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Thursday, September 2, 2010
The 3 R's of Lettering (Part 2)
Jason Hanely talks to Robbie Robbins
Part 2
A wise man (Dan Wickline) once told me that a letterer is the same as an offensive linemen in football; the only time you hear about them is when they do something wrong. Last week, we spoke to the man who may have single-handedly changed the face of comic books forever, Richard Starkings. Richard has done a lot to gain the recognition that the comic book letterer really deserves, but the job doesn’t stop there. Many more talented letterers are coming out of the …woods… or… wherever they hide, and they’re taking their jobs seriously.
Yet they still have a lot of fun.
One of the best examples of a hard-working, talented and fun-loving letterer is IDW Publishing’s Robbie Robbins. With the amount of work the guy has on his desk, he’d have to love his job, or he’d snap…
Let’s ask him about it.
Hanley: Why letter comic books? What’s in it for you?
Robbins: Although it is a small part of the book, it makes you feel like you have had a piece of this book going out. And for me personally, I really enjoy the work. As a kid I did a lot of "BOMB" style art on my book covers. Like making "MATH" look like NYC subway street art. I was (and am) a huge Beastie Boys fan. Little did I know I would be doing something similar as a living.
Hanley: Where did you get your start in the business?
Robbins: My first job in the comic biz was at pre-DC Wildstorm. While there, I had hands-on experience doing everything from printing film to book layout, graphic design to color flats, and of course, lettering. And because of Jim Lee and John Nee, I was able to excel at WildStorm and be a part of IDW.
Hanley: What are some of your other duties when creating a comic?
Robbins: Like everyone at IDW, I wear many hats. Besides being part owner with Ted Adam, Kris Oprisko, and Alex Garner, I am responsible for the design, layout, production and printing of our books. Basically, I have my hand in every book that goes out our door.
Hanley: Explain the process a bit. How do YOU letter a page?
Robbins: I letter all our books in Adobe Illustrator, using the following steps:
1. I scale down the art to a resolution of 100 dpi, but leaving the art in the original dimension size. You want to work with the original size to keep all the balloons and text a uniform size when "pasting-up" the balloons (step 6).
2. I have created templates over the years, with different balloon shapes and font styles and sizes. Being a non-perfect speller, I will copy and paste the dialogue from the original script (usually in a Word Document). At this stage, I will usually have Cindy Chapman help "drop in the text".
3. Once the text is dropped in, I will go in and reshape and flow text in every balloon. To get a balloon to look right may take some work, especially if there is a lot of text and not a lot of room in the art panel. I ran into the issue with Beau Smith's Wynonna Earp.
4. Placing the pointer (the balloon tail) is what completes the balloon. I take the end of the pointer (which is pointing to the mouth of the character speaking) and follow the curve of the pointer so it always leads to the center of the balloon. If the curve does not lead to the center, I move the balloon, pointer... or start over.
5. The page then goes through the proofing process with our editors, Kris and Jeff Mariotte.
6. Paste-up. I always copy and paste the lettering from Illustrator on to the original Photoshop file of the high-resolution artwork. This is where I fine tune placement of balloons.
Now I have lettered a page.
Hanley: Is there a “best method” of placing words on the page?
Robbins: When Mike Heisler was teaching me how to letter at WildStorm, one quote he said has always stuck in my mind: "The best lettering is the lettering unnoticed." Meaning, fans are not buying this book to check out my pretty balloons, but rather the art and story. Never cover the heads of character, always make sure the balloons read in order and NEVER, NEVER cover a woman's chest with a word balloon.
Hanley: I’ve… actually purchased comics specifically to look at the pretty balloons. But that’s a different story. Okay, what’s the toughest part about lettering?
Robbins: Creating sound effects.
Hanley: Have you ever had to “bend the rules” to get the job done?
Robbins: Yes, on creating sound effects. You should treat each sound effect as a new word balloon, but I have re-used a BANG or CRASH here and there, when the book needs to get to press.
Hanley: What are your thoughts on the use of "Thought Balloons?"
Robbins: I usually do not like to use them, but they do work in some cases. Yesterday, I was working on Olympus Heights #2, by Kevin Munroe, and a guy wakes up in the arms of a woman and is not sure how he got there. We need to hear what he is thinking, but a word balloon might wake her up, and the last thing you want to do is wake up a strange girl in your bed before you can sort out what happened, so the thought balloons worked well.
Hanley: Are there any exemplary pieces of work out there that an up-and-coming Letterer should look at for inspiration?
Robbins: Everyone has a different style of lettering, and writers, creators, and editors all like different styles. Ashley Wood's Popbot is completely different than our CSI titles, and the 30 Days of Night series has its own style of balloons and use of fonts. Flip through books at your comic shop and find what is most eye pleasing to you. Try to mimic the balloons and sound effects.
Hanley: Any final words of wisdom for someone trying to break into Lettering?
Robbins: The good: there are not a lot of letterers in the business, The bad: most of those guys have all the jobs. Quality is always top priority, but since the letterer is usually the last piece of the puzzle before the books go to press, you must have a fast turn-around for your editors. Keep practicing to get the speed and the quality you need. Good luck.
Hanley: Very cool. Thanks, Robbie!
- Jason Hanley
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
