Shadowman Lettering Submission

[superggraphics]

It's no secret that I'd like to letter and possibly do production work for Valiant so here's the first page of a Shadowman #1 lettering/prepress page I sent them recently... Thought you might like to see it and critique it... I plan on doing some more pages when I get the spare time...



George E Warner

[ian_house]

Looks cool, I really like the intro box. One thing that looks ever so slightly off is that in each speech bubble there seems to be alot of space above the text and it gets a little cramped towards the bottom of each bubble (sorry if that sounds dick-ish). But overall nice style and easy to read

[kjjohanson]

Maybe I'm not understanding what went into this. Since you sent this recently, did you just take the actual art, clear out the text, and re-letter? (I'm guessing that's the case, because the only difference I'm seeing between this and the actual issue is the typeface used.) If that's the case, I think a significant part of the art of lettering has to do with balloon placement & shape, and sound effects (although I'm not certain whether the latter is the letterer or the artist). If my assumption is correct, I would suggest requesting a blank page and the copy to set, although they may not have a try-out system set up (which would be understandable, as I imagine they already have the connections to experienced people to fill their needs).

[Donovan]

There first four balloons need some air to breathe, in my opinion.

I also notice the balloons themselves were sort of squared - not traditional ovals. That may be why they feel a little tighter for me than they should...

[Donovan]

I did like how Josiah's first balloon overlaps Helena's. Almost like he's interrupting her. Not sure if that was done in the original book, but it's a nice touch!

[superggraphics]

Maybe I'm not understanding what went into this. Since you sent this recently, did you just take the actual art, clear out the text, and re-letter? (I'm guessing that's the case, because the only difference I'm seeing between this and the actual issue is the typeface used.) If that's the case, I think a significant part of the art of lettering has to do with balloon placement & shape, and sound effects (although I'm not certain whether the latter is the letterer or the artist). If my assumption is correct, I would suggest requesting a blank page and the copy to set, although they may not have a try-out system set up (which would be understandable, as I imagine they already have the connections to experienced people to fill their needs).

I took a page from the digital copy of the book and lettered it as close to the original in order to show Valiant that I can technically letter in their house style if need be. The fonts used in the actual printed comic were Euphoria for the caption box and Hush Hush for the dialogue I believe. I don't have Hush Hush so I used Astro City which is similar. Dave Lanphear and Rob Steen (Valiant's regular letterers) use mostly Comicraft fonts I believe although I haven't researched all of the books to see what is all actually being used. If I did the page my way it would look quite a bit different but as I said I wanted to show Valiant that I can letter in their house style if need be. And yes I don't expect any work from Valiant as they have Rob and Dave but I sure won't let it stop me from trying. Once you give up trying you're a quitter and I'm not a quitter.

G

[kjjohanson]

Maybe I'm not understanding what went into this. Since you sent this recently, did you just take the actual art, clear out the text, and re-letter? (I'm guessing that's the case, because the only difference I'm seeing between this and the actual issue is the typeface used.) If that's the case, I think a significant part of the art of lettering has to do with balloon placement & shape, and sound effects (although I'm not certain whether the latter is the letterer or the artist). If my assumption is correct, I would suggest requesting a blank page and the copy to set, although they may not have a try-out system set up (which would be understandable, as I imagine they already have the connections to experienced people to fill their needs).

I took a page from the digital copy of the book and lettered it as close to the original in order to show Valiant that I can technically letter in their house style if need be. The fonts used in the actual printed comic were Euphoria for the caption box and Hush Hush for the dialogue I believe. I don't have Hush Hush so I used Astro City which is similar. Dave Lanphear and Rob Steen (Valiant's regular letterers) use mostly Comicraft fonts I believe although I haven't researched all of the books to see what is all actually being used. If I did the page my way it would look quite a bit different but as I said I wanted to show Valiant that I can letter in their house style if need be. And yes I don't expect any work from Valiant as they have Rob and Dave but I sure won't let it stop me from trying. Once you give up trying you're a quitter and I'm not a quitter.

G

I'm not suggesting that you quit, but it doesn't seem like this is a very effective method to prove your skills. As I mentioned, I think half the job is the choice of placement, and using the existing placement doesn't show your capabilities in that area. Ideally, you need to find an avenue of submitting something where the page is clean, you have copy to be added, and there's not a reference for you to copy, in order to show that the decisions made are all yours.

[Donovan]

Here's what I'd recommend doing, based on how I've gotten colouring work.

1. Sequential pages. Show them the flow of a string of pages, rather than just a single page. Show them you can tell the story.
2. As a colourist, I wouldn't recolour something they've already had coloured and published, as it only leads the editor to make comparisons against someone who they've already got a relationship with. I assume the same goes for lettering. If they are unhappy with who is currently doing the job then this might give you an edge, but you don't know the relationship. Best to leave it be. Which leads to...
3. Get a gig on an indie book, knock that out of the park, and be proud of it. If I remember, I think you've lettered indie books before. I'd put a proper sample together of your established work, and send it in to them!

Donovan

[superggraphics]

To be honest, I've sent examples of my original work, their work with my letters before the pages were published, and now this stab at just blatantly reproducing what you all see in the published books with no response to date. My next step will be to send them copies of my published work with all original lets and prepress work and see how that goes. Bang, Bang, Bang... And I've got a gig on an indy book, it's called Man Of God and is distributed through the Diamond Previews catalogue...

G

[superggraphics]

Here's a page from the Unity 2000 Fan Project that I'm lettering and it's all me...



G

[Phantom..]

Spoiler alert .

Best ballon IMO is the bottom right.
Saying that, I am not distracted by the others.

Did you place the ballons? In the unity page.

How much freedom does the software allow for spacing between lines, and shape?

[kjjohanson]

Spoiler alert .

Best ballon IMO is the bottom right.
Saying that, I am not distracted by the others.

Did you place the ballons? In the unity page.

How much freedom does the software allow for spacing between lines, and shape?

I can't speak for what software supergraphics might be using, but I'd guess that most letterers use Adobe Illustrator, which is entirely flexible in regards to leading (spacing between lines) and shape.