Countdown #7: The artist of Master Digital Color

Growing up in Kansas City, Missouri I was fortunate to visit The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art at least once or twice each year. I’ve been to other museums and art galleries since but this is the one that started my love affair with art as a young boy. The great thing about Nelson-Atkins is the variety of artwork on display. Renaissance, impressionism, modern art, artwork from ancient cultures, a sculpture garden and more await discovery. Being witness to such wide ranging styles and images may be why I’ve never been the type to think one style of coloring suits each and every comic book project. I prefer to read the plot for a book, look over the artwork and then consider, what does this story and art ask of me? Integrating color, light and shadow as part of the storytelling process requires an artist who is willing to practice and master many styles, adapt these styles to suit various artwork, and sometimes invent new styles.

What is the best way to learn a variety of coloring styles? This is the question that many readers of Hi-Fi Color for Comics have asked Kristy and I when we chat with them at conventions. Pondering this question I imagined myself back in the galleries at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. If I wanted to learn to paint a renaissance oil painting wouldn’t it be ideal if I could have access to Leonardo da Vinci’s original drawings and notes? Could Roy Lichtenstein enlighten me to the thoughts and techniques behind his process? And if I ran into Matisse could he explain the best way to apply brush strokes to get the mottled color seen in Woman with a Hat? That’s when it struck me. I may not have access to the great artist of the past but over the past decade Kristy and I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the most brilliant comic book creators of our time.

The phone calls and e-mails went out. Could we really give readers the opportunity to learn and practicing new color styles over some of the most amazing artwork in comics? One-by-one the replies came back and it seems Kristy and I are not the only ones interested in fostering the next great generation of comic book talent. The responses were overwhelmingly in support of Master Digital Color. Now the book publishing industry is a funny business and due to space restrictions, legal issues, or copyright reasons we were not able to include all the artwork in the book that was offered. In the end our publisher, Impact Books, ended up expanding the book well beyond the original page count and upgrading the bonus disc from a CD to a DVD to allow Kristy and I to include as much amazing art and content as possible.

Through their generosity you now have the opportunity to practice your coloring skills on artwork from these artist:

Dave Bryant:
Dave and I have been collaborating since the early nineties when Dave was inking and I was coloring Brian Rice’s awesome superhero comic book Captain Crafty but you probably know Dave’s work from his many Manga projects like Aviatrix & Gold Digger. Pencils, inks, colors… Dave can do it all. You have more than likely seen Dave’s work in a variety of comics where we all share credit simply as Hi-Fi. Don’t worry Dave will finally get all the credit he deserves as he and I are working on a few top-secret projects for various publishers.  You will hear about them first at MasterDigitalColor.com.  For Master Digital Color Dave contributed several illustrations ranging from manga to superheroes and even a fairly tale princess inspired image entitled, Royal Treasures. Each of Dave’s illustrations are included within the book and on the bonus disc for you to color.
You can see more of Dave’s work at: http://davebryantgo.blogspot.com/

Brian Denham:
Brian’s artwork has appeared in such comics as Iron Man: Hypervelocity, Nova, Thunderbolts: Breaking Point Special, the Avengers Giant-Size Special and Man-Thing. He is also a Lucasfilm approved artist and contributed to several Star Wars sketch cards sets as well as Marvel Masterpieces Iron Man movie trading cards. You can see Brian’s work regularly in The X-Files comic series written by X-Files executive producer, Frank Spotnitz.  Brian brings his unique creature design skills to Master Digital Color with the fantasy inspired Kel & Tora illustration. You will learn step-by-step how to create your own fantasy style of color while rendering Brian’s spectacular artwork.
You can see more of Brian’s work at: http://www.briandenham.com

