Comic Cover Project
Thumbnail Covers
The Comic Book Cover Project Begins with Thumbnail cover sketches. You must do at least four and they must include a title box, character box, setting/scene, and at least one figure. Stick figures are fine, but added details may make it easier to visualize.
These thumbnails are from 2016. The logo is actually the shape of the real logo. You do not have to do that on yours. It just needs to be a rectangle with the book title in it.
This is the second page for 2016. The students voted on the cover I would produce and the thumbnail with the tank in it in the top left won. See the cover here.
This is the first page for 2017. Notice that I just used a box for the logo despite knowing what the logo was. Background details help convey the cover message!
2nd page for 2017, the students voted on the dragon and castle cover. Guardian visits medieval times here.
First page for 2018, I tried to add drama with shading and darkness this year. I think many of these are better.
Second page for 2018, the students voted on the 'flying kick' cover. You can see its progression down below.
Comic Cover Layout with background, this step is after many weeks of prep work with students. The actual cover is 12" x 18" which is a standard size in the comic industry.
Once the layout is completed, students begin the inking process. The inking for this page is being done with the aid of a light box.
This year I tried a pigma Micron brush pen to simulate brushed inking. It was new to me and a bit rough, but i like the thick and thin line work.
Guardian is a character I created when I was 15 years old. I do a cover for him every year based on a student vote. Tiger I created when I was 17 years old, but redesigned him for this project.
The beginning of coloring. Most of this work is Prismacolor, but the logo has a few metalic Faber Castell colored pencils. The logo was also designed 4 years ago for my first LaVega cover.
Guardian's color scheme has evolved over the years. He was originally red and black, but the higher principles behind the character and the fleur de lis he wears on his chest demanded a more symbolic blue. The orange "power" strips make it a complementary color scheme and are done with a highlighter.
Final Cover. You may reckognize the background as a homage to "Lucky Landing" in Fortnite. Students are often amazed that I know things about video games. If you want to see past year instructional examples click here.
Student Examples
Student Thumbnails
Abigail Dominquez was apparently not sold on Hadji as a character when she was doing thumbnails. You can see it changes each time. You should try to stick with one character concept for all thumbnails. Also note how the thumbnails go into the interactive journal.
Nameless student from years ago, I have always liked this set of thumbnails. Please remember to put your name on your paper!
Another nameless paper from last year. Good layouts with lots of action though. Cities can be a challenge since we do not learn perspective drawing until the Spring.
Student finished cover
Melody Shaw
Best cover of 2017-2018 school year.