Design Matters

Hey hey,

So, before I tell you how collaboration has saved my butt on multiple occasions, a couple announcements:

1.  I’ll be speaking at the best comic book store in the country, Quimby’s, on May 30th at 7pm!  I’m speaking as part of the Laydeez Do Comics series (I know I know, I’m not a lady).  I’ll share the proverbial stage with Sarah Morton.  These talks are always a lot of fun, so if you are in the Chicago area, I hope you can attend.  I promise to share some juicy secrets!  Here is the info:

Laydeez Do Comics, May Edition

2.  As this post is about collaboration, I think it fitting to announce that I’ve had the privilege to collaborate on a podcast with the amazing Justin Fah of In This Issue Podcast.  It’s called Back Issues.  On the show we analyze older comics that we’ve always wanted to read, or always loved, or know to be essential.  First we did Green Lantern: Willworld.  Our lastest episode is focused on the classic X-men storyline ‘Days of Future Past’.  You should subscribe to the show In This Issue Podcast on itunes or listen directly on their website:

In This Issue Podcast

3.  I know I’ve been teasing it for a while… but I can officially say that Victus #1 will be released on June 15th (just in time for CAKE)!  Stay tuned for more details about how you can get a copy.

Now, on to the meat!

…

COLLABORATION

So… I always wish I could do everything myself.  That’s cuz I’m dumb.  One of the areas I struggle with the most is graphic design.    It’s an area that folks that who self-publish often under-utilize or ignore.  It’s unfortunate, because I think it keeps their (my) work out of a large number of consumers hands.  We live in a world saturated by design.  As Steve Jobs said, ‘design matters’.  Very true.  No matter how much your comic rocks, if you can’t put it in a package that communicates that the work is professional, you’ll have a hard time selling it.

Since I struggle so much in this area, I often lean on my friends for help.  In particular, I know this dude named Gerald Proctor.  Gerald is a college buddy that has quite a talent for graphic design and all things digital art related.  I got to know him through many a long night of Halo death matches in the dorms (yes I’m a nerd).  The first time we collaborated was in college on a poster for my comic Simon.  I gave no specific direction, so Gerald brought his own style to the piece:

It was really exciting for me to see someone take a concept like Simon, that up to that point only I had done, and explore it in their medium.  Years later, Gerald helped design the cover for my Simon 10 year collection:

I’m fairly sure this cover has helped in me selling out of the first printing of the Simon Collection.  Now, to the untrained eye, this cover might not look too complicated.  Which, honestly, is the beauty of it.  It just works and you see it as another piece of fitting design.  The same way you see a book on the stands of any bookshop and just ‘get it’ at first glance.  Now, without Gerald’s help, the cover would have turned out much different.  To give you an idea of how bad this cover would have been if I had created it solo, here are some of my cover designs before Gerald joined the project:

Pretty bad, right?  That’s because DESIGN IS HARD.  Gerald used texture and subtle color to accentuate the feeling the black and white line art had.  This was much more effective than just simply coloring the cover in a traditional style.  Not only that, but this design adds to the feeling that this book is a collection of work over time.  You get a sense of history when seeing the cover, which is exactly what a collection of 10 years of comics should feel like.

Gerald also helped give cohesion to my Gary series:

When looking at the series as a whole, it becomes even more obvious how consistent and direct design helps in catching the eye of  potential buyers.  Gerald also created the interior layouts for the Gary series.  Picking font families, alignment, and page placement is not as intuitive as it might seem to the layperson.  It requires a keen eye for detail, and a knowledge of the language of graphic design.

Collaboration is not always easy.  Gerald and I tend to disagree about almost everything when working on a project.    But I’m a firm believer in “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”  The disagreements lead to discussion and honest critiquing of what’s working or not working within the piece.  Hopefully, after the dust settles, you have a great piece of design in your hands.

Gerald continues to be a monster of a digital artist.  I highly recommend you check out his gallery of work on Society 6:

Gerald Proctor Art

I particularly like “If I walk to you”.

…

I plan to do another post about collaboration soon, delving into some other working relationships.  I’ve had the chance to work with some amazingly talented people.  Most recently, my brother Logan and I collaborated on a new Simon comic.  It went so well, we are already working on another.  And of course, John Wright and I are still working on our epic cage fighting comic NUMB:

I’ll leave you with a sneak peek at 6 pages of Victus #1:

All six pages at once, that is.

heheh.

-Tyrell