Comic Title Creation

[J.Z.Castillo]

How did you create the title of your comic? By this I mean how did you illustrate it, not how you came up for the name of your comic.

Do you feel like titles should reflect what people are about to read 100%? Should they be ornate or simple?

What's your approach?

[J.Lovelace]

I just try to match the mood of the story with the appropriate font.
90% of the time I can't decide which font works best (from a selected few) or what I have in mind, but after two hours of pondering and switching between them 10 times I finally pick something that looks decent :'D
Only once or twice I created a title all by myself, but not nearly great as already pre-made fonts online.

(I won't put links to my series, just titles because I am on time limit and it takes a bit long)
To summarize, "I'm Mortal" is about a reaper and he's kinda goth styled, so I went for a font that looks like the letters have carved ornaments in them (and I think there's skulls and bones in there too)
"Urban Legend" is, well takes place in an urban area, so the font looks a bit like faded white paint on a wall. At least it gives off that feeling.
"Skies aren't blue" is a sci-fi story, so mandatory sci-fi font was in order, but not too complicated.
"Constant Thinking" is pretty heavily hinting on victorian era, so a fancy cursive font suits it I think.
And "The CreatOr" has a simple basic font with the O being replaced by a shiny circle, because it was supposed to resemble a halo, which is very important in that series, because the main character is pretty much a deity with a halo above their head :'D

Lastly I don't pick fonts that are hard to read, because what's the point of a title if nobody can recognize what it says?

[Ambat]

I chose the title "Nocturne" because one of the main characters is a vampire musician. The definition of "nocturne" is a song written with romanticism towards the night, which suits the mood and feeling of the vampire mystery/romance story I'm going for.

To further clarify (as I now read that you wanted more depth than just the "why" it was chosen), I think the title is pretty straight-forward and will more or less prepare the reader for what they're gonna get--vampires, music, romance--maybe it doesn't cover the murder mystery part, but the word "nocturne" is sort of mysterious I guess haha!

[insomniascrawl]

For (Semi) Super, I kept the font simple, used a text with serif to make it look more serious rather than relaxed (if that makes sense). I went with the parenthesis around 'semi' to really make it stand out that even though my characters have powers and are technically 'super' their lazy ways and nonchalant attitudes keep them from really ever being super.

For Rooftop Bookshop, I just wanted something bright and straightforward and welcoming so I used a sanserif font and bright coloured text because I wanted it to reflect the bright lighthearted nature of my idiot- I mean characters >_>

I like simple titles in design and in name... I go with whatever comes to mind first and then tweak things until I'm satisfied, both with design and with name.

[J.Z.Castillo]

you missed the point LMAO

how did you illustrate it

[shazzbaa]

For the visuals of a title/logo I usually try to keep it pretty simple! Today Nothing Happened's title was just written in my handwriting, which seemed fitting for autobio, and Runewriters was designed to look slightly futhark-rune-ish. But I feel like the logo/title isn't gonna be representing the comic all by itself usually -- the art will help with that -- so it's not important for it to define or illustrate the comic, imo. It just needs to not clash and look distinct enough to be recognisable when it's on the cover of a book or header of a website!

[AnnaLandin]

I went with a more brush-work look for the title of Grassblades - because it's set in a world where writing with brushes is common. Also, the long, sweeping verticals (on the b, l and d) look a bit grass-like, which is, you know, fitting.

With Wishlight, I actually hand-lettered it from scratch - which is actually quite the achievement; I have the handwriting of a blind, shivering crow. I went with a slanted, sweeping look to it, because that signals "fairytale" to me, and Wishlight is a fairytale.

Do you feel like titles should reflect what people are about to read 100%?

The title - and the cover - is usually the first thing a potential reader sees of your comic. Just as with the first minute of a movie, your cover and title should set the tone/atmosphere for what's inside the comic, even if it isn't 100% laid out in detail. Like, a spiky, or dripping font for the title? I'm probably going to find a horror comic inside. A bubbly, rounded, friendly-looking font? It's probably a slice-of-life or romance comic.

If you use a friendly rounded font for a horror comic, your potential readers might have flipped to the first page expecting a romance, and be greeted by a grisly horror scene - they're probably gonna nope right out of there.

Should they be ornate or simple?

They should be readable. Clarity is key. If I have to spend more than 10 seconds looking at your title to even know what the words are, it's too ornate. Other than that, do whatever the heck you want!

[joannekwan]

As a former graphic design major, I go by the lessons taught to me, mostly to keep it simple. Usually I start by going through my mac's fontbook and see if any of the typefaces has the "personality" to match my series.

For Demon House, I used Excellens, but I altered the letters so the title could be an ambigram (if you flip it 180 it will read the same). It's quirky and eclectic, which I think suits the series perfectly.

Heavy Horns, I wanted something straightforward so I chose the serif typeface Friz Quadrata. It has just enough flourish to be interesting but not over the top.

