It’s the last week of the school term in Dundee, so after our Thursday prompt, Digital Comics Club will be taking a break for the holidays!

This has been a really challenging time for everyone. We’re not yet in a position to be able to say when in-person clubs will resume, but Digital Comics Club will return when the schools go back in August! If you’ve missed any of our activities over the past three months, you can find them all on our Digital Comics Club page.

And so, we finish up our Tuesday series with some final comics tips:

We hope you have a great summer!

The above images (unless otherwise stated) are by Rebecca Horner.

 

Now that you’ve been through the entire comics-making process from start to finish, it’s time to share it with the world! To do that, you may need…

A Cover!

Here’s one we made earlier!

When you pick up a comic (or a DVD, game, etc), the first thing you see is its cover. The cover can tell you what the comic is called, who made it, and what the story is about, but most importantly – it can help you decide if you want to read it!

Look at the comics below, and think about these questions:

What do you think these comics are about?

What stands out to you about their designs?

Do the covers make you want to read them?

Giant Days cover by Max Sarin. The Adventure Zone cover by Carey Pietsch and Andrew Arnold. Flavor cover by Wook Jin Clark, Tamra Bonvillain, and Rich Tommaso. Be Prepared cover by Vera Brosgol.

 

What’s in a Name?

One thing you might have noticed is that the above comics all have completely different logos! You can have a lot of fun in designing your own logo. Let’s look at little more closely at Vera Brosgol’s Be Prepared:

Enhance!

Now wait a minute – those words are made of wood! Be Prepared is set at a summer camp in the forest, so the artist has designed the logo to fit the setting. You don’t have to do this with your logo, but it is a super cool thing that you could do!

Logos can be designed by the person who drew the comic, by the letterer, or sometimes by a dedicated person who only designs the logo. It depends on the comic! If you find that you really like designing logos, you could offer to do them for your friends!

 

Drawing Your Cover

It can be hard to think of ideas when you’re looking at a blank sheet of paper, so break it down into smaller steps! What do you want people to see? You might want to show off your characters, the setting, a dramatic moment from your story, or a mixture of these. Drawing thumbnails can help you try out different ideas!

How big do you want the title to be? Where do you want to put your characters? Where is your name going to go? Drawing a grid on your paper first (in pencil, because you want to be able to erase it later!) can help you break up the page and plan out where to put everything:

Whatever you choose to do, a great cover will make people want to read your comics. Just remember to put your name on it!!

The above images (unless otherwise stated) are by Rebecca Horner.