Ray Dillon:
You know Ray from his work on Rogue Angel and Jennifer Love Hewitt’s presents: Music Box for IDW Publishing, and Nightmare World for Image Comics.  Ray draws, colors, and paints digitally and his work will blow you away!  Ray has created an entirely new superhero team for Master Digital Color.  Called The Shen each team member evokes the living spirit of an animal or creature.   You will have a blast learning to color this highly rendered superhero style on Ray’s amazing artwork.
You can see more of Ray’s work at: http://www.raydillon.com/

David Hahn:
David & I first collaborated when Vertigo editor Shelly Bond brought us together for Bite Club. It was a match made in heaven. If you are a fan of alternative comics you will know David’s work from Fables, Private Beach, and All Nighter. David’s clean modern style has even infiltrated Spiderman loves Mary Jane and Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four. Get hands-on with David’s Camelot Prep artwork in Master Digital Color and learn the tips and tricks to creating your own unique alternative comics color styles.
You can see more of David’s work at: http://www.hahndynasty.com/

Jim Hanna:
Part of the burgeoning Phoenix comics scene Jim is a regular fan favorite at West Coast comic cons where his commission list usually fills up on day one. If you missed his work on Komikwerks’ Philly keep your eyes open as Jim can’t stay in the underground forever. Kristy and and I asked Jim if he could contribute and image or two to Master Digital Color. Jim pulled out all the stops and gave us several pages from Code Zero to choose from. Not only will you learn to color Jim’s hip-urban take on the superhero team genre you will also get several more pages on the bonus disk to help perfect your visual storytelling skills while building your portfolio. If you meet Jim at a comic con be sure to thank him for supporting art education and buy a sketch from him. You will be glad you did.
You can see more of Jim’s work at: http://realjimhanna.blogspot.com/

Terry Moore:
I was fortunate enough to start coloring Strangers in Paradise covers for Terry starting with issue #31. Terry and I share a love of fast cars, guitars, and artwork of all types. Terry has been a friend and mentor over the past decade and when Kristy and I started work on Hi-Fi Color for Comics he was one of the first to volunteer artwork for the book. Strangers in Paradise won the Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story in 1996. Since wrapping SiP Terry has moved on to writing issues of Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane and Runaways and launched his all new comic book series, Echo.   Master Digital Color readers will have the opportunity to color one classic Strangers in Paradise cover created by Terry in the art nouveau style and learn step-by-step how to create your own science fiction color style while practicing on one of Terry’s recent Echo covers. Terry is very generous to give everyone the opportunity to color his amazing artwork.
You can see more of Terry’s work at: http://www.abstractstudiocomics.com/

Mark Schultz:
Mark Schultz has been a cartoonist and illustrator for twenty years. His best-known creation is the award-winning comic book Xenozoic Tales, which has been adapted to television as the animated series Cadillac’s and Dinosaurs.
Mark and his works have earned him five Harvey Awards, two Eisner Awards, an Inkpot, a Spectrum, and three Haxturs. Mark has generously contributed two original illustrations for Master Digital Color. Learn step-by-step how to create a retro sci-fi color style with a hands-on tutorial featuring Mark’s epic undersea adventure, SubHuman. You will also find a bonus color project featuring a Xenozoic Tales illustration. Are you up to the challenge?
You can see more of Mark’s work at: http://www.fleskpublications.com/

William Tucci:
William “Billy” Tucci is best known for his self-published comic book Shi. For more than two years Shi: The Way of the Warrior #1 remained atop Wizard Magazine’s Top Ten Comics list, a record for any single issue that still stands to this day. Billy may not know it but he was also involved with the very first comic book I colored, Captain Crafty.   Billy Tucci, Terry Moore, and John Byrne all provided quotes for the back cover to help promote Crafty. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with all three of these legends over the past decade (you may remember John Byrne pencilled the Tommi Trek image from Hi-Fi Color for Comics). The Hi-Fi team and I have colored many issues of Shi and recently had the privilege to color Billy’s Sgt. Rock mini-series for DC Comics. Billy is kind enough to contribute two Shi images for Master Digital Color. You will learn the secrets to rendering a beautiful face and have the opportunity to color a full head to toe pin-up image of Shi in full battle armor!
You can see more of Billy’s work at: http://www.crusadefinearts.com/

