Question on Timewalker #3 colors - something looks off

[iggy101us]

I won this on eBay but when I compare the OA colors versus actual comic, the colors are off. Was there card art or a promo ad what had different colors than the published cover? Note the color differences especially on the buildings, lack yellow and lightning from the time portal, playing cards not colored in . . . Also the art is much smaller than other OA color pages that I have. Perhaps the color page was not the final and just a draft? Any ideas?

Timewalker #3 cover. Penciled by Don Perlin, inked by Gonzalo Mayo, colored by Mike McGuire.

[iggy101us]

Perhaps the OA was simply used as color guides for computer colorists described by magnus here :

http://www.valiantfans.com/forum/viewto ... ?f=17&t=36" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[iggy101us]

Ugh . . . the more I look at it, the more I think it's simply a color guide used as part of the production process.

[Daniel Jackson]

It will be interesting to learn what you find out, Iggy.

[iggy101us]

It will be interesting to learn what you find out, Iggy.

I should have looked more closely when I was bidding. I was bidding as if it's the final published colors. I paid $69 shipped for it so it's not like I paid a ton for it. The watercolors are still original so even if it's just a draft/prelim, it's still a one-of-a-kind item.

[nycjadie]

It looks original to me, though. Maybe fading. The colors extend beyond the frame, and I haven't seen that in the production work.

[magnusr]

Was it you who wrote "brown shirt" on the b/w copy? If that's instructions for the colorist, then those instructions do not match the final cover.

I do not remember seeing any card for this issue and I think it's from before they started using color guides.

Maybe an early draft, perhaps from before they had decided on a color scheme for the character? Maybe they tested different looks?

The crossed over "1" could give an interesting theory. Maybe this was considered for being the first cover of the series?

/Magnus

[greg]

Not necessarily connected, but I do have alternate cover colors for another issue of Timewalker. Maybe that was a regular practice to try a couple and choose.

There are so many differences between the colors and the final cover that I believe that must be an alternate coloring for the cover... unless Valiant (Acclaim) was trying out digital coloring and that is the only hand-colored version with all the differences being added/changed digitally.

[iggy101us]

Was it you who wrote "brown shirt" on the b/w copy? If that's instructions for the colorist, then those instructions do not match the final cover.

I do not remember seeing any card for this issue and I think it's from before they started using color guides.

Maybe an early draft, perhaps from before they had decided on a color scheme for the character? Maybe they tested different looks?

The crossed over "1" could give an interesting theory. Maybe this was considered for being the first cover of the series?

/Magnus

No, I didn't write on the b/w copy. I would not deface a piece of OA Yeah, I found the crossed-out 1 very interesting too.

Like you and greg suggested, it could be a draft or test of digital coloring.