Fun Facts About the Art of Coloring from Marvel Colorists

In honor of Colorist Appreciation Day, which takes place on January 24, Marvel is celebrating our mighty colorists all week long. To do that, we spoke with a handful of our finest colorists to gather insight on their work, the skills they learned from their peers and mentors, the advice they would pass on to the next generation of colorists, and more.

To wrap up our weeklong Colorist Appreciation Day celebration, we asked Jesus Aburto, Edgar Delgado, Marte Gracia, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Matt Wilson to surprise us with little known facts about the art of coloring comic books. From timing and mood to the amount of pages a colorist produces in one month, here are some of the most interesting facts about being a color artist.

Jesus Aburto

"We are always thinking about what time is on each scene. It's not always written in the script, so it's often that the colorist is the one who guesses and proposes how the day is running in the narrative."

Edgar Delgado

"The way colorists can change the mood of a scene or illustration just by choosing the right colors and light always gives me chills; it's like magic. They can make the scene funny, scary, or even sad. I don't mean to take anything away from a penciler or an inker, but colorists are like sorcerers."

Marte Gracia

"Being able to talk and share coloring experiences with people around the world. When I started doing this, I was convinced that no one really cared about us colorists, but the love and appreciation from people all over the world really surprised me and still warms my goth heart. Love you folks. <3"

"A little known fact is that being a colorist can be somewhat lonely. To be in front of a monitor all day—almost everyday—can lead you to some dark places. This requires a lot of attention to keep your mind and body in good health. Please, everyone, exercise, eat healthy, go out, and keep up with your friends/family. See a therapist if you think you need mental help. We all deserve a good life."

Rachelle Rosenberg

"Coloring comics may easily be one of the best jobs in the world, but there is nothing easy about this job. Coloring comics is a lot of hard work, but it is so rewarding. :)"

Matt Wilson

"Not much surprised me about being a colorist because I got my start as a colorist's assistant. So I had a lot of exposure to what goes into the job of a colorist, but I think it surprises most people just how many pages per month, or issues per month, a colorist can color: anywhere from three to five issues, or sometimes even more. With around 20 pages per issue, that can be a lot of comics pages produced in one month by one colorist."

Thanks for celebrating Colorist Appreciation Day with us! Don't miss these other articles about the art of coloring:

Inspirations | Proudest Moments | Advice | Fun Facts

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