Comic Book Terms

Today's exploration of the term: Graphic weight

What is graphic weight in comic books?

Graphic weight is what describes the way some images draw the eye more than others, creating a definite focus using color and shading in various ways including:

• The use of light and dark shades; dark-toned images or high-contrast images draw the eye more than light or low-contrast images do.

• A pattern or repeated series of marks.

• Colors that are more brilliant or deeper than others on the page.

This term is used to discuss the amount of contrast in an image. Such as:

• Are blacks offset with whites?

• Are there many shades of grey in between?

With regards to color images, one can look for the degree to which colors are vivid or opaque.

To put it simply, graphic weight is:

• the heaviness or intensity of a line or block of shading that creates visual focus.

• Bolder graphic weight makes an element more salient in the scene.

• It can be achieved through the use of light and dark shades, color, and contrast.