Martheus Wade:
Martheus’ love for martial arts, along with his talent as a graphic artist, was a natural fit for creating Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa. Kristy and I were introduced to Martheus at San Diego Comic Con and were instantly taken by his enthusiasm and integrity. When we explained our vision of professional comic creators training the next generation of comic talent the ear to ear smile on Martheus’s face told us he understood what we were trying to accomplish. Even though Master Digital Color was years away at that point Martheus told us he would love to be involved. Since that day I’ve had the pleasure of coloring several pieces of Martheus Wade’s Jetta art for covers and promotional materials. You will also find Martheus’s amazing Jetta – Shi crossover featured as the main tutorial on the stand alone DVD: Introduction to Hi-Fi Digital Color by Impact & ArtistNetwork.TV. In Master Digital Color you will get hands-on with Jetta and learn step-by-step how to master Photoshop’s Smudge Tool to create your own unique hybrid color style. You will even find a video tutorial on the included bonus disc to guide you through the process.
You can see more of Martheus’s work at: http://toshigawa.com/

Mike Worley:
One of the most naturally gifted artist I have ever worked with Mike was a runner-up in the “Create Your Own Characters” Contest sponsored by CBG (circa 1983) and by 1984 he was in the DC Comics New Talent program as a colorist. In 1985 Mike took second place in the pencilling category for the Marvel Tryout Contest behind Erik Larson. Yes, Mike has the talent to pencil, ink, color, and letter and experience to back it up. You have seen Mike’s work in the pages of Archie, Betty & Veronica, Big Bang Comics, Ren & Stimpy, The Simpsons, and a whole lot more. Mike brings you two amazing illustrations for Master Digital Color. Learn to create an amazing animation illustration with Mike’s Sherlock Hound. You will learn how to create a painted background look using texture brushes and cell shading using Photoshop’s Lasso tool. Don’t miss Mike’s all new Terrifying Tales of Tommi Trek illustration featuring mummies…. lots of mummies.
You can see more of Mike’s work at: http://www.worleytoons.com/

More great creators! Yes, there is more we can’t show you here so you’ll have to order your copy of Master Digital Color to get your hands on all the amazing artwork included for you to learn from and practice on!

In addition to the creators who contributed artwork you yourself can color, each chapter also opens with advice and examples from:

Don Bluth: Dragon’s Lair, Secret of Nimh, An American Tale

Joe Corroney: Star Wars Insider, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Farscape

Shannon Eric Denton: Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Graveslinger, KOMIKWERKS

Amy Reeder Hadley: Fool’s Gold, Madame Xanadu

Brian Pulido: Evil Ernie, Lady Death

Rick Veitch: Army @ Love, Swampthing

Plus a very special interview with “the father of digital coloring” Steve Oliff: Akira, Spawn, Batman

Within the pages of Master Digital Color not only will you find the ultimate comic book art gallery but you will also find detailed step-by-step tutorials, hands on challenges, advice from the experts, and a complete support system to help you master a variety of color styles as well as the skills to create your own styles. Plus you get the actual artwork to practice on.  Now if I can only get my hands on a time machine so da Vinci can give us all private lessons.

Next time I’ll give you a behind the scenes look at how a book like Master Digital Color is transformed from words & pictures into usable step-by-step tutorials. And yes, I’ll finally explain how Hi-Fi Color for Comics 2 became, Master Digital Color.

Brian is a comic book colorist, founder of Hi-Fi colour design, and co-author of Hi-Fi Color for Comics and the upcoming sequel Master Digital Color.

Pre-order Master Digital Color from Amazon.com today you will save close to $10 off the cover price and give yourself the knowledge you need to succeed.