The Evolution of a NERDS book cover

"I imagine people will be surprised at how much work goes into this type of project. I'm surprised, and I participated in it!" —Ethen Beavers

Illustrator: ETHEN BEAVERS

The following shows the process Ethen and I went through working on the cover for Michael Buckley's latest series, NERDS. I wish I could have better descriptions but I don't want to give away all my secrets.

Step one find an Illustrator.

To find the perfect illustrator I teamed up with Michael and headed down to our local comic store, Rocketship  (sadly, now closed) on a cold January afternoon. We shifted through comics and graphic novels , compiling a list of ten names that we would present to our editor Susan Van Metre. In the end Ethen Beavers was the nerd for us. I tracked Ethen down by leaving a message on his art message board since all other searches came up flat. He responded which was a welcomed surprise.

I then sent him Michael's 2nd draft manuscript and a brief summary.

NERDS book description:

A secret spy ring of nerdy elementary school misfits

Combining all the excitement of international espionage and all the awkwardness of elementary school, NERDS, featuring a group of unpopular students who run a spy network from inside their school, hits the mark. With the help of cutting-edge science, their nerdy qualities are enhanced and transformed into incredible abilities! They battle the Hyena, a former junior beauty pageant contestant turned assassin, and an array of James Bond–style villains, each with an evil plan more diabolical and more ridiculous than the last.

Step two begin sketch phase

Ethen's first sketch

My first alternate compositional sketch. The idea was to introduce the all the characters.


Here the idea is the same but a little more realized. We added braces in the type. I add to a nerdy style as well as to highlight the main characters nerdy quality. This would be repeated through out the series. Only there was something still not quite working.

We where forgetting the Spy angle to the NERDS story.
here are some additional sketches working out new compositions



The idea of and official seal came up.
Finally a font was chosen

Here we begin to work out color and how it will be used throughout a 6 book series

Next how to treat the type. I wanted a techie feel to the type as seen below.



Final type

But the seal still is working correctly. So we tried to nerd that up as well.
In the end it proved to be to much.

At last the color and composition is worked out.
Only something is still not working.

Again we needed more spy imagery. So we research James Bond and Mission Impossible imagery.
Ethen worked up these great sketches reworking the characters.

Ethen then combined the two ideas in to a final sketch



Then we took it to a cover meeting to see if we were on track.
Turns out we were!

Final art with out text.

Final Cover with text

Back cover design

Each book features a character. Book 1 features Jackson " Braceface" Jones, the new recruit. The fourteen pounds of metal in his mouth make him the team's go-to gadget guy!

One last bit a of business the CASE COVER! 

Did you know we designed the case covers for NERDS series with a different image than the jacket. I knew it you didn't. Who looks at the case cover anyway. GULP! I do.

Case Cover

The idea for the different case was to reveal the NERDS secret identities as normal kids. Apparently when they are not saving the world they also become fashion disasters.

Also in the NERDS series

NERDS book 2: M is For Mama's Boy

 NERDS Book 3: The Cheerleaders of Doom

NERDS Book 4: The Villain Virus

About the book

Michael Buckley is at his comic best in this madcap new series sure to appeal to kids looking for a quick, exciting read.

Combining all the excitement of international espionage and all the awkwardness of elementary school, NERDS, featuring a group of unpopular students who run a spy network from inside their school, hits the mark. With the help of cutting-edge science, their nerdy qualities are enhanced and transformed into incredible abilities! They battle the Hyena, a former junior beauty pageant contestant turned assassin, and an array of James Bond–style villains, each with an evil plan more diabolical and more ridiculous than the last.

F&P level: V

Praise for NERDS
“An action-packed, tongue-in-cheek take on the world of superheroes and villains. The pacing is quick and the action is plentiful—kids will almost hear the sound effects as they read. NERDS brings a worthy message to the fore—that uncool kids can grow up to be anything but. Funny, clever, and thoroughly entertaining, this title should be popular.”
–School Library Journal 

"The unique format of this book, combined with the imaginative and playful storyline, will appeal to many readers."
–Children's Literature

About the author

Michael Buckley is the author of the New York Times bestselling series and Today Show Al Roker Book Club pick The Sisters Grimm. He has also written and developed shows for Nickelodeon, Disney, MTV Animation, the Sci- Fi Channel, the Discovery Channel, and VH1. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Alison, and son, Finn.

