Tips to lighting a comic scene

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Yokoboo
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Based on my experience coloring Daughter of the Lilies

The original Post on Twitter
Also found on Tumblr

  1. Develop your spatial awareness. Study light and shadow in real life. Don’t be discouraged if it’s not your strongest skill, working hard to develop a skill means you won’t take it for granted.
  2. Practice painting with both light and shadow, separately and together.
  3. Decide where the light source is in a specific scene and DON’T MOVE IT. Changing your lighting to suit one panel is as disorienting as breaking the 180 rule. Unless it’s attached to something that’s moving, then for goodness sake, it moving should affect the characters.
  4. It’s okay to base your lighting on it enhancing the mood of a specific panel.
  5. It’s okay to break lighting for the sake of the mood of a focal point/panel.
  6. Lighting is NOT the most important part of the scene- it’s a tool to enhance, not the heart of the party.
  7. Lighting is NOT just the shadow and highlight layer. Local color, atmospheric color, relative color of your flats factors into lighting and mood more than the shadow layer.
  8. If lighting is causing problems in highlighting a focal point, FUDGE IT. Make use of reflected light, secondary light sources, etc to help your info remain clear
  9. It’s okay to Fudge things. Fudge things lots, it’s less stressful.
  10. Fudging things= when you say “good enough”,  and make it look good instead of “right”. Not every panel has to be perfect.
  11. Look for opportunities to make interesting shadow shapes and cast shadows. A good shadow shape brings life and depth to an image, and it is delicious to behold.
  12. Rim light and reflected light are your best friends. Especially when you realize the character turned and all you see is shadow.
  13. The less layers you use for lighting, the easier you make things for yourself.
  14. Darker scenes don’t require dark shadows, they require modified flats. Dark scenes are about MOOD.
  15. Dark shadows are to be using sparingly, most often to emphasize bright light. And even then, bright light is more about contrast and controlling your saturation than dark shadows.
  16. Specular highlights are to be used sparingly. They indicate shiny things, but not everything needs to be shiny all at once! Don’t abuse these poor babbehs, they didn’t do anything to you.
  17. Experiment often.
  18. Use reference.
  19. If you gotta choose between scientifically accurate lighting & the composition of the panel- DESIGN TRUMPS REALITY.
    YOU FUDGE THAT PANEL SO IT’S THE PRETTIEST PRINCESS.
  20. If you’re working by yourself, either recheck your work a few days later OR do color comps for your scene/progression in color and lighting before working on a single page (make it part of your thumbnailing/storyboarding process) OR get someone you trust to check your work
  21. If you work with others, ALWAYS have them check your work when you transition to a new lighting scheme.
  22. Sometimes you miss things. It’s okay to let other people catch them.
  23. Don’t sweat the small things. They’re not worth it.
  24. Keep on fudgin’ on *raised fist of solidarity*
© 2017 - 2024 Yokoboo
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CinnaMonroe's avatar
CinnaMonroe
Thanks a lot for the tips and encouragement Yoko! For I'm a n00b at complex lighting/lighting in general, ESPECIALLY backgrounds. All the references indeed but have to start somewhere. If I figure out what's wrong later I can always go back and tweak stuff or just say "hey this was a learning piece for me to know what to do right and wrong"