I’ve explained it before, elsewhere… so forgive me if you’ve read it….
Colorists work for the syndicate, not the cartoonists.
They usually get ONE HOUR’s pay to color a whole week of one comic. That’s six days, of daily strips… 10 minutes each. It’s already not a great hourly rate, so if they take more time, they’ll be lucky to make minimum wage.Some color only one strip, some do three or four…. nobody does it for a living.They have to love being part of the comics, cos there’s hardly any money in it.
Once the cartoonist submits a strip to the syndicate, it’s out of his/her hands…it never comes back for approval, or proofing, before it runs.A few cartoonists have created a small set of color codes for major characters… things like hair and skin color.. to give to the colorists. There’s very little, or no, other instruction for them, and usually no communication with the artist, to whom they’re anonymous.
Strips very occasionally go back for corrections, if the editor or colorist spots some major mistake that only the cartoonist can fix.Colorists, and even editors, are forbidden to change anything in the B/W line art themselves. But both usually have to work too quickly to read every word or catch every mistake…and there’s often no time to send something back, anyway, as there’s a lot of deadline pressure.
Futabakun Premium Member over 8 years ago
Okay, I’ll be THAT guy this time…Do the colorists ever actually READ the strip before coloring it?
SusanSunshine Premium Member over 8 years ago
I’ve explained it before, elsewhere… so forgive me if you’ve read it….
Colorists work for the syndicate, not the cartoonists.
They usually get ONE HOUR’s pay to color a whole week of one comic. That’s six days, of daily strips… 10 minutes each. It’s already not a great hourly rate, so if they take more time, they’ll be lucky to make minimum wage.Some color only one strip, some do three or four…. nobody does it for a living.They have to love being part of the comics, cos there’s hardly any money in it.
Once the cartoonist submits a strip to the syndicate, it’s out of his/her hands…it never comes back for approval, or proofing, before it runs.A few cartoonists have created a small set of color codes for major characters… things like hair and skin color.. to give to the colorists. There’s very little, or no, other instruction for them, and usually no communication with the artist, to whom they’re anonymous.
Strips very occasionally go back for corrections, if the editor or colorist spots some major mistake that only the cartoonist can fix.Colorists, and even editors, are forbidden to change anything in the B/W line art themselves. But both usually have to work too quickly to read every word or catch every mistake…and there’s often no time to send something back, anyway, as there’s a lot of deadline pressure.
brain Les over 8 years ago
are there really such things as ‘colorists’? Hard to believe, but in this world….
Ermine Notyours over 8 years ago
I wonder if the guy who wants the Calvin & Hobbes reruns to be colored reads this comic.
Not the Smartest Man On the Planet -- Maybe Close Premium Member over 8 years ago
Proper coloring would have helped. Does the colorist even read the strip?
Stephen Gilberg over 8 years ago
To be fair, this guy was introduced before today. The colorist may be going for day-to-day consistency.
eb110americana over 8 years ago
Come on now, let’s not bring race into this…
Powdered, unpowdered, they’re all delicious to me.
John W Kennedy Premium Member over 8 years ago
I figured out years ago that strips are colored by illiterate Chinese orphans working for 3¢ a day and all the vegan roadkill they can eat.
K M over 8 years ago
Looks to me like all the powder’s been scared clean off of him.