{"id":15750,"date":"2016-02-23T16:32:51","date_gmt":"2016-02-23T16:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/?p=15750"},"modified":"2023-03-06T12:12:16","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T12:12:16","slug":"biowars-art-academy-how-to-design-your-own-comic-book-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/biowars-art-academy-how-to-design-your-own-comic-book-cover\/","title":{"rendered":"Biowars Art Academy: How to Design Your Own Comic Book Cover"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve probably heard the phrase, \u201cDon\u2019t judge a book by its cover.\u201d And let\u2019s be honest, it\u2019s a great motto to live by when you\u2019re making snap judgments about most things in life. But when it comes to reading <a href=\"http:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/comic\">comic books<\/a>, <em>and making them<\/em>, judging a book by its cover makes all the sense in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, there have been some great comics with some not-so-great covers, and also a fair amount of comic books with great covers and lackluster <a href=\"http:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/create-your-own-comic-book-writing-the-storyline\/\">storylines<\/a>. Yet, when you take a look at some of the most iconic comic books in history, incredible stories frequently go hand-in-hand with amazing covers. It\u2019s sort of <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.scientificamerican.com\/guest-blog\/artists-and-scientists-more-alike-than-different\/\">a science<\/a>, really.<\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re creating a comic book, making an emotional connection with your reader and attracting them into reading and purchasing your comic is critical. Without this emotional connection, your comic book could very easily get lost in the shuffle.<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s take a look at the basic \u201cscience\u201d of how to design your own comic book cover.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00a0Step One: Study Other Comics<\/h2>\n<p>Even if you\u2019ve read thousands of comic books during your lifetime, you may not have spent a lot of time looking at their covers in great detail. When you do, one thing you\u2019ll notice right away is how much of the story is being played out on the cover itself.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some important questions to ask yourself as you begin studying these comic book covers (and what you\u2019ll ultimately be including in your own cover as well):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What sort of tone is being communicated?<\/li>\n<li>Can you tell by the cover what genre the story is?<\/li>\n<li>Does the cover have the same elements and quality as the artwork inside?<\/li>\n<li>Is the cover attention-grabbing? Will it make a reader say, \u201cI need to know what\u2019s going on here.\u201d?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15756\" src=\"http:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-4.jpg\" alt=\"Biowars Comic Book Cover 4\" width=\"570\" height=\"539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-4.jpg 570w, https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-4-300x284.jpg 300w, https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-4-440x416.jpg 440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Step Two: Plan Your Cover<\/h2>\n<p>Alright, so now that you\u2019ve done some research on what makes a comic book cover interesting, it\u2019s time to introduce these same features to your own comic\u2019s cover.<\/p>\n<p>First, let\u2019s start with the title, which should work alongside your images to capture a comic book fan\u2019s attention. You can play around with words here and get creative, just make certain you\u2019re giving some sort of indication about the type of story they\u2019ll be exploring in this particular issue. However, if you\u2019re doing a one-off comic book instead of a series, you won\u2019t have to worry about titling your comic book, as the name for your comic will work on its own.<\/p>\n<p>Next, play off your comic book\u2019s title by coming up with a few ideas on who you want featured on the cover and why. More often than not you\u2019ll want to include your main character and\/or the villain. However, there are times when you can make a convincingly eerie and thought-provoking cover by merely showing a shadow of a character or an important object from the book.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, decide how you\u2019re going to highlight the story through these characters or objects in a way that entices readers to want to know more. This could include intense action, gloomy lighting or deeply emotional visuals. Really, the opportunities to get creative are endless, and\u00a0the sky is the limit on your comic book cover.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15755\" src=\"http:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-3.jpg\" alt=\"Biowars Comic Book Cover 3\" width=\"570\" height=\"684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-3.jpg 570w, https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-3-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-3-440x528.jpg 440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Step Three: Lay Out Your Cover<\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ve chosen your title, picked out your heroes and villains, and even selected the type of mood your cover is going to display. Now it\u2019s time to put these elements together by laying them out in a comic book sort of way. Here are some great options to choose from that have worked for thousands of comic books over the years (we did say it was a science, after all):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Good versus evil: <\/strong>This is the type of comic that pits hero against foe in an upcoming battle in your comic book. It\u2019s usually action-oriented and may even feature a bystander the hero is trying to protect.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The class photo:<\/strong> If your comic book is filled with interesting characters, you can put many, if not all of them, on the cover of your book. While some people might say you should avoid cluttering up your cover with too many visuals, sometimes readers want more than a 1-vs.-1 type of comic.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Looming bad guy: <\/strong>A compelling idea for a cover is one where a villain\u2019s face is magnified and placed over the superhero, who appears several times smaller than the comic book baddie. You can also try this with environments as well, like we did on a recent cover for <a href=\"http:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/comic\/view\/awry\">Biowars: Awry<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Give it a 3D spin:<\/strong> Use your <a href=\"http:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/biowars-art-academy-how-to-draw-comic-book-characters\/\">drawing skills<\/a> to give your cover a little perspective, meaning you can make a superhero appear to be coming out of the page or add a foreground and background image to give your cover some 3-dimensional depth.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be romantic: <\/strong>Have a love story going on in your comic book? If it\u2019s important to the story (and it usually is), show the romance on your cover, especially if your audience is the type that will enjoy it. Be sure it\u2019s tasteful though!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15754\" src=\"http:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-2.jpg\" alt=\"Biowars Comic Book Cover 2\" width=\"570\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-2.jpg 570w, https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-2-300x282.jpg 300w, https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Biowars-Comic-Book-Cover-2-440x414.jpg 440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Step Four: Get Feedback<\/h2>\n<p>After you\u2019ve laid everything out, one last important step for new comic book creators is getting feedback from other comic fans \u2013 and even comic book artists. If you get the majority to sign off on your idea, then it\u2019s time to put it all together into a finished cover, making sure you have all the visuals, colors and title properly in place.<\/p>\n<p>And remember, give your comic book cover your best effort in order to showcase the work that\u2019s already contained within its pages. That way you\u2019ll have your best chance of creating interest first and building a growing, enthusiastic fan base.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve probably heard the phrase, \u201cDon\u2019t judge a book by its cover.\u201d And let\u2019s be honest, it\u2019s a great motto to live by when you\u2019re making snap judgments about most things in life. But when it comes to reading comic books, and making them, judging a book by its cover makes all the sense in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[178,57,522,61,88],"tags":[392],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.10 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Biowars Art Academy: How to Design Your Own Comic Book Cover | Blog | BIOWARS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Designing your own comic book cover isn&#039;t easy, especially if it&#039;s your first attempt. Find out how to create your own by reading our article on the process\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/biowars-art-academy-how-to-design-your-own-comic-book-cover\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Biowars Art Academy: How to Design Your Own Comic Book Cover | Blog | BIOWARS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Designing your own comic book cover isn&#039;t easy, especially if it&#039;s your first attempt. 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