Trav the bean » 18 Jun 2010 » Reply

I have purposely refrained from commenting here. I am listening right now and I have really appreciated everyone's comments.
thanks for taking a moment to tell me what you think.
trav

Scott M » 18 Jun 2010 » Reply

Since I read a number of webcomics and often don't come to them straight off on updates anyway, I'd be willing to wait longer between and give you a chance to colour. However, I also agree that your black and white work is pretty strong on its own, so really it's up to you.
I also like the idea of opening occasional pages to guest colourists, mostly because…I'd kind of like to give it a shot. I'm probably not the colourist you want as a regular thing, both for time concerns and because I'm not particularly trained or practised at it–I'd definitely be open to direction and critique and so forth, but you may not want your comic pages being used as a training ground. 😉 Still, it's something that's generally intrigued me for a while now, and your lines are pretty inspiring stuff. So…unlikely I expect, but the offer's there.

Filippo » 17 Jun 2010 » Reply

Oh, well, I was going to give my opinion but I see that it's also shared by everyone who posted before.
You do colour well but the b/w version isn't lacking in the first place, so as much as it would be nice to have the comic in color the progress of the story seems to be a more pressing matter at the present time. Obviously this could change in the future, whenever should an uncertainty about how to set up a page or once the comic is finished.
I was also gonna say that eventually you could also colour a page once in a while, like some mangakas seem to do. That would be if for some reason you have spare time and/or a certain page has a special meaning of sorts. Apparently, however, someone already suggested this.
Not to mention the chance, mentioned by others, of a reader being a good colourist.
About the books, I don't know if a coloured version would sell better and end up earning you more money. Editors surely know the subject better than me and you yourself should have a decent knowledge.
After writing all this I realize it could have been said in a simple sentence. I agree with the comments above. And that's it. 0.o

susan » 17 Jun 2010 » Reply

I pretty much agree with everyone else on this. As much as I would *love* to see the Bean in color I would rather see the story progress faster. So, for now, stick with the black and white. Your artwork is amazing and does very well in black and white. Color would just be an extra at this point.

fergusmaximus » 17 Jun 2010 » Reply

Ask 1,000 people a question, get 1,000 different answers …

I think the colours on that teaser page are really beautiful! Having said that, while it would be great to live in a perfect world where you could do this for a living and had the time to colour the strip to match what you can see inside your head, I think you're better off keeping the story momentum going and sticking with b/w.

And, like Scott says above, maybe one of your readers is a terrific colourist just waiting for an opportunity to shine (David Reddick's "Legend Of Bill" is a great example of someone who's found a wonderful colourist to work with).

RiFT » 16 Jun 2010 » Reply

Hi Trav, as an alternate option, you can do what some mangas do, and that's color the first 3 pages or so of an issue. I'm not sure how many pages your issues consist of, but having the first few pages colored can help set a better general mood.

Also, you do provide a decent chunk of colored images on your site, so since the comic will still be printed in b&w, it may not be necessary to color any pages, as people can already taste plenty of colored images to feast their eyes on.

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing what you do.

RiFT

Brandon » 16 Jun 2010 » Reply

Trav, the updated colors are great! Much better! I really feel drawn into the scene and the story now! Which is important for the first page. I really loved the idea of the albino mushrooms, and I don't mean to nitpick, but they do stand out a bit too much now with the new colors, in my humble opinion. Other than that though… this just has me ecstatic about seeing Bean colored! As tempting as that is though, I still think you should continue with the black and white for now.

Scott » 16 Jun 2010 » Reply

I vote keep the story moving. It's something I've learned from personal experience and advice of others: updates over anything. Once you go to colour, you can't go back without it feeling like a loss. So stick to black and white, and maybe do volunteer colour. I'm not a colourist (well, not a very good one) but surely someone who reads Bean is and might be willing to help out. Never hurts to ask.

Besides, it's not like your B&W inks are lacking any. Keep shipping! 🙂

Brandon » 16 Jun 2010 » Reply

I love the Bean in color, but as I sent via Twitter, with this particular image I am having a hard time with the way it is colored, in respect to the foreground and background. It's not as strong as your coloring usually is in terms of how you handle foreground versus background. It's a focus problem for me, due to the abrupt color difference rather than something that still feels some connection, with everything foreground being cyan except the mushrooms and really very little variance, as well as the sign that has all the background colors, and none of the foreground colors, even though it's a foreground object.

I honestly compare your art to Jeff Smith. It works amazingly in both black and white and in color. I would love to see Bean finished in black and white first, before it is colored. I think that gives you much more focus on the momentum of the story, and allows you afterward to really focus on the coloring, if you do choose to color it afterward.