blank sketch cover comic Today I thought I'd share a little bit of process with you. A few years back comic companies began printing certain issues with blank sketch covers. These variants allow artists to create their own unique cover for the book. Underneath the white card stock exterior is the complete issue of the comic including the original published cover.
For this example, I will be drawing on this STAR WARS: HAN SOLO comic from Marvel. I originally planned on drawing the Enfys Nest character from the recent SOLO film. That character has a fantastic design! However, since I'm only drawing with the twenty six letters, I am always limited to how detailed I can make a design. Enfys Nest is very detailed; it's part of her charm. Drawing the character as a full figure forced me to leave out many of the details that make the original design so enticing. When I redrew the character as just a bust I was able to capture a better likeness of Enfys Nest, but that close-up would have left a lot of empty space on the cover given the location of the comic's logo. I'll definitely finish the bust of Enfys Nest later, just not on this comic cover. While Enfys might not have been a good match for this space, the empty spot next to the logo gave me the idea to instead draw a tall character that would fill the length of the cover. Chewbacca was a natural fit and placing a porg next to him let me use the negative space below the logo to emphasize their height discrepancy.
At an average of $5 a pop, drawing on a blank sketch cover can be a bit nerve-wracking given that the cover is not as easily replaceable as a normal piece of paper. This is especially true if the client supplied the cover. To avoid possibly damaging the cover before the design is done, I always start with a sheet of paper to figure out the design and letter placement. Once I'm satisfied with the image, I then transfer it to the actual cover to complete the art. The photos below show you a bit more about how I made this sketch cover. I hope you enjoy this peek behind the scenes!
For this example, I will be drawing on this STAR WARS: HAN SOLO comic from Marvel. I originally planned on drawing the Enfys Nest character from the recent SOLO film. That character has a fantastic design! However, since I'm only drawing with the twenty six letters, I am always limited to how detailed I can make a design. Enfys Nest is very detailed; it's part of her charm. Drawing the character as a full figure forced me to leave out many of the details that make the original design so enticing. When I redrew the character as just a bust I was able to capture a better likeness of Enfys Nest, but that close-up would have left a lot of empty space on the cover given the location of the comic's logo. I'll definitely finish the bust of Enfys Nest later, just not on this comic cover. While Enfys might not have been a good match for this space, the empty spot next to the logo gave me the idea to instead draw a tall character that would fill the length of the cover. Chewbacca was a natural fit and placing a porg next to him let me use the negative space below the logo to emphasize their height discrepancy.
At an average of $5 a pop, drawing on a blank sketch cover can be a bit nerve-wracking given that the cover is not as easily replaceable as a normal piece of paper. This is especially true if the client supplied the cover. To avoid possibly damaging the cover before the design is done, I always start with a sheet of paper to figure out the design and letter placement. Once I'm satisfied with the image, I then transfer it to the actual cover to complete the art. The photos below show you a bit more about how I made this sketch cover. I hope you enjoy this peek behind the scenes!
 1. The logo and borders are drawn onto a sheet of copy paper that will serve as a rough draft while I determine where to place each letter. |  2. The rough pencil design is now complete. |
 3. I then roughly ink the design in alphabetical order. This lets me be sure that I didn't omit or double a letter. It also helps make the drawing darker for the next step in the process. |  4. The rough design is then traced with the help of a light box. Notice that I switched the placement of "M" (now at the top of Chewy's head) and "S" (now at his left hand). |
5. The design is then colored with layers of pencil and blended slightly with chemical spirits. The final step in the process is to ink all the letters.
Sketch covers are a lot of fun to make! Do you have a great idea for a sketch cover for your favorite book? I try to keep a variety of comics on hand for commissions especially if I'm headed to a convention. As of this post, I currently have the following blanks that are ready to go if you're looking for a commission:
- THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1
- BATMAN #0
- BATMAN: BLACK & WHITE #1
- BATMAN & ROBIN ETERNAL #1
- BATMAN/SUPERMAN #30
- DEADPOOL #1
- DETECTIVE #20
- DOCTOR STRANGE #1
- DOCTOR WHO #1
- THE FLASH #39
- G.I. JOE #196
- GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1
- HANNA-BARBERA FUTURE QUEST #1
- JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #11
- SPIDER-GWEN #1
- STAR TREK #50
- STAR WARS: C-3PO #1
- STAR WARS: POE DAMERON #1
- SUPERMAN #32
- SUPERMAN: DOOMED #1
- THE WALKING DEAD #150
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