Cover Story: Part III

So here it is, the cover to my forthcoming graphic novel 3 Knights in India. Compare this with the sketch in the last post, and the image for the back cover posted earlier. You can see that I stayed true to the rough sketch, but redrew the image to fit the book cover layout better. I made some small changes here and there, and changed some colors to create a more balanced and dynamic layout.

It's amazing to me that just a few days ago I had no idea where I was going to go with this cover, and now it's done and I can actually picture what the book will look like when finished. It's a great feeling when a book starts to fall into place.

And now that the cover is done, and the back cover in progress, I can begin creating ads and working on marketing. I already have an interview lined up, and will talk about that later when it happens.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

The Cover Story Part II

Okay, excitement here!

I think I've found a cover for the 3 Knights in India graphic novel that I can be happy with. Surprisingly, it came from the back cover, which just goes to show you why you need to spend time thinking about these things.

So I'm taking the image from the back cover, as seen in my previous post here and replacing it with an all new image that I think will work better. More on that later. As for the front, I chose this image for the same reasons mentioned before;

1. It shows all 3 Knights. In particular, Iris is singled out here, which is appropriate since she narrates most of the story. Also, her parents are shown here as guardians and protectors.
2. The idea is humorous, and I just love the look on Iris' face as she acts all grown up with Rekha's friends.
3. The image shows modern India, which is pretty much what you will find in Bangalore these days. Also, the image has large areas of bold 'Indian' colors, which will look nice as a cover.
4. It's not 'typical'. There are so many standard ways I could have gone with this, but this seems different enough to stand out.

Well, there are other reasons, but most importantly is that it feels right to me.

I'm probably going to go work this into a tighter sketch and start inking, but it's not too late to let me know what you think!

Cheers, JOHN :0)

What's in a Name?

I'm proud of my work, and not ashamed to admit that. I just wish that things were more cut and dried, if only to make conversation easier.

What am I talking about, you're thinking? Well, my books, in this instance. More importantly, how many books have I created? And do comics count as books, or should I list books and comic books separately?

That's not an easy question for me, so please don't ask. I just don't like staring into space, saying "uh..."; that's just not professional. The reason is this...

I have one book, which is a comic strip collection, followed by 3 comic books, and then The Inquiring Minds #1 which is a comic strip collection in comic book format. Make that mini-comic, since the size is not standard. Soon I will add 3 Knights in India, a graphic novel. Now, the graphic novel is a book, so we have 2 books, and 4 comic books, or 3 comic books and one mini-comic. And those 3 comic books will be in the graphic novel, so do they still count? Do they disappear into the ether, as they are absorbed into the larger graphic novel, or do they still exist, but shadows of their former selves?

Or am I just a loony, blabbing into cyberspace?

You be the judge! Just don't ask me how many books I've made, until I've sorted this out.

Maybe someone at the Library of Congress can help me out with this dilemma?

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Sneak Peek at The Inquiring Minds #1 mini-comic book.