The Evolution of a Picture Book Cover, Starring JOHN BROWN

Illustrator and author John Hendrix posted the 'Anatomy of a Jacket' on his Blog Drawing on a Deadline. John discussed the process of making the jacket for his latest book JOHN BROWN:His Fight for Freedom. This entry is a follow-up to his but from the view of the art director. Let's begin.


Usually after most of the interior is underway, do I start asking the illustrator (in this case John Hendrix) to start sketching up cover ideas. Sometimes I will have something in mind that might work. This was not one of those times. I felt that what ever John might sketch up was going to be better than any suggestion I might have. But more importantly at this stage I feared that any direction might stifle his creative process.

So John began to sketch.

And from there he selected his best sketch

At first glance John's sketch was very impressive and exciting only was it right for the book? I waited a couple of days to see if it was still as exciting. After showing it to the editor Howard Reeves. His concerns echoed my own. That as beautiful of a drawing as it was, for a cover it was to stately and stiff for the book that it is. In addition the subtitle was of some concern "The Oath of Freedom" It leads you to believe that John Brown actually took an oath, which he he did not. Howard and John worked on subtitles that might better suit the story.

My direction to John was simple we need more motion/action. I wanted to feel John Brown's passion. I referred him to pieces from the interior that worked well and captured what I was trying to say.

So back to the drawing board.

This new sketch compositionally was better than the last, it definitely had action. I loved how the type was developing but now John Brown appeared to be crazy pants rather than a 'hero' . How where we to make him appear to be a 'hero'. At first this was a hard thing to do. mainly because of his beard. It made him look Joaquin Phoenix / Una bomber crazy. This had to change. I suggested thinking of Superman crossed with Moses.

We both seemed excited by this idea but would it work? John went out in search of reference.


John's next sketch was right on the nose. At this point we worked out a subtitle that better described John's Brown's story, " His Fight for Freedom"

Only one slight change. We needed a girl character. (See below)

Next John stopped by my office where we went over how the whole cover would look. Back cover, flaps, and spine. I wanted to utilize John's typography as much as possible. Type is not something to be place just on top of an illustration. Anything I might have done would look unnatural with his art. I try to make sure that type and illustration live together rather than fighting with each other. I had John work up type for the flaps and spine , well really the whole jacket.

Once the sketch was approved John set out to work on the final. He first looked over the entire book to remind himself of the general color structure. From here I wait until I see the final art. Below are John's studies and process of making the final art

The shield on the bottom of the art needed to be used on the title page as well, in different proportions, so he built all the elements of the cover individually and assembled them in Photoshop.

Once the bottom was assembled in place with the flaps and spine, He could lay in the art for the top. Here is the full piece, unobscured by the shield.

Finally the cover art was done. Next step add Jacket and Flap copy.

Here is the final front cover.

 For more about JOHN HENDRIX check out this cool interview.


Also Illustrated by John Hendrix, 
Nurse, Soldier, Spy

The Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero

Illustration © 2009 by John Hendrix.
Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers. New York.
Posted with permission of publisher. All rights reserved.

The Evolution of Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes Jacket

About the book

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes is the utterly beguiling tale of a ten-year-old blind orphan who has been schooled in a life of thievery. One fateful afternoon, he steals a box from a mysterious traveling haberdasher—a box that contains three pairs of magical eyes. When he tries the first pair, he is instantly transported to a hidden island where he is presented with a special quest: to travel to the dangerous Vanished Kingdom and rescue a people in need. Along with his loyal sidekick—a knight who has been turned into an unfortunate combination of horse and cat—and the magic eyes, he embarks on an unforgettable, swashbuckling adventure to discover his true destiny

After reading the first chapter of Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes I knew it was special.

It hooked me right away. For example.

