For those of you wanting to draw comics...

[Blake Sims]

That's a good movie. Those were cool shots as well.

[JHickman]

Really cool and effective....

until the letterer has to do his job.

Nah. This makes it easier for both the letterer to do his/her job and for readability.

[TonyFleecs]

Shit! All this time I've been ripping off Take the Money & Run.

[JHickman]

Shit! All this time I've been ripping off Take the Money & Run.

[Run-BMC]

Nah. This makes it easier for both the letterer to do his/her job and for readability.

I can understand that, but you don't think that some of the panels' impacts would be diminished with tails and balloons?

I think the one that looks like it's in a studio is awesome, with the tiny pocket of light framed by the dark shapes. It's beautiful. Now imagine that with balloons and tails. Yeah it's perfectly legible, but a letterer that's just doing his/her job might not be so careful to preserve the meaning of the black shapes, and even if they were, might not be able to keep the initial impact.

However, as an establishing shot or dialogue break it's perfect.

Also, I don't see how have a third shot with two characters on one side having a dialogue could be easily lettered without tails making things at least a little LESS clear. (Of course I'm not a letterer, but it's stuff I think a layour artist has to keep in mind, as you'd know. Come to think of it, how would you approach it, as someone who's done scripting, layout, and lettering?)

[Ashwin Pande]

I think Choi has a good point. These look great without lettering but with lettering, especially if there's a lot of dialog going on, the impact of the shot would be diminished.

You could use different colored captions on the negative side of the panel but then the entire point of negative space goes out the window.

One way to do this could be to have dialog outside the panel border... but it would mean making the panel smaller to fit in the lettering outside. Again taking away from the negative space concept.

[NeverWanderer]

I think Choi has a good point. These look great without lettering but with lettering, especially if there's a lot of dialog going on, the impact of the shot would be diminished.

You could use different colored captions on the negative side of the panel but then the entire point of negative space goes out the window.

One way to do this could be to have dialog outside the panel border... but it would mean making the panel smaller to fit in the lettering outside. Again taking away from the negative space concept.

What about doing semi-transparent word balloons? That could still deliver the dialogue with little intrusion upon the art.

[c. page]

What about doing semi-transparent word balloons? That could still deliver the dialogue with little intrusion upon the art.

i think the dialogue would lose something there, though. the art behind it may distract.

some of those shots are amazing, and maybe as establishing shots or dialogue breaks they would work, like choi said.

i'm curious what the letterer would say in this. i'd love to hear tom mauer's thoughts.

[TonyFleecs]

What about doing semi-transparent word balloons? That could still deliver the dialogue with little intrusion upon the art.

I really can't get down with the transparent balloons at all. It's an example of the words and art not working together... it looks like they're at odds with each other.

Whenever I see it I think either the artist thinks his shit's impeccable and shouldn't be covered at all or the writer's not confident. But that's probably just me.

[mario]

um? it is the artists' job to account for the lettering as well. Compose your panels with the balloons already. don't trust anybody else with your composition