Sunday, July 15, 2007

Jan





TOM- So here is that sketchbook comic that i posted a while back, which i then refined and made into a black and white mini to sell at Mocca and now added color to it. I felt like i needed to experiment with coloring a comic, since all of my comics are black and white. I tried to apply stuff that i learned while interning with cartoonist Jason Little. He really knows how to set mood and believable lighting to really throw you into his stories. I might have went a little crazy with the burn and the dodge tools, but i just can't help myself with those things sometimes. I was glad to see James posting a comic, and i look to be posting some more very soon!

4 comments:

james flames said...

AMAZING!!!!
the coloring is be-you-tiful. and the storytelling is seemless. great mood throughout, and the last panel has such a 'dan decarlo' kinda vibe, i love it.
actually it reads like a sophisticated archie story - simple, self contained, short and ends with a one-liner.

two things tho:
#1 - from now on, POST BIGGER IMAGES!!!! they're so small, it's a shame i can't really see all the detail you put into it. my rule of thumb (and this is just personally for me) is i always make the longest side of the image 880 pixels.

#2 - you need a PROOFREADER!!! you put all that work into the artwork, storytelling, inks, and color, it's a shame when a proofreading error winds up sticking out like a sore thumb. for instance, page 1 panel 3 should read "Um, it's Jan. It says so on my shirt." and the last page panel 1, there's no question mark.

these little things are very important. i'd be happy to help proofread, and i know Ray would be able to catch any mistakes easily - a quick step before you go to inks. makes a huge difference.

your lettering is great tho - goes perfect with the style and subject matter of the strip. great job overall, really. so inspiring for me - i gotta go draw something!

james flames said...

...reading it again, my favorite panels are definitely page 2/panel 2 and page 3/panel 2....priceless.

thomas pitilli said...

Thanks man!

Anonymous said...

Page 2 panel 2 was one of my favorites, too, he looks genuinely excited. But I've always been partial to Page 4, panel 2, even in the sketches, don't ask me why. The whole theme of walking to work fits in well with the recent efforts of the Bloomberg administration to make NYC Green, you should see it you can get a deal with them.

Hahahaha anyway I like the coloring as well, and I've always liked this strip since you first showed me the sketches.

I don't know, James, if that it/so is a matter of proofreading. "It says it on my shirt" sounds a little awkward, but it is a moment of dialogue and people do speak awkwardly, especially Brooklyn waitresses (ask Tom, he loves dumb, inarticulate waitresses) and especially while a-courtin'. Same with "I've never rode on a horse before", which is gramatically incorrect.

The missing question mark, however, is definitely an oversight, and James is right you probably should have someone look over it.

While we're at it, hi James! :)