Are Color Proofs Considered ORIGINAL ART?

[jbailey-migration]

I've recently become aware of a neat collectible known as a COLOR PROOF. For those who don't know, (I didn't) these are reproductions of the artist's pencils colored by the colorist for approval by the editor I suppose.

 

They are copies of the art, but they are colored by the colorist, so that makes them kind of one-of-a-kind...right?

 

Anyway my question are; are they considered "original art" and are they valuable?

[Mac Man]

We've had some good discussion about this- do a search for color guides (another term for color proof) and you should have some answers to your question

[Mister Trent]

I've recently become aware of a neat collectible known as a COLOR PROOF. For those who don't know, (I didn't) these are reproductions of the artist's pencils colored by the colorist for approval by the editor I suppose.

 

They are copies of the art, but they are colored by the colorist, so that makes them kind of one-of-a-kind...right?

 

Anyway my question are; are they considered "original art" and are they valuable?

 

They're wonderful and very unique. You should buy as much of this good stuff as you can. (thumbs u

[TMNT]

I would say that generally speaking, they are not nearly as valuable as "standard" pen/ink art, but I still think they are pretty cool. I have a few pieces myself and find it a great way to get some neat art, at a discounted price. Its especially useful if you can't find/afford the original pen/inks for whatever pages or covers you're interested in and want the next best thing IMO.

 

 

[Sharkey]

I think you're actually talking about color guides not color proofs. People use the terms interchangeably (even people in the printing industry) but they are not quite the same thing.

 

A COLOR GUIDE is typically a hand-colored mockup of the art that was made to help the printer do the color separations in the 4-color process. You see these occasionally for older comics before they had computers doing this work for them.

COLOR GUIDES are somewhat collectible -- they are one-of-a-kind items, and I suppose are a form of original art.

However, a lot of people think that the original artist who drew a comic or a cover also made the color guides, but to my knowledge that would have been extremely rare and unlikely. Usually a lower-paid staff member did the color guides. For example, Marvel apparently numerous people in the office who would, as time allowed, work on color guides. Stan Goldberg was one of their main people but I've also seen work done by Marie Severin, who probably did it to get work when things were slow, or when somebody else was sick or behind in their work. Many times it's not known who did the color guide because they weren't signed, and in many cases you might not recognize the name anyway.

Collecting of Color Guides is a personal preference. I personally think they're cool. But I wouldn't pay a lot for one unless it was really something unique.

 

 

A COLOR PROOF is a printed copy of the art usually on glossy thick dylux paper that is done during press setup to make sure the color separations and weights are correct and that the color is as intended prior to starting the run. Sometimes in long print runs they would stop and adjust color and may have output proof to correct an over or undercoloration of one of the four ink colors.

Sometimes they are computer-generated printouts rather than run off of a printing press.

COLOR PROOFS may be collectible, but they are not one-of-a-kind items. The pressmen may have run numerous proofs in attempts to get the color correct for a particular job. Or a graphics person may have printed out several versions of a computer-generated proof to have the art director or lead colorist look it over.

There may be written notes on these indicating where colors need to be tweaked.

COLOR PROOFS are NOT original art. They are press proofs and are derived from the print production process (I suppose they would be considered production art, but they're not really "art" they are just printed pieces).

 

Don't confuse the two. You commonly see Proofs called Guides and vice versa. (thumbs u

 

 

[Mister Trent]

 

COLOR GUIDES are somewhat collectible -- they are one-of-a-kind items, and I suppose are a form of original art.

However, a lot of people think that the original artist who drew a comic or a cover also made the color guides, but to my knowledge that would have been extremely rare and unlikely. Usually a lower-paid staff member did the color guides. For example, Marvel apparently numerous people in the office who would, as time allowed, work on color guides. Stan Goldberg was one of their main people but I've also seen work done by Marie Severin, who probably did it to get work when things were slow, or when somebody else was sick or behind in their work. Many times it's not known who did the color guide because they weren't signed, and in many cases you might not recognize the name anyway.

 

Marie Severin was EC's colorist during the 1950s (she worked as a colorist before she progressed onto strip-illustration later on in her career). Marie would receive stats of the EC artists' b&w art (known as 'Silver Prints'), which she would color directly. Marie would also provide EC's printers with instructions on how to match her hues.

 

Examples of surviving Marie Severin colored 'Silver Prints' can be seen in Digby Diehl's book, TALES FROM THE CRYPT.

 

Harvey Kurtzman would provide painted color roughs of the covers of the EC titles he wrote and edited. Kurtzman considered the use of color of paramount importance to the story-telling process

 

A number of Kurtzman's Color Roughs survive to this day - including that for MAD # 1 (later issued as a limited edition print).

 

 

 

 

[Sharkey]

 

COLOR GUIDES are somewhat collectible -- they are one-of-a-kind items, and I suppose are a form of original art.

