More smudges please

I was reading a vintage comic today, admiring the artwork, and noticed something that has been lost today.

All done by hand, of course. Every graphic by hand, as there was no other way at the time.

I noticed, in a large, full-page scene, in one corner… what looked like two alcohol markers smudging together.

A blue, and a red, over-painted, resulting in green that didn’t belong there.

But it’s still there.

The scene had been beautifully drawn. And inked. And coloured. That last little detail. Green.

A modern colourist would erase the overdrawn colour. Cmd+Z. No green.

But that smudge of green adds to the scene. A reminder that a human sat there, with alcohol markers, colouring the whole scene by hand.

The result feels even more magical. More intoxicating. Like you could stare at it for hours, feeling the moment where someone worked hard on creating such beautiful artwork.

I think we need more smudges.

More little mistakes retained. Brush strokes that were drawn twice to get the right shape. Colours that bleed just a little in places.

More humanity. More connection to the effort that went into the work.

Don’t Cmd+Z the connection away.