The Comics How To… Vol. 2 Chapter 04. Production: Inks, Colors, Covers, and Letters

Lance Lucero

6 years ago

Now that the BOB #0 character designs and layout were complete and finalized, it was time for the inks. I sent the proper contracts with agreed page rate and deadlines to Francisco, and as soon as he signed it, he was off and running. Part of the deal was ”” after Francisco completed ten pages of inks, he would send them to us for approval. Once the necessary corrections were made and the pages were approved, Francisco would move on to the next set of ten pages.Â Â The process was very smooth. About every couple of weeks or so we would get pages, and when we did, it was like Christmas! It was like opening presents every time we opened emails containing new and inspiring art. Everything was coming together very well.

As the inking process was drawing to an end, I started to think about cover ideas. I knew I wanted two covers for the book; the main cover and an alternate cover for marketing purposes. When the inks were finished and finalized, I offered the cover job to Francisco and I hoped that he would accept it. It was obvious to us after seeing the magnificent job he had done with the inks that he was our guy for BOB: NON-UNION PSYCHIC. I breathed a sigh of relief when Francisco accepted the cover job. Once again I contracted him and sent him a couple of cover ideas. I basically sent Francisco a bunch of James Bond and STAR WARS posters for inspiration. I had two ideas, and I told him to come up with two more ideas, because I knew he would conceptualize something interesting, and he did. I picked one of my ideas and one of his to use as the alternate cover/ poster. We really needed the main cover because the website was coming along and we had to start marketing our unknown indie book.

The process thus far was very smooth and enjoyable. The final inks and covers were awesome. It was time for colors. Now, originally I had another colorist in mind other than Francisco. In fact, the entire time Francisco was drawing the inks, Adam and I were scouting our archives for a colorist. Then, Francisco asked if I had a colorist yet? I told him we did not. In order to throw his hat in the ring, he offered to color the two covers for free, in order to show off his work. I accepted his offer. The only advice we offered for any kind of artistic style was ”” the colors have to be atmospheric, creepy, and me being a film guy, I added ”” the colors need to be saturated and have texture. Once again, we were not disappointed. The colors were fantastic! They were rich with color, texture, and had a really cool vibe. There was no question about it; Francisco was now our colorist. We had discovered an all-in-one package, an illustrator (inks and covers) who can color his own work. As a producer, I was very pleased with that; it keeps the team small and very manageable.

I contracted Francisco as the colorist. We had the same process as the inks: every ten pages Francisco would send us proofs, if we discovered anything weird, we mentioned it, and he would correct it. The texture and depth that Francisco designed for Bob“s spiritual world filled with psychic energy is pure eye candy. Again, it was Christmas every ten pages. It took a little extra time for the colors, but it was well worth it.

The book was almost complete. It was time to letter. Adam and I searched our archives and found John “Chilly”“ Palmer IV. He totally got the vibe of the book so I offered him the job and he accepted. With minimal suggestion, John lettered this book in about ten days.

I designed the graphics of the front, back, and inside covers. I basically re-purposed Francisco“s art for the inside front cover and the inside back cover.Â Â For extra flair and a calling card for our new indie character, I contracted Francisco to design a couple of logos. I“d say the entire production process took about six months. That“s with a team working from all over the planet; Adam was teaching in Korea at the time, John and I were in the U.S., and Francisco was in Mexico. This was truly a wonderful international artistic experience.

The team worked hard to create a fun and original independent comic book to share with the world!

Next, yelling, “LOOK AT US!”“

For more information about the BOB: NON-UNION PSYCHIC world, visit the Warehouse 9 Productions siteÂ HERE