and I expected you to be just mapping the colors to something you could print.
But don’t get me wrong: I’m happy. It’s clearly paying off.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
I think a lot of people are missing the point that if Howard puts out a book dated this year with second rate art, the referral level will not be as good as if he uses his best game.
Now, I doubt Howard is motivated solely by money, but he does have bills to pay, a reputation, and needs expanding fame and credit. You get that with BETTER art.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Not to change the subject too much but am I the only one who’s been totally creeped-out by LOTTA’s eternal, unfading, insufferable grin?
D.
November 20th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
@Dev Dot Nul - *hand goes up* uh, me, kinda.
@Howard and the touched up art controversy … if it’s still a good story, and still funny, I’ll buy a copy.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Howard, you probably should add a few pages about the recolor to the end of the book with several of the more striking examples (such as the excellent one in this blog post) as bonus material. So it is preserved on paper ;-)
Schlock is always good ;-D - Many web comics have their ups and downs but I don’t think I have ever seen a story arc in Schlock that I was eager to have over with in the hope that the next would be better.
November 21st, 2008 at 3:41 am
you are right it is not worth it. it will have practically no effect on sales, the effect it does have is unlikely to ever pay you back for the work, at least not while you can enjoy the payment. being in the middle of a story driven series, it is unlikely to scare off any sales.
but you are also wrong. it is worth it. if you do not do it now you will always have to live with the knowledge you did sub par work, that the work you put out was below your own standard. for you i think the time spent will be well worth the knowledge you are putting out quality work, that it is up to your standard. also you will get an indeterminable boost to your reputation, and thus good word of mouth ads for being the guy who went the extra mile for his audience.
there are some who don’t like it. ignore them, they are 1) clearly the minority, and 2) they are not you.
November 21st, 2008 at 6:50 am
@ Dev - It is creepy, at that. Though I think I’m more creeped out by the phrase “Hot Logic Probe” than that inhuman, endless grin.
November 21st, 2008 at 7:29 am
Well, having been subjected to both treatments, I agree with Kevin, the eternal insufferable grin is worse. The pronouns are merely the verbal expression of it.
As for “revisionism” arguments…the key word here is ‘artist’. Howard is one, Lucas evidently is not. No, that’s just being snide. The point is that I’ve never known good, active artists to consider their own work “canonical” at some arbitrary point in time marked by first exposure to some particular segment of the public. Lucas fell into this trap and the result is movies with many scenes (and characters) that should for the love of all that is beautiful have been cut. He then went further and tried to make those versions the ‘one true scripture’ of Star Wars. It’s not like the sin of making revisions made the rereleased versions bad, they were simply not as good, artistically, as the original versions (in more than one place they aren’t even as technically competent, which is just incomprehensible).
Did Lucas lose ground as an artist because of his change in attitude towards his own work? Probably. But that isn’t the point. The issue is that the revisions were worse. Sometimes that happens even to a good artist…particularly the old fashioned kind who can’t make a backup version before trying to improve the existing work. That doesn’t mean that revisions are bad. Every stroke of a brush, chisel, or soldering iron means that you might destroy what you’ve already done, but you can’t be an artist if you don’t take that risk. Revision is no different from the original process of creation.
Now, I happen to like the changes that Howard has made…they add a lot without losing anything of the original, and I mean that both artistically and in terms of pure information theory. That doesn’t mean that those were the best changes or only changes or even that it is fundamentally impossible that the ‘purity’ and ’simplicity’ of the original was better, just that I like the changes. So do a lot of others. Many people who would have been satisfied with reading the archives online will now feel that there is extra value (beyond the moral cause of supporting the arts) to buying the book, and thus will do so. One or two people (who developed their theories of art by studying Star Wars movies) might decide to avoid buying the book in protest. That is fine. If there is room in this world for people who know nothing of art beyond what can be learned from Star Wars, then there is room for them to make their own decisions about what to support and not support with their money.
As a final note, most of what anyone really needs to know about art can be learned by studying Star Wars movies (though it does represent a handicap). Further, many theories of art based on wide ranging study are still bunk. And finally, theories of art aren’t really that important compared to pleasing the aesthetic sensibilities of the audience. I’m pleased by the changes, so are most of the readers who’ve commented. A few (represented by one) are displeased. That’s the way it goes.
Back to Lotta, I think it’s more interesting plot-wise if Lotta’s issues are resolved without resort to logic probes (a device which, comments aside, Kevin seems to be shy about actually wielding).