Tuesday, June 30, 2015

The Phantom Bully!

Today marks the release of Jedi Academy 3: The Phantom Bully! Here's a look at the sketches I drew when I started thinking about the cover. For book covers, I usually try to come up with 10-12 ideas to choose from.

My editors at Scholastic and Lucasfilm look over the ideas, giving suggestions about what parts they like and which idea they like best overall. Then I draw a rough color sketch at actual print size based on their feedback.

Everyone gives additional feedback after that sketch - in this case, there was too much green and so the suggestion was to make the chalkboard blue instead. A few other tweaks, and the final cover art comes together.

The title text is printed green even though I draw it in black, and the other cover elements like the Jedi Academy logo are added from the previous books.

9 comments:

  1. I just got my copy and I'm so happy! I've been waiting for it since the second one came one! I really love this serie and I hope there's more to come! This is so great!

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  2. My 10 year old son Lucas HATES to read but he adores your books. He has read the first two Jedi books so many times that I've lost track. He carries them around and reads them over and over. This morning I presented him with this book and he literally jumped for joy and started reading. He read while he ate his eggs, he read on the way to church, and he even tried to bring the book with him to church. He had a huge smile on his face the whole time. Thanks for doing what you do. I hope there are more to come.

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  3. My sons are 6 & 8 and we love the Jedi Academy series! Finding this new one at the library made their day. My 8yo just asked when the next book was coming out :) so keep them coming!
    We love Vader's Little Princess and Vader and Son, too. Hilarious!

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  4. Cheers for a great third addition to this series! Your books have been instrumental in helping my boys learn to love reading. Of course it doesn't hurt that their names are Davin and Rowan (with a little sister Ellie). ;) They feel like it is their story.

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  5. Make more, you must

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  6. This is spectacular. The way you tell these stories is absolutely captivating. My wife bought the first one for my 5 year old for Christmas thinking it was more of a traditional comic strip book. I picked it up, read a few pages, and just read it through to the end. As soon as I finished it, I got on my phone, went to Amazon, and ordered the other two. Didn't take me more than two days to finish both (I have young twin boys that take up most of my time :) ). I feel like I'm just repeating what people seem to say, but they are right: please keep it coming!!

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  7. I checked out "Good Night, Darth Vader" from my local library and loved it! I also enjoyed "Vader's little Princess". Your Star Wars comic books are way more fun to read than the actual novels by George Lucas and others!

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  8. Are or were you commissioned to write and illustrate these books for Lucasfilms? Or did you create them on your own and had get special clearance or buy a merchandising license from them?

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  9. Wow guys I really want a new book about roan in high school that would be epic

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