Episode 30 Production Report

Table of Contents

• Storyboard
• Drawing
• The Color flat issue
• Coloring struggles
• A better method
• Post-mortem

For episode 30, I decided to create a speechbubble-free episode, a tradition I've maintained in the webcomic for every 5th episode (5, 10, 15, 25, 30, etc.). I crafted a simple story for this episode, and this time, I chose to focus on Carrot as the central character.

Storyboard

For the storyboard, I experimented with drawing directly on the final page format using a thick and very grainy brush preset. However, this approach had an unexpected and somewhat perverse effect: it was tempting to simply keep the drawings as they were and color directly underneath them.

Screenshot while storyboarding

Screenshot while storyboarding

Screenshot while storyboarding

Drawing

When I realized that my storyboard lines weren't detailed enough, I started re-drawing them with a thinner pencil brush preset. During this production, I discovered a useful trick: using mid-gray to draw the backgrounds and black to draw the characters. This approach created a clear distinction between the characters and the background, and I found that it worked quite well.

I also made a conscious effort to focus on proportion and perspective in this episode, which was particularly challenging given the number of indoor panels.

Screenshot while drawing

Screenshot while drawing

Screenshot while drawing

Screenshot while drawing

The Color flat issue

However, I soon encountered an issue when I started to flat my colors: the brush preset I had used as a pencil was too grainy, and Krita's Colorize-Mask feature was unable to handle the texture of the pencil lines. I was disappointed, as I had hoped to automate part of the process using Colorize-Mask, but instead, I had to manually flat the entire episode.

A zoom in the Colorize Mask artifact: many issues

Coloring struggles

Before resorting to flat coloring manually, I attempted to "brute force" the coloring on the first page by painting directly underneath my lines.

However, this approach proved to be a mistake, as it required a significant amount of cleanup to achieve good shapes and prevent colors from bleeding outside the thin line art. After experimenting with this technique for two pages and exhaust myself with all the hours necessary to paint this way, I decided to switch to a different approach.

Screenshot while coloring

Screenshot while coloring

A better method

That's how I started to think of a more robust workflow, which I named "Sel, Paint, Post." This workflow is inspired by working with 3D software, and here's how it works:

1. "Sel" is the flat layer, where I paint flat areas with a hard brush. I try to color it as if the scene were illuminated by bright, cold neon light from all directions, revealing the base color of the materials.
2. Once the "Sel" layer is complete, I duplicate it and rename it "Paint." Using the magic wand tool (with a 2-pixel grow and slight smoothing in the tool options), I select each island of color one by one and apply basic shading. I don't worry about cast shadows or ambient light at this stage; instead, I focus on a simple, smooth "Gouraud Shading" (a term borrowed from 3D rendering), which gives each flat area a sense of volume. By duplicating the "Sel" layer, I can select and paint each island directly, without considering the overall picture. This approach allows me to inflate each piece of the picture with volume, piece by piece.
3. Once the work on the "Paint" layer is complete, I duplicate it again. This time, I can experiment with filters to adjust the colors to the final ambiance (for example, shifting the entire scene to a dark blue to create a night scene). I also add cast shadows, specular light reflections, and volumetric and particle effects.

With this method, I can work efficiently and maintain consistent productivity. However, it's also a very boring, repetitive, and industrial process. Don't expect any artistic "happy accidents" to occur with a workflow like this.

Example of the Sel, Paint, Post workflow

Screenshot while coloring with the Sel,Paint,Post workflow

Screenshot while coloring with the Sel,Paint,Post workflow

Post-mortem

I'll always remember this episode as the one where I struggled the most with the rigidity of having created overly precise and thin line-art.

On the other hand, I'll also recall this difficulty as the catalyst that inspired me to develop the "Sel, Paint, Post" method. This method has since been applied to numerous projects, including the MiniFantasyTheater comic series.