Colors are very important for Super Tess.
When I was making her character, I wanted to use colors that would have been used in old comic books. Tess is an old-fashioned superhero after all, so she needs to look the part! The two colors that I decided on were yellow, like in the old Xmen comics, and red, like Spider Man.
Red is the color of courage, and yellow is energetic and positive. I wanted Tessa to be a positive and powerful character, whose colors stand out against her background. Looking at old comic books, you can definitely see how these colors were used in the past. The bright yellow background allowed comic artists to skip the detailed city scenes and make a strong impression. I want those reds and yellows on my characters!
The reason for those bright colors are ben-day dots, an older, cheaper way of printing colors. You can still sometimes see this method on advertisements for grocery stores. The dots are printed in the four printing colors: red/magenta, cyan blue, yellow, and Key (Black). This is the CMYK method.
Modern printers are more sophisticated than this, but the image of these dots is closely associated with comic books and super heroes, even now!
For my work, I plan on making Tessa stand out against her backgrounds with her bright and vibrant superhero costume, while dulling down the colors of her surroundings. Nick is also in dull colors, but he still has his bright red hair and bag, to help him stand out.
I hope you found this interesting! Stay tuned for more updates and art tips!
