Will Archie’s famous ‘orange’ hair look better against a blue or yellow backdrop? And should Veronica Lodge, the famous fashion plate, be given a Little Black Dress, or a brighter hue, more suited to her age?
More questions: how can Jughead’s burger— bursting with meat and veggies—look even more scrumptious, and how can the reader be left in no doubt whatsoever that the sneaky Reggie Mantle is about to get the thrashing of his life from Big Moose?
Day in and day out—Abhishek More and his team of 40 colouring artists—come up with creative (and believable)-answers to these questions, while keeping their date with the deadlines—and ensuring Archie fans, the world over, get their monthly fix. “Archie is a legend. He enjoys tremendous brand recall, fans are used to a certain quality, and one cannot let them down,” says Abhishek. “Filling colour is no child’s play for sure. Every hue has a purpose; it must tell you more about the character and take the story forward.”
Digikore Studios was established in 2000, when Abhishek, a young management graduate, decided to start a company dedicated exclusively to creative and artistic solutions. Apart from illustrating and colouring comic books and graphic novels, Digikore delivers stunning visual effects for Hollywood and Bollywood films. Digikore recently delivered the visual effects for the movie Haider and has worked on global blockbusters like Transformers, Need for Speed, Titanic 3D, etc.
“Colouring comics is an important aspect of our repertoire,” says Abhishek. “We approach publishers; do their test pages, if they like what they see, we are in business.”
Digikore hit bulls-eye with their initial few clients itself. Disney comics for the European market followed in quick succession by biggies like the US-based Marvel and DC comics.
But Abhishek, an avid Archie fan—pursued an appointment with the editors in Mamaroneck, New York, which was duly given. The mandatory test followed and in 2007, they bagged the account.
So this is how it works. Every month, Digikore receives line art along with comic bubbles, which is subsequently coloured as per directions received from the editors.
“Every story is unique. While Archie is mostly about fun, there are narrations which are a little more serious. Sometimes we are asked for rendering (realistic colours) as opposed to flat (the regular Archie style),” says Abhishek. “For instance, the Life with Archie series, which tells of Archie’s life as an adult, needs a different approach.”
While they do about 15 series every month, including the single digest, 32-page comic book and double digests, come heaven, hell or high water, there is no way they can be delayed even by a few hours. “Deadlines are the holy grail in the comic book industry. No matter what your reasons are, they have to reach the printers on a given day,” he says.
By Kalyani Sardesai
