Creation of a comic page as a trial assignment
Budget: €250 – €750 EUR
1. Project goal
Creation of a comic page in A3 format (6–8 panels) as a trial assignment to establish the atmosphere, style, and visual language of the project. The artist has creative freedom in the panel layout, but should adhere to the content and stylistic guidelines. This first page will serve as the basis for possible follow-up assignments.
2. General guidelines
• Setting: Dystopian sci-fi world, a mixture of clinical-futuristic and dark-mystical.
• Atmosphere: Threatening, mysterious, gritty, cinematic.
• Characters: Mercenaries (Finn, Alix, Rees) at the center. Emotions, postures, and color accents should support the narrative style.
• Color scheme: Monochromatic with selective color accents (e.g., teal/cyan in shadows, warm gold/orange highlights). Drawn in the style of a realistic graphic novel / cinematic illustration style.
• Rights: All rights are transferred to the client. Use in portfolio possible by arrangement.
3. Sample panel (for exact reproduction)
Scene & image composition
• Format & cropping: 16:9 (horizontal cinema crop). Medium close-up shoulder view: head cropped at the top, chest visible to the middle. Figure centered, slight camera tilt.
• Camera/optics: Equivalent to 35 mm f/4, distance ~1.5 m, focus on eyes/face. Background softly blurred.
• Pose & expression: Male figure, prominent jawline, short beard, serious, focused expression, slight frown. Body turned 3/4 toward the camera. Shoulder strap/jacket visible.
• Background: Industrial interior with pipes, light panels, dust particles, and sparks.
• Lighting: Key/backlight from top-left rear (warm/orange), fill light from front-right (cool/teal). Strong reflections on metal and slightly damp skin.
• Materials & microdetails:
o Clothing: Leather/canvas with wrinkles, dirt, scratch marks.
o Skin: Pores, stubble, fine scars.
o Metal: Scratches, clear reflections.
• Color & mood: Teal/cyan in shadows (#0F4B50, #2B6F72), gold/orange highlights (#F2A34A, #E7B96E), olive midtones (#6B6A3E), rust (#8B4C2B).
4. Drawing style & technique
• Basic style: Graphic novel/cinematic hybrid: hand-inked lines + digital gouache/watercolor washes.
• Line work: Variable contours – fine lines for details (eyes, skin), bold strokes for silhouettes and clothing.
• Texture & shadows: expressive hatching/cross-hatching for depth & shadow areas; stippling for close-up details (e.g., pores).
• Color application:
o Base: rough gouache/watercolor areas, visibly granulated.
o Overlay: clear ink lines.
o Finish: texture overlays (paper grain, noise).
• Skin modeling: semi-realistic, with local color variations and slight subsurface glow.
• Effects:
o Specular highlights on metal/wet skin.
o Subtle bloom around light sources.
o Subtle chromatic aberration at the edge of the image.
o Film grain (ISO 400–800 aesthetic).
• Detail distribution:
o Max. detail on face/eyes.
o Medium detail on clothing and equipment.
o Background painterly, softly blended.
5. Layer workflow (digital implementation)
1. Base washes (gouache, soft color areas)
2. Ink/ink wash (lines, hatching)
3. Texture overlays (paper grain, noise)
4. Adjustment layers: Multiply for shadows, Overlay/Color Dodge for highlights
5. Fine effects: Noise/Grain, Bloom, Chromatic Aberration
6. What to avoid
• No excessive digital smoothing
• No flat watercolor washes
• No cell shading
• No anime aesthetics
7. Objective of the page
• Panel 1 (large): Atmosphere + architecture + protagonists (introduction).
• Additional panels (6–8 total): Balance between wide angle (environment) and close-ups (emotions/dialogue).
• Tone: Calm and atmospheric start → Build up to dynamic, intense moments.
Creation of a comic page in A3 format (6–8 panels) as a trial assignment to establish the atmosphere, style, and visual language of the project. The artist has creative freedom in the panel layout, but should adhere to the content and stylistic guidelines. This first page will serve as the basis for possible follow-up assignments.
2. General guidelines
• Setting: Dystopian sci-fi world, a mixture of clinical-futuristic and dark-mystical.
• Atmosphere: Threatening, mysterious, gritty, cinematic.
• Characters: Mercenaries (Finn, Alix, Rees) at the center. Emotions, postures, and color accents should support the narrative style.
• Color scheme: Monochromatic with selective color accents (e.g., teal/cyan in shadows, warm gold/orange highlights). Drawn in the style of a realistic graphic novel / cinematic illustration style.
• Rights: All rights are transferred to the client. Use in portfolio possible by arrangement.
3. Sample panel (for exact reproduction)
Scene & image composition
• Format & cropping: 16:9 (horizontal cinema crop). Medium close-up shoulder view: head cropped at the top, chest visible to the middle. Figure centered, slight camera tilt.
• Camera/optics: Equivalent to 35 mm f/4, distance ~1.5 m, focus on eyes/face. Background softly blurred.
• Pose & expression: Male figure, prominent jawline, short beard, serious, focused expression, slight frown. Body turned 3/4 toward the camera. Shoulder strap/jacket visible.
• Background: Industrial interior with pipes, light panels, dust particles, and sparks.
• Lighting: Key/backlight from top-left rear (warm/orange), fill light from front-right (cool/teal). Strong reflections on metal and slightly damp skin.
• Materials & microdetails:
o Clothing: Leather/canvas with wrinkles, dirt, scratch marks.
o Skin: Pores, stubble, fine scars.
o Metal: Scratches, clear reflections.
• Color & mood: Teal/cyan in shadows (#0F4B50, #2B6F72), gold/orange highlights (#F2A34A, #E7B96E), olive midtones (#6B6A3E), rust (#8B4C2B).
4. Drawing style & technique
• Basic style: Graphic novel/cinematic hybrid: hand-inked lines + digital gouache/watercolor washes.
• Line work: Variable contours – fine lines for details (eyes, skin), bold strokes for silhouettes and clothing.
• Texture & shadows: expressive hatching/cross-hatching for depth & shadow areas; stippling for close-up details (e.g., pores).
• Color application:
o Base: rough gouache/watercolor areas, visibly granulated.
o Overlay: clear ink lines.
o Finish: texture overlays (paper grain, noise).
• Skin modeling: semi-realistic, with local color variations and slight subsurface glow.
• Effects:
o Specular highlights on metal/wet skin.
o Subtle bloom around light sources.
o Subtle chromatic aberration at the edge of the image.
o Film grain (ISO 400–800 aesthetic).
• Detail distribution:
o Max. detail on face/eyes.
o Medium detail on clothing and equipment.
o Background painterly, softly blended.
5. Layer workflow (digital implementation)
1. Base washes (gouache, soft color areas)
2. Ink/ink wash (lines, hatching)
3. Texture overlays (paper grain, noise)
4. Adjustment layers: Multiply for shadows, Overlay/Color Dodge for highlights
5. Fine effects: Noise/Grain, Bloom, Chromatic Aberration
6. What to avoid
• No excessive digital smoothing
• No flat watercolor washes
• No cell shading
• No anime aesthetics
7. Objective of the page
• Panel 1 (large): Atmosphere + architecture + protagonists (introduction).
• Additional panels (6–8 total): Balance between wide angle (environment) and close-ups (emotions/dialogue).
• Tone: Calm and atmospheric start → Build up to dynamic, intense moments.