Comic Book Cover using Self Portraiture

​Due Date:
Two weeks

Project:
Using Adobe Illustrator, create an expressive composition featuring figures (people - you and your friends) that tells part of a story in an emotional or dramatic way. This will be the main imagery for a comic book cover that later incorporates typography/text.

Media:
Digital Photography and ​Adobe Illustrator

See the slideshow for example of the layout of comic book covers.

This is the style in which you'll be working: vector-based drawings:

Steps:

1. Brainstorm ideas. Come up with an idea that is moody, dramatic, emotional, active, etc.
2. Draw a series of thumbnail sketches to develop your ideas.
3. Figure out necessary poses and find/enlist your models (You will be one of them.)
4. Take a series of good, sharp, well-lit photos of action shots of your peers posing. The more active, the better. Consider your point of view (Try photographing from below looking up, or downwards from up high.)
5. Using Illustrator, trace from one or more of the photos. Be sure to use layers and sublayers, and label paths, to keep your file organized and to help work more efficiently.
6. Arrange your traced drawings to maximize visual and emotional impact and to tell your story clearly.
7. Add layers, colors, textures, details, and effects as necessary. Experiment.

** Leave room for the comic book title, brand logo, captions and word balloons.**

Grading Criteria:

     CONCEPT
        Clear Communication of Story
        Inventiveness
        Expressiveness via Color, Shapes, Style, Arrangement
     DESIGN
        Image has Visual Impact
        Effective Use of Positive and Negative Relationships
        Clear Understanding of Principles of Art
     CRAFTSMANSHIP
        Proper formatting: Layers, Sublayers, Labelled Paths
        Skillful use of pen and other tools of Illustrator
        Inventive experimentation with technique
     WORK HABITS / PERSONAL INVESTMENT

Rubric: Studio Habits of Mind

​
Parameters:

• All parts must be entirely original -- You MUST take photos of you and your peers (using your iPad, camera, or digital camera) specifically for this project
• Do not add text in the beginning (That will happen later.), but leave room for it.

Tips:

• Have ideas before you leave to take photographs.
• Faces and figures in perfect profile will best convey as much information as possible. 
• Take photos in front of simple backdrops with no detail. It will be easier to trace them.
• The more active and emotional the pose, the better. Be dramatic. Use body language.
• Take action photos outside on a sunny day or under bright light. Action photos will be crisper and more in focus.
• Take many, many photos.
• Leave room for the comic book title, brand logo, captions and word balloons.

Must have:

• Title
• Subtitle and/or Story/Issue Title and/or Tagline
• Original Brand / Company Logo (Ex. Marvel, DC)
• Issue #
• Publication Month Year
• Price
• Room for Bar Code

May have

• Other graphic elements: bars, boxes
• Caption boxes and/or dialogue balloons