Catching a Vision 007
Learning the Craft of Lettering
Catching a Vision, the weekly column on Comic Related from C. Edward Sellner, Founder and Creative Director of Visionary Comics Studio, provides practical guidance on how to break into the comics industry, as well as insights into this medium we all love. With resources you can order online, interviews and debates with comic professionals, and online workshops, this is your best introduction into the wonders of creating comics!
I need to give a tip of the hat to Jason Arthur, our ace letterer and current lettering pop star for his terrific work on our comic series Headlocked. Believe it or not, yours truly does not have expertise in EVERY aspect of comics. Nope, far from it. I don't know didly about the technical aspects of lettering and pre-press. So, I had to call in some help and Jason seemed just the man to do it. So, I picked his brain on the "need to know" of the work.
Overview...
I've heard it said if you want to break into comics and want to find the easiest door to get in, learn how to letter. Letterers are critical and they aren't going to go away with any technological advancement any time in this generation. Right? Well, duh. You can't read a story without the lettering, it's like watching a movie with the sound off.
But this is also the job with perhaps the least glamour in the industry. You just don't have people lining up to see their favorite letterers. Heck, these stalwarts often get overlooked even by the media and sometimes even taken for granted by publishers themselves. The fact of the matter is this is not only critical, but probably one of the jobs with the least competition of people wanting to break into the industry, so, it can be a good foot in the door.
However, please don't make the same mistake that a lot of the general public makes... "Aww, anyone can paste words on the page!" Hardly.
The Challenges...
This is another job that requires a level of technical proficiency as most all lettering is now done via computer. There are some traditionalists, like Steve Rude's efforts, who prefer the classic hand lettering, so there are options there. However, to be honest, hand-lettering is not going to make you very in demand with most, and is far more time consuming so, you will do less work when you do find it.
As far as the software you use, Jason recommends Adobe Illustrator 10 or higher. In general, you want to work with something that is effective with vector based files so that everything stays crisp and clear. AI, Jason says, gives great options and control with text and balloons.
To use my mantra, if some of that didn't make sense, then yes, you still have to learn a lot about the mechanics of lettering. So, again, this might mean a college or local training class in the software before even trying out.
Then once you get the technical expertise, there is still the 'artistic' end.
"What's artistic about lettering?" I hear you ask.
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The Basic Mechanics: Tell the Story, Don't be the Story
As I first mentioned with coloring, comics being a collaborative medium, the more 'defined' the comic gets, the more important it is that each succeeding member of the team work to help complement what has already been done, not compete with it.
The reason lettering doesn't get tons of accolades, is because the best letterers do their job well, which is to tell the story without attracting attention to their work. See, lettering is something of an oddity. Let me explain. Good stories are part of what we enjoy about comics. Great art is something else we enjoy about comics. Lettering is a necessary tool for comics to work. In some ways, the lettering itself detracts, because it covers up the pretty art, but it is a functional necessity for the book to have an actual story. So, the goal of a letterer is to artfully fulfill that functional necessity and intrude on the flow of story and the art itself as little as possible.
In other words, really good lettering, you almost forget it's there. When someone 'notices' lettering itself, it's usually because it's a poorly done job. People start to 'notice' the lettering when they can't read something, or balloons are placed awkwardly and they read something in the wrong sequence, etc.
The best work is always the style and approach that makes the story easy to read. It flows well, so that the reader always knows WHO is speaking and in what sequence everything should be read. It fades into the panel without being awkwardly placed over the art in such a way that it seems to be clubbing someone over the head or coming out someone's nose. It should add a definite touch to the story, but always work to advance the story, not call attention to itself by being 'too cool'.
Good lettering should be in font styles that are easy to read, sized well for the work, and have a minimum of 'flourish' so they translate and read well on the printed page. I've seen comics with such fancy fonts or printed so small, I couldn't actually read the text without squinting, and I have excellent eyesight thank you very much.
