Make Your Own Customized Comic Book Cover

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but many judge anyway. And when it comes to comic books or graphic novels, these are mostly judged by their covers.

The cover of your comic book has to strike the right balance between simplicity and complexity and avoid telling them too much or telling them too little.

To draw readers to your comic book,  design a well-balanced cover featuring the main character and one of the essential plot points.

Keep It Simple

Some of the established elements of a superb comic book cover are striking colors or contrasts, beautiful artwork, your main character, and a teaser. There are, of course, countless  ways to organize your comic book cover, and since it’s your creative work, it’s crucial to maintain control over the project.

That being said, if something isn't broken, you shouldn't try too hard to fix it. Keep the design striking yet simple, with colors or contrasts that draw the eye in but don’t confuse it.

Feature Your Star

Most comic book covers spotlight their protagonist on the cover. It’s a beautiful way to get a gorgeous portrait of your main character. And depending on the tone – eerie, playful, patriotic – you can cast your character to match it using lighting and colors.

Illustrate the Climax

What your main character is doing on the cover is crucial. On the one hand, you don’t want to give away too much. On the other, you want to entice the reader.

Pinpoint the pivotal moment in your hero’s journey and depict an aspect of that moment on your cover. Since your climax is the most fraught and tension-filled moment in your narrative (which is a good thing), it makes sense to use it to draw people in.

However, don’t give away too much. If your hero slays the dragon and rescues the fair maiden, you may not want to depict your warrior with her sword in hand and the dragon’s head in the other. Why would your reader bother reading the whole comic when they can see what happens on the cover?

Rewind to the moments before your hero enters the dragon’s lair, and consider that scene for your comic. Mysterious and powerful, if you picture your hero creeping through the cavern, sword in hand, it will attract more attention.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been playing with the idea of designing your comic book, you should put some serious thought into your cover, as this is the first thing your readers see. Balance simplicity with bold colors and images and a whiff of what happens in the story, and you will have a winning cover.

Comix Well Spring can help make your comic book and its showstopping cover into a reality, every step of the way.