I’m facing a bit of a dilemma. I’m considering switching from Photoshop to watercolor or marker when I color future comic pages for Starcrossed.
Anymore making a new page is like pulling teeth, not because I don’t enjoy the comic itself, but because I’m just bored with digital art anymore. If you’ve followed my other artwork recently, you’ll see I’ve been doing a lot of watercolor and honestly I enjoy it. The only time I do digital coloring anymore is here.
I’m trying to find something that sets my stuff apart stylistically from other webcomics and there aren’t really a lot of comics done in traditional media anymore. My watercolors have been getting a pretty good response recently.
I’ve always said Starcrossed has been a learning exercise of sorts, this is my first story driven comic, and I still feel like I’m finding my style. I don’t want to settle in on something I’m bored with.
My only hesitation is consistency. It would be a huge departure from how the colors look now so I’m wanting some feedback from readers.
If you want an idea of what my watercolors would look like, here’s some of my sketches. The pics in my sketchbook section are life drawings and took about 10-15 minutes to do, so drawings for the comic would be more cleaned up, obviously. But that’s the gist of it. And most of those are burlesque models, so some NSFW stuff in parts but nothing too explicit.
Anyway, I kind of feel like I’ve made up my mind but still want to know what you guys think. 
Also in terms of really artsy comics, I recommend checking out any of Dave McKean’s graphic novels, specifically Batman Arkham Asylum or Black Orchid (Black Orchid is my favorite) if you want to see full on paintings in comic form. He’s one of my favorite artists and his collaborations with Neil Gaiman are brilliant.
Yeah, I would totally recommend you go in this direction. Then someday you can go back and redo the beginning if need be. Honestly, I think it will look even better this way!
I’ve been wanting to go back and redo the beginning for a while now, I just haven’t had time. There are definitely certain scenes I would like to go back and do in watercolor.
Personally I think this is a good direction. It stands out of most webcomics, and like Andrea said, you can still redo some later on.
Just like writing (writing is rewriting).
I like watercolor a lot; I am in favor of this change. I am also in favor of any change that makes the comic easier for you. Thanks so much for creating this.
I only know Dave McKean from him doing the covers to all the Sandman books, which really contributed to the whole atmosphere very well.
Water colour is good, and like you said not a lot of web comics done in traditional media. And really, what’s the point of doing something on your own time if you’re bored with the methods?
I haven’t commented here before, but I have been enjoying Starcrossed for a little while now and, having seen the excellent quality of your watercolor pieces, I absolutely think you should go for it. And I really think the style of the comic would fit well with being done in watercolor. I’ve actually been slowly making my way from digital to traditional on my comic and it’s making a huge difference not only in how it looks, but how much time it takes and even in how I feel about it once it’s finished.
If you’re worried about consistency, change at the next chapter.
If not, change it as soon as you want.
I say go ahead and do it! Yes, you can redo everything in the beginning later, even when you finish the comic, there’s no need for it to be redone right away.
Your girlfriend says do it. Just don’t get bored with watercolors.
Water colors will set things aside. Don’t do something you are bored or don’t like doing – that is the quickest way to kill any kind of artistic expression.
Obviously, a story-teller should use whatever medium they are most comfortable and proficient in. Having said that, there is an interesting question in whether or not an aesthetic can influence the… “character” of a story told in a visual medium.
Let’s suppose that, in a visualized story, the narrative (what characters say and do) is more or less independent from the aesthetics (how the characters and settings are rendered). If this were true, then it would not matter if the characters were drawn with charcoal or a mouse, nor would it matter if the characters were meticulously detailed or simply 8-bit sprites. However, the very nature of visual media means that the audience gleams information from every aspect on display, and not just that which is given to us from the stage directions (e.g: Jack moves stage right, Jill yells “No!”).
I’m presently reminded very strongly of Yu+Me:Dream, which used multiple media partially as a result of the artist, Megan Rose Gedris, finding her feet, but also as a means of conveying the shifting, dream-like nature of the reality inhabited by the characters. I personally didn’t care at all for the Shyamalan-esque twist in the middle of her narrative, but Gedris’ use of differing styles and media in that series really was striking, memorable, and effective.
I am poorly equipped to speculate about how a shift from digital to traditional media in *this* comic as an end unto itself (rather than a means to alter the character of the narrative) will change things, either for good or ill. Instead, I will say that you should go with what makes you happy, and that you always have the option to go back and change things.
Thanks for reading my rambling!
-Ry