Balloons can make or break the lettering as well. With the digital age, fancy balloons are now often used, giving a unique feel to the dialogue of certain characters, noting narration by certain characters in captions etc. However, this is a fine and dangerous line to walk. Go too far and it just looks like colorful clutter overpowering the art. Go too minimal, with generic balloons and it looks like it's done by an amateur.
The good letterer finds that artistic balance between functionality and art.
What do I mean here? Well, for example, back in the peak of Star Trek comics from Malibu and DC, narrative caption boxes were used that had a look similar to the iconic computer screens in the series, with little sidebars, icons, etc. Those were great because they reflected a visual that was part of the series, struck a chord with fans, but were subtle and still blended into the art. I also remember a time when every word balloon spoken by the Human Torch when he was aflame, was also on fire. They were bright orange, with flames at the top, and bright yellow lettering. It was obnoxious and did not last long. They were too visual, screaming for attention, crying out, look at me, I'm cool!
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Beyond these basics there are a few other things any aspiring letterer should keep in mind...
Obviously, letterers pull their information from the comic script. Remember that thing we created back under the Writers section? Yeah, well, it gets used again as the actual dialogue and captions are lettered into the book. Letterers therefore should have a good working knowledge of script format and especially the script shorthand that impacts their work. For example, they need to know CAP means that given text should be put in a caption box. OP usually means the words are being spoken by a character Off Panel. ELEC / RADIO etc. is sometimes included to show words spoken are actually being transmitted, coming through a radio, or other electrical device, and the balloon should reflect such.
Letterers also insert sound-effects, so they should be skilled at placing not only more typical comic text, but have a range of styles for effects and such to use on various stories, again, reflecting the art, style and mood of the story overall.
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Perhaps MOST importantly, letterers are the last creative link in a long chain. So, on most books that have deadlines to be at the printer, the letterer is the one most often looked to to 'catch up' the slack. In other words, good letterers need to be fast, because chances are a late script, slow penciler, sick inker, or a lazy colorist means you're going to get the book with a frantic editor asking if it can be finished by yesterday. Such is the life.
So in short, if you have a passion for and learn your stuff, you may just find one of the least crowded doorways into the comics industry, yet one of the most functionally integral roles in comics.
Dotted throughout this column are some samples of various VCS letterers, Jason Arthur, Kris Black and fellow Comic-Related columnist, Brant Fowler. All of whom are available for work and you can find their formal portfolios on Visionary's Freelance Lettering site. Thanks guys.
Software...
Here's the latest Adobe Illustrator Software, but remember, anything 10 or above is good.
If you're new to Photoshop, or even if your not, here is a highly recommended visual tutorial series on using Adobe.
Book Recommendations...
Then when you're ready to learn the craft itself...
Online Resources...
This links to the forums at Digital Webbing where you can post some samples and get good feedback.
Todd Klein has also made a fantastic website for lettering information. It has some excellent free fonts along with some very reasonably priced pro fonts. You can also find some excellent tips there.
Blambot And Comicraft have wonderful websites with tips, fonts and more!
Then of course... and you thought I forgot...
Dave Law's Creating Comics, the treasure trove of goodies!
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Next...
Interviews are coming, but in this regular spot...we have one more stop in our basic introduction series of Learning the Craft: Editing!
Perhaps no job in comics has been more maligned! Fairly or Unfairly? Well, we'll talk about that more in the column, but like most things, when it's done right, it's integral to the creative process! (Of course, you just kinda knew yours truly, a comic book editor, would think that huh?)
Join the discussion and add your thoughts on this edition, or the column in general. If you have any questions or suggestions for resources, post them or email them to Sellner so they can be included in future columns. Are you an aspiring or up and coming creator and would like to share your story? Email Sellner and let him know who you are and what you've done.
C. Edward Sellner is the co-founder and Creative Director of Visionary Comics Studio, a studio that within its first two years has drawn high praise from the media and attracted the attention of legendary creators in the comics industry. They have been digitally and print published in the mainstream market and their creators currently work with over a dozen different publishers. Their work has been featured on television news shows, radio programs and internet podcasts as well as featured in every major comics news site online.
Contact him directly at cedwardsellner@aol.com
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