I’m off to the New York Comic Convention, today, and in honor of the “Event” I posted a SPECIAL incentive to go with this week’s page – a step-by-step tutorial on how I colored this page, with comments by me, personally!  So take a look, by voting now!  And if you, too, are on the way to NYCC, and you see a really tall guy with a shaved head handing out cards like these here on the left, stop me, get one, and say hi!  And as ever, thanks for the votes, the reads, and the support.  Have a great weekend, everyone!


If any page so far has yet exemplified the direction I hope this comic will go (artistically, at any rate) I think it’s this one.  Whatever its shortcomings, and there are likely many, this page really pleases me.  It is perhaps, currently, my favorite page since the very first one, which I’d never seemed to top until now.

I took an entirely different approach to coloring this page than I had on previous ones.  It’s fairly technical and conceptual, so if you don’t really care about the craft aspects of comic art, you can skip this paragraph and not miss anything.  But basically, my conception of how I was coloring the pages had been kind of backwards.  I had been considering the shadow as something applied, which framed the areas I wanted to highlight.  On this page, however, I instead put the shade and shadow down as a base layer over a single unifying shadow color across the entire page, then mapped out the light sources, and only then, took parts of it away to reveal highlights.  The result was far more nuanced, with a lot more depth than on previous pages.  I think the result was very satisfactory, and finally produced the red-brown fire-and-smoke effect I have been reaching for since the start of the chapter.

6-Commando has always been, in my mind, kind of a work in progress, and I know that almost all the “professional” cartoonists out there caution against that, because it runs counter to the concept of consistency and “only doing your best.”  But each week has been the best I can make it – and it’s paid off, because I feel liek it makes the breakthroughs that much more satisfying.  And it also helps to have insightful readers who are willing to contribute, as well.

Anyhow, two final notes before I call it a night.  First, this week’s “Five Days to 6-Commando” will be delayed by one day, but don’t let it stop you from voting!  This week will highlight the process of coloring that I went through, but to make it really readable that way will take another day to finish up.  All the votes last week were terrific, and catapulted 6-Commando up almost 60 places between Monday and Friday!  See how much it’s helped?  Thanks so much, everyone!

Second, of course, is that I’ll be going to the New York Comic Convention next week.  I will not, unfortunately, be an exhibitor, but I’ll be around, passing out my card, networking, all that good stuff.  So if you’re there and you see a big bald guy handing out 6-Commando cards, come up and say hi!  And if you’re a creator and you are exhibiting, I hope to see you there.

Anyway, that’s all for now.  Have a good week, folks – see you next time!