If you've enjoyed Drawing Comics and my other narrative art classes, I thought y'all might appreciate a deeper dive into the particulars of my creative process. This is the first in a new series of creative process posts!

Here in Upstate NY we're about to kick off a long summer weekend. Before I grab my sunglasses and towel and head to the beach it seems like a good time to give y'all a behind the scenes look at the process of creating the cover art for my graphic novel, SHARK SUMMER.

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Designing Cover Art pt.1

Long before a graphic novel is released with a major publisher, the author must start planning their cover art. It's the first sign that the marketing team is giving your upcoming book attention. That's a thrilling feeling. But also a little stressful because, odds are, you do not have a complete vision for the book yet. A cover image is so important in the world of publishing and there are lot of cooks in the kitchen through the process. You'd be surprises at how many iterations happen before a final design is settled on. These first four concepts are just the beginning! Below are the initial four concepts I submitted to my editorial team and a few notes on their response:

CONCEPT #1

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This one was the favorite for all of us. Sometimes a composition just comes out 90% of the way there and while this one needs a few changes, the overall vibe is strong. I focused on capturing the core character trait of each of the book's four main kids through body language and props. Maddie is the storyteller so she gets a book, Elijah is the filmmaker so he gets the camera, Lex is our antagonist so she's lookin' mysterious in the background, and Gayle is our main POV character who's struggles/conflicts we follow most closely.

To fit the aesthetic of my book (vintage summer blockbusters) this concept is referencing movie poster design, especially the work of Drew Struzan. He's a master of big head collage style of poster design and worked on all the famous franchises - Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Star Wars. Of course, I needed to shout out JAWS in the design so you can see the iconic shark head looming behind the main characters. My editing team loved this one but the marketing team said the shark references were too subtle. They made the case that most potential customers of the book will be introduced to it as a tiny thumbnail on Amazon so the visual elements (like the shark!) need to pop out. I see their point and will be addressing this concern in a follow-up sketch (more on that process later).

CONCEPT #2:

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Shark Summer is a bit of a horror story. It's not super scary (it is a kids' book after all) but it's got scary parts for sure. I spent a lot of my childhood being afraid of book covers. Especially Stephen King covers. Personally, I love when book art gives me the chills so I thought I'd take a stab at a scarier book cover design. My editorial team wasn't as fond of this concept. It's a bit too literal as it looks like the kids are truly in danger in this image. Those sharks look like they might actually eat the kids, unlike the first concept where the shark fins are more, I dunno, metaphorical or something. I agree with them but I think the emotional response to the color palette is just as menacing. The blue-sick-green coloring evokes both darkness and seasickness. That's a pretty terrifying feeling to imagine. This concept was quickly scrapped but I do really like the way Gayle's eyes look here.

CONCEPT #3

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You'll quickly notice this cover concept is a little looser. It's not a design I was very passionate about but I did want to present another option. This one is riffing off film-noir with its hyper-stylized shadow play. Of the three this one feels most surreal and off-kilter. It's not as balanced as the previous two and while I think it's cool and unique it's just not what I really want for this adventure story. If I did use this concept, I'd also redraw Gayle so she's less freaked out and a bit more confident. No one likes a whiny hero.

Surprisingly, the marketing team liked this one! Upon further questioning, it was revealed that they liked the way it was 'most sharky'. As in, you could shrink the image way down and still recognize the shark. It always pays off to ask a client/collaborator 'what do you mean by that?' when they state an option. Odds are they don't have the language (or time) to get specific without a little nudge. In a composition, every element of visual design influences the others so I always gotta ask "what specifically do you appreciate about this image?" or "what's getting in the way of this working for you?"

CONCEPT #4

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Of these four, this concept is most refined because it's left over from my original book pitch (What's a pitch? Check out my class on pitching graphic novels to find out!). This design is cute, but it's a bit sillier than I'm looking for on a cover. I do like the 'working together' aspect of the characters poses! This is my first take on a more refined type treatment. There's a ways to go from here but you'll notice this influence the final text.

In the next post we'll look at the next round of cover sketches.

I hope you enjoyed this and stay tuned to more creative process posts!

Ira Marcks

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