Tuppence on Colours.

I’ve been reading and watching that bloke Bresson recently.

His movies are otherworldly and have a beautiful distance from the viewer. I’ve heard his opinions and affection for the use of flat colour and feel that this can be applied to comics.

Not to every comic. But sometimes the over use of colour in say a Batman comic puts me in reverse gear for the story I am reading.

I’ll try and clarify my thoughts on this a little more. I offer no examples as I’m typing this on my phone on a train. (Maybe I’ll add some later).

So many modern artists, especially in US big publishing houses, seek to unnecessarily transform a page to something with a verbose sense of depth and scale. To give an impression of a 3D staging. This isn’t necessary. We can leave that habit to video games and action movies. The eyes of the reader used to a page from say 20 years ago (and more) can create that landscape in their minds. The flat colour isn’t a failing, isn’t old fashioned and can accompany and ignite the page. There’s a reason that superheroes and monsters are bright and eye catching and it isn’t due to a lens flare effect.

Our reading eyes transform a page of panels into something alive and part of that equation that we unlock can be how we view colour. We never see as purely literal and always interpret an image, especially when working in conjunction with the familiar and iconic. The art darts around and follows the flow and colour can equal character, team, alignment, and any other number of dynamics on a page.

Part of the problem that when flat colours are utilised these days they represent a narrative move into nostalgia or often a flashback and not the norm. Maybe a walk back away from purple reflections, shining surfaces, tinted shadows, outlines and unnatural/counter-intuitive colour choices is needed?

We don’t always need a variety of tones on a face, or in the folds of a raincoat or constantly show the light from a setting sun or a street light playing about on a surface. Black and White works and can be a visual simplification. Why can’t the colour just be less busy? Less noodled? Less Fussy? There may be a reason that in France this year I saw the growth of the Black & White version of an album sitting and selling next to its colour release.

My 2 pence.

Many thanks for reading.