ColorLab for Illustrator

4.9
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars
202 Reviews

$39.00 USD

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Get Authentic Vintage Halftone Colors

Note: ColorLab is available for Procreate, Photoshop, and Affinity as well. Be sure to look closely at the first few preview images. You'll see that because the Illustrator version is vector the dots are sharper and the colors are slightly different.

ColorLab makes getting retro archival comic effects fun and easy.

This industrial-strength collection of brushes, swatches, textures, and templates will help you achieve the cheap comic effects of your dreams with ease. 

We designed this pack with care so you can fine-tune your work. Get clean comic halftones or gritty smudged pulp print textures with ease.

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We designed this pack with care so you can fine-tune your work. Get clean comic halftones or gritty smudged pulp print textures with ease.

  • Authentic comic color halftones. We created this set from historic color formulas, color charts, and manual color matching with vintage comics. Plus, we've included a CMYK version (use this if you want exact CMYK printing).
  • Devilish details. We know that it's the little details that make these effects magic. That's why we've carefully emulated color sequences, screen angles, and ink bleeds. It's all built in so you can focus on your work.
  • Historic paper templates. A big secret to emulating vintage CMYK colors is how they interact with the paper. We've curated 8 archival paper samples including newsprint, kraft paper and more.
  • Non-destructive texturing. Everything can be dialed in including paper aging, ink textures, fading, and comic grading imperfections.
  • Easy to use. We've cut out as much of the confusing garbage as possible. No clunky actions, extra layers, or careless file bloating.

Software: Adobe Illustrator CS6 and above and Adobe Photoshop CS6 and above

Hardware: 2.4ghz processor or higher

Memory: 16 gb of RAM or higher

Storage: 8 GB

  • 125 pre-mixed process color halftone swatches (Illustrator swatches)
  • 12 manual color build halftone swatches (Illustrator swatches)
  • 3 brush pens in tip, art, and no-stretch versions (for a total of 12 Illustrator brushes)
  • 8 paper texture templates in two sizes (layered Illustrator .ai file)
  • 10 print defect brushes (Photoshop .abr brushes)
  • ColorLab Color Chart
  • 3 tutorial videos
  • The Complete ColorLab User Guide

There's nothing like vintage comics. The yellowing paper. The smudged ink. The musty smell of chemicals and newsprint.

And of course... cheap color halftones.

This is the stuff that our love of 1960's comics, cheesy mail-order ads, and bubble gum packaging is made of.

Unfortunately, these effects are insanely hard to achieve digitally.

Even with tutorials, brushes, and filters, the results can look mediocre

And to rub salt in the wound, a few select artists capture this look in their work. But they're tight-lipped about how they do it. Why? They know these kinds of authentic results are hard to pin down and make their work irresistible.

No more!

ColorLab makes achieving these retro archival effects easy and fun.

With an industrial-strength collection of brushes, swatches, textures, and templates, you can achieve rich vintage color halftone effects.

Get tight and clean comic halftones or make it gritty pulp print textures with ease. No other kit offers this much control to fine-tune your work.

Plus, we've included two ways to create your effects. Manually and with premixes. Whether you want to fine-tune every ink spot and registration error or want rapid results for a looming deadline, we've got you covered.

No other halftone or comic kit offers the options, control, or software compatibility.

4.9
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars
Based on 202 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 188 Total 4 star reviews: 13 Total 3 star reviews: 1 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
100%would recommend these products
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202 reviews
  • EC
    eric c.
    Verified Buyer
    ColorLab for Photoshop
    Reviewing
    ColorLab for Photoshop
    I recommend this product
    Product Standouts Ease of use, Authentic, Great Quality, Excellent instructions
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    1 month ago
    so sick

    i love color l'an easy to use and effective only experimented a little so far but it's really impressed me this far

    RC Profile picture for RetroSupply Co.
    RetroSupply Co.
    3 weeks ago

    Hi Eric,

    We're glad you're enjoying ColorLab! Thank you for taking the time to write a review of your purchase. We're glad we were able to meet your expectations.

    Happy creating!

    -The RetroSupply Co. Team

  • CC
    Colton C.
    Verified Buyer
    ColorLab for Procreate
    Reviewing
    ColorLab for Procreate
    I recommend this product
    Product Standouts Ease of use, Authentic, Fast results, Great Quality, Value for Money
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    1 month ago
    Amazing and full of Vintage Fun!

    These and all the other brushes I’ve bought from this place have been wonderful! I never thought I could achieve a vintage comic book look for my art, but these brushes made it possible! And such a great cost too!

  • MH
    Marybeth H.
    Verified Buyer
    ColorLab for Procreate
    Reviewing
    ColorLab for Procreate
    I recommend this product
    Product Standouts Authentic, Great Quality, Excellent instructions
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    2 months ago
    So much fun!

    I have tried *many* halftone processes for Procreate (overlays, filters, etc.) and this was the first one that made me go WHOA. It was so fun to see the digital artwork transform into a classic printed comic. Plus I'm a total nerd about printing processes so the color charts and rootedness in printing history are just lovely. The process of switching colors/brushes/layers multiple times for each color was a bit cumbersome, but got smoother with practice and was totally worth it. I did the piece uploaded here using the solid color palettes first, per the included tutorial. Also came back to get the Duplitone set (also awesome) to finish off the shading. Great user guides, great product--highly recommend. :)

    RC Profile picture for RetroSupply Co.
    RetroSupply Co.
    2 months ago

    Hi Marybeth,

    Thank you for the lovely and detailed review of ColorLab! We always hope our customers will appreciate our products regardless of their background or skill level. Still, it's always special when someone who does have that knowledge appreciates the work we put in to achieve authenticity. Thank you as well for including your lovely work.

    Happy creating, and thank you for supporting us!

    -The RetroSupply Co. Team

  • SS
    Simon S.
    Verified Buyer
    ColorLab for Procreate
    Reviewing
    ColorLab for Procreate
    I recommend this product
    Product Standouts Authentic, Great Quality, Ease of use, Fast results, Excellent instructions
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    2 months ago
    Authentic, nostalgic, and worth it!

    I have been laying my eyes on this brush set for quite some time. And now that I have claimed it, used it on single-panel strips, I can say it’s totally worth the price! The paper textures add so much spice to these brushes and the color charts were spot on! I really can’t wait to go farther and create retro versions of comics of our properties! My only nitpick is that I did not receive any tutorial links.

    RC Profile picture for RetroSupply Co.
    RetroSupply Co.
    2 months ago

    Hi Simon,

    We're happy to hear that ColorLab was worth it in your book! We hope you'll get lots more use out of the pack. You can find the tutorials embedded as links in the user guide. Feel free to write to us at support@retrosupply.co if you need extra help finding them.

    Happy creating, and thank you for supporting us!

    -The RetroSupply Co. Team

  • LS Profile picture for Laura S.
    Laura S.
    Verified Buyer
    ColorLab for Affinity
    Reviewing
    ColorLab for Affinity
    I recommend this product
    Product Standouts Ease of use, Great Quality, Excellent instructions, Authentic
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    4 months ago
    Best Purchase Ever!!

    This has to to be one of the best brushes I'd ever purchase! It was just what I needed to get a authentic comic style look! 100 % recommend anyone to get!

    RC Profile picture for RetroSupply Co.
    RetroSupply Co.
    3 months ago

    Hi Laura,

    We're so happy to hear you're satisfied with your ColorLab purchase. Thank you for supporting us and for taking the time to write a review!

    -The RetroSupply Co. Team

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