Now, for those of you who know anything about blind children, you are aware that they make the very best thieves. As you can well imagine, blind children have incredible senses of smell, and they can tell what lies behind a locked door—be it fine cloth, gold, or peanut brittle—at fifty paces. Moreover, their fingers are small enough to slip right through keyholes, and their ears keen enough to detect the faintest clicks and clacks of every moving part inside even the most complicated lock. Of course, the age of great thievery has long since passed; today there are few child-thieves left, blind or otherwise. At one time, however, the world was simply thick with them. This is the story of the greatest thief who ever lived. His name, as you’ve probably guessed, is Peter Nimble.—JONATHAN AUXIER

First step hire an amazing illustrator that will bring something fresh to the project. His name Gilbert Ford! Gilbert and I had just finished the cover of Tom Angleberger's Horton Halfpott so I was well aware of his talents. While working on Horton, Gilbert punched out a bunch of ideas right on the first go around this time was no different. I had an idea working in my head but I wanted to see what Gilbert came up with first. No reason.

Below are Gilbert first round of sketches and his explanation behind each idea.

This has peter nimble blindfolded, representing blind, and a crown on his head. On each jewel shows one of the three different pairs of eyeballs. This represents the jeweled eyes in his crown that gives him power. It also alludes to him being a prince. The characters are Sir Tode, Simon, one of the apes, and Frederick the fish. At the bottom is the ship and the air balloon the cat and raven ride. The back cover would be done in a similar fashion to the front, making room for bar code and text.

This plays with the idea of turning the silhouette of the boy's eye into a die-cut. I was also thinking that the keyholes could be die cut. I thought that the two symbols of a lock and eyes could be used like they are linked together. On the back are the ravens, which turns to sky and sand and then the hot air balloon over the desert. Room for text in the white area. Not sure if the type should be treated differently.

The keyholes are literally his eyes (since they are holes, too, having no eyes) but also the holes represent both his talent and his weakness, and opening new doors- his fantastic eyes can take him places. In the decorations around the border are the literal eyeballs. I am wondering if they should just be gold so that you don't see that they are eyeballs immediately. I was thinking of just treating the boy in dark blues so that if you want to make the key holes into a die cut, it will show up.

The E's in peter are eyes. The silhouettes of the boy shows him looking and there is a color radiating out as if it takes him to another dimension.

I sat on these sketches for a week or so. I loved that I was being presented with so many thought out ideas. But at this phase of the process I was still hooked on another approach. Imagine a die-cut cover ( see example below) where the eye hole are cut out in perfect circles. Behind the die-cut on the endpapers we could see Peter Nimble's fantastic eyes. Still being stuck on this idea I had Gilbert work up a few sketches to see if this idea worked. I was sure it would.

But I was wrong. I had lead the design to much in the direction of a cool effect.

(Way to psychedelic)

Now we ran into the issue of where the type would go.

But still the idea of a die-cut was just not working with the design or the story. I was missing out on the fantastic setting an world of the story that needed to be shown on the cover so the read could be identify and hopefully be sucked into the world of the book as I was from the first paragraph.

Here is Gilbert's next sketch based on the idea of place. We have him in silhouette to show his blindness.

But we need to still go farther. After a talk with Tamar Brazis the editorial director she suggested to see Peter running a top the roof tops.

Much better!

Now it was time to focus in on the type.

Yikes! This type looks to much like Herbie the Love Bug or Disney movies from the 60's

I wanted the type have florishes but not be to decorative and have a key hole element worked in. And some how all these ideas needed to form a logo for Peter Nimble. My hope was the type would be good enough to be used if for a movie version. Easy right? Here is what we came up with.

Now the subtitle needed some attention. Poor lonesome subtitle.

For the subtitle I thought it was important that it be hand drawn. Really for no particular reason other than it just felt right. Using a straight font just seemed to mechanical.

Close but no cigar. Too blocky.

Ahh just right! Only the stupid H needed to be capitalized. Oh copyediting. Sigh.

Some fine tuning still needed to be done on the cover image. Peter's pose was bugging us. He was to big, his burgal sack was also to large and he need to be positioned so his feet were grounded.

Various charcter sketches followed.

Final Full Jacket art

Final Jacket Layout

Spot Gloss layer

Case design

The last thing left to do is pic the color for the case. You want to try and match the colors of the jacket to the case. There are a few different was one can go. And for some reason the easiest part of book design always make me sweat a little. Did I pick the right colors?

Emerald green. Just right. To match Peter's Emerald Green Fantastic Eyes.

Endpapers

Half title page

Title Page

Contents page

Chapter opening pages