However, a lot of people think that the original artist who drew a comic or a cover also made the color guides, but to my knowledge that would have been extremely rare and unlikely. Usually a lower-paid staff member did the color guides. For example, Marvel apparently numerous people in the office who would, as time allowed, work on color guides. Stan Goldberg was one of their main people but I've also seen work done by Marie Severin, who probably did it to get work when things were slow, or when somebody else was sick or behind in their work. Many times it's not known who did the color guide because they weren't signed, and in many cases you might not recognize the name anyway.

 

Marie Severin was EC's colorist during the 1960s (she worked as a colorist before she progressed onto strip-illustration later on in her career). Marie would receive stats of the EC artists' b&w art (known as 'Silver Prints'), which she would color directly. Marie would also provide EC's printers with instructions on how to match her hues.

 

Examples of surviving Marie Severin colored 'Silver Prints' can be seen in Digby Diehl's book, TALES FROM THE CRYPT.

 

Harvey Kurtzman would provide painted color roughs of the covers of the EC titles he wrote and edited. Kurtzman considered the use of color of paramount importance to the story-telling process

 

A number of Kurtzman's Color Roughs survive to this day - including that for MAD # 1 (later issued as a limited edition print).

 

 

(thumbs u Thanks for the additional info.

 

I failed to emphasize that I think the color guides themselves are very cool. I've seen a few for sale but haven't bit or pursued them that hard. Maybe if the color guide for a Ditko spidey cover or a Kirby FF cover hit the market I'd step up to the bidder's box!

 

 

[Mister Trent]

 

COLOR GUIDES are somewhat collectible -- they are one-of-a-kind items, and I suppose are a form of original art.

However, a lot of people think that the original artist who drew a comic or a cover also made the color guides, but to my knowledge that would have been extremely rare and unlikely. Usually a lower-paid staff member did the color guides. For example, Marvel apparently numerous people in the office who would, as time allowed, work on color guides. Stan Goldberg was one of their main people but I've also seen work done by Marie Severin, who probably did it to get work when things were slow, or when somebody else was sick or behind in their work. Many times it's not known who did the color guide because they weren't signed, and in many cases you might not recognize the name anyway.

 

Marie Severin was EC's colorist during the 1960s (she worked as a colorist before she progressed onto strip-illustration later on in her career). Marie would receive stats of the EC artists' b&w art (known as 'Silver Prints'), which she would color directly. Marie would also provide EC's printers with instructions on how to match her hues.

 

Examples of surviving Marie Severin colored 'Silver Prints' can be seen in Digby Diehl's book, TALES FROM THE CRYPT.

 

Harvey Kurtzman would provide painted color roughs of the covers of the EC titles he wrote and edited. Kurtzman considered the use of color of paramount importance to the story-telling process

 

A number of Kurtzman's Color Roughs survive to this day - including that for MAD # 1 (later issued as a limited edition print).

 

 

(thumbs u Thanks for the additional info.

 

I failed to emphasize that I think the color guides themselves are very cool. I've seen a few for sale but haven't bit or pursued them that hard. Maybe if the color guide for a Ditko spidey cover or a Kirby FF cover hit the market I'd step up to the bidder's box!

 

 

And I've just noticed a typo . . . I sould have said, "EC's colorist during the 1950s.

 

Oops . . .

[Mister Trent]

Here's an extract form LAMBIEK'S COMICLOPEDIA:

 

"Marie Severin was born in Long Island, New York. She had secretly aspired to be a stained glass artist. However, her brother, John Severin, talked her into coloring comics at EC. After that, Marie worked as a colorist for Marvel for many years, and touched nearly every single Marvel character ever created. Most notably, Marie Severin has done 'Dr. Strange', 'Submariner', 'The Incredible Hulk', and 'King Kull' during the 1960s and 1970s. Together with her brother, she also worked for Mad Magazine for a while."

 

So, Marie actually did do a lot of coloring for Marvel's books, following-on from her time with EC during the 1950s . . .

[Mac Man]

Thanks for clarification guys! I've made no pretenses about being a total newb in the OA department, and didn't realize there was a difference between guides and proofs (having heard the terms used interchangeably).

[Sharkey]

Thanks for clarification guys! I've made no pretenses about being a total newb in the OA department, and didn't realize there was a difference between guides and proofs (having heard the terms used interchangeably).

 

That's the great thing about these boards. When members aren't trying to scam eachother, arguing about pressing, fighting about the definitions of restoration, calling eachother *spoon*s, stealing wives/gfs, or engaging in personal agendas that get them banned, you can actually learn stuff here!

 

 

[Mac Man]

No kidding right? I was pointed towards color guides as viable options since I know I'll own a McFarlane published Spidey page. Of course, I haven't picked one up yet, but at least now I know there options available to me that are original published pieces but won't break the banks thanks to some of the boardies here.