color coding flashbacks

TKpinkerton · Dec 1, 2014

I'm thinking that having the flashbacks in the comics I draw only use a certain color palette might be nice, but I'm not super sure how to go about it. The first thing that comes to mind is having them in sepia but I don't know if thats what I want to go with. Has anyone seen this done well or done this themselves? Any advice would be greatly apreciated!

dpaterso · Dec 3, 2014

Sure, using sepia or B/W is pretty standard, I think. Yes I've seen it, yes I've used it. Alternatives are to use a different kind of frame border, rounded corners for example, or distorted edge, and/or a caption box with the date and maybe the location, e.g. "5 YEARS AGO."

-Derek

TKpinkerton · Dec 4, 2014

Oh I like that using a different frame idea thank you!

Layla Lawlor · Dec 4, 2014

Another thing I've seen is a different colored background (e.g. panels imposed on a black background instead of the usual white one).

I've occasionally used faded panel borders instead of crisp ones on some of mine.

I also like the idea of a limited color palette; I did one of my flashbacks in shades of blue, figuring it would be more interesting than sepia (not that sepia doesn't work beautifully; the webcomic Lackadaisy is all in sepia for a nice old-timey effect!). Another thing I've done in flashbacks is to use a regular grid (e.g. 6 equal-sized panels on the page) where I normally have no regular grid pattern; the above-linked flashback is also an example of that.

color coding flashbacks

TKpinkerton

dpaterso

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TKpinkerton

Layla Lawlor