Give It a Bang with Lettering

Display lettering gives the final touches to the artwork. Add lettering that matches the scene as a sound effect. This will make the reader feel he or she is really there and give the scene greater depth.

Types of Display Lettering

Explosions

Having one set overlap the other like a concentric circle makes the lettering appear to be blown debris, giving a sense of reality. Furthermore, I intentionally extended the lettering beyond the panel to give the entire composition the feel of an expanding explosion r--1 J . I j \ :_..l

Lettering with Perspective

Drawing sound effect lettering in perspective and extending beyond the panel gives the whole panel depth. Moreover, it also causes the viewer to imagine that something happened somewhere outside the panel.

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Using a Shadow Effect to Create Contrast Give open letters a shadow effect and then erase their original outlines. This creates the effect of being illuminated by a bright light. *Since pencil is used for the initial sketch, the outlines can be removed with an eraser after filling the letters in with a magic marker or ink.

Making the Effect More Elaborate by Adding Tone Sketch the letters, suggesting vibration or shaking. Next, attach screen tone to each letter. This will allow you to indicate that the letters are overlapping in space.

Here is a panel with special effect lines and screen tone.

With dramatic sound effect lettering ...

Now the panel has visual impact.

The layered tone effect described on p. 119 was used for the above lettering. Here, screen tone of a similar type to that used in the background was cut in the shapes of the letters and attached over the original tone. The letters were then outlined in white. Because the special effect lines are still visible through the lettering with the layered tone, the sense of speed is not lost.

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