Sarota Springs, I really wanted a script font, something that looks old-worldly fitting for a horror story set in the NorthEast US so I used Trattatello. I set this one off with a circle because it reminds me of a wax seal— like one you'd use to seal a letter.

So far Erie Waters is the only proper title that I hand-wrote, and that was simply because I couldn't find a typeface that fit what I had envisioned. Besides, I like the hand-done look as it's reminiscent of scrimshaw and that fits into the whole water/lake motif of the story.

[spadesart]

I wanted SPIRE's logo to reflect the steampunk aesthetic. It's textured with speckles like a starry sky and it's got gear patterns (as a reference to the hunters) and sharp edges kind of like teeth (because vampires) the white lines over it are supposed to resemble a star map.

[TrustyShamrock]

i did the same thing as a few people where i switched around a lot. but i think i finally decided on somethin. first it was really simple but then i wanted somethin funner lookin and where ya could tell it was from my comic even from far away
my comic is called Robo Hole and its about robots and black holes. so i made my text look really roboty and then i filled in one of the gear Os all black to looks like a black hole. it doesnt show what the whole storys about. but it beats the robots and black holes idea over yur head a few times at least

[heterodont]

Honestly I go pretty simple...I don't try shoving any imagery into the title itself. I just based the title of KF's logo on typography similar to my favorite band's logo back in the day when I just started it lol..

I can't say much for the logo of my other story because I still haven't settled on a good one.

[Shanny8]

With my Ray Thunder comic, I wanted the title design to have that feel of thunder/lightning in the title. At first I started designing a logo that looked similar to the WCW Thunder(wrestling) logo- but then after coming to Tapastic, I felt that logo design looked a little TOO "comic booky", so I decided to create a title design that had a balance in it; one that looked "comic booky" and didnt at the same time. I had my eye on two fonts that I finally ended up buying; one captured the the "electric" essence that I was looking for while the other had a standard/aerodynamic feel to it- I put the two together to create my title logo.

The 1st draft design:

The 2nd draft- the one I went with:

[Kamikaze]

Oooo! Good question!

I feel like graphic design is something that should communicate an idea of what your story is. By using font choice, kerning, symbols, color and more you can really show your audience what they're getting into. Title logos should REALLY be simple to read, and that causes a lot of trouble when it comes to fantasy logo's for me. They often get so ornate you can't even read what they say, especially if they're small. Legibility is the biggest thing you need when it comes to a title design.

We created the logo for our title by doing a few things.

1. We sat down and wrote out works we'd use to describe our comic on cards. With three people we managed to have a LOT of cards, so we whittled it down to three big themes. Sci-fi. Mature. Imposing (as representation of the Wall in our story). One other additional idea was thrown in later, we wanted SOME sort of representation of our main character and main antagonist.
2. We then started looking at other sci-fi films and series. Trying to figure out what made those fonts and titles LOOK scifi.
3. For color we decided we wanted something simple and iconic we worked looking to find something that would look good in black or white.

Early designs for our title:

While we REALLY liked the action in this and the font choice, this title looked like it belonged to a saturday morning kids show. Not what we were after as a comic with a serious angle.

So we tried something a bit simplier, with a worn edge to give an idea of our world. This was cool, but it didn't really get across sci-fi so much as kungfu movie, which wasn't what we were going for. It was also a little hard to read due to the weathering on the letters. The A's looked a bit like R's. If people can't even read your title correctly then you're doing it wrong. So we tossed this one out.

We went back to the original idea. The letters were curved to hint at the Wall in our comic. To add a bit of an idea on our main antagonist we fussed with dot over the 'i'. While we loved these concepts, they still didn't work and gave off too much of a 'kid' vibe.

So finally we tried to mesh the two ideas. We took the imposing look of the weathered font, and cleaned it up. Havana pulled in some curves to give the logo a bit more action. We then threw in sharp edges to make things look a little dangerous. Havana put the nod to our antagonist using the dot of the 'i', and she BRILLIANTLY found a way to pull a nod to our main character into the logo. By changing a few lines she managed to make a hidden rabbit in our logo. Our main character's nick name, and a thematic symbol through out our story is the rabbit. Can you see it?

But there was one problem. The eye of the rabbit looked out of place, almost cartoonish and didn't seem to match up. Kinda bummed out the team put it aside for a minute...

and then I watched the film Watership Down. The rabbit death spirit in the film had these really interesting, almost predatory looking eyes, and I loved the look. So I tweaked the rabbit's eye and voila! We had our logo!

[Ambat]

Oh, I didn't really understand what you meant by "illustrate" haha--do you mean the logos...? What a strange choice of words.

If you mean logo design, I just went for a standard 80s looking color scheme and font because my comic takes place in a very aesthetically stereotypical 80s city.

[punkarsenic]

well, for twaw i gathered up basically every single free cc font i could find that suited the theme (celtic.) then i just played around with them until i found something appealing and ledgible, with the 'was the' in the middle smaller and 'war' bigger to create a nice shape and put the emphasis on 'war.' then i used a paint tool to make it look less clean. sometimes it features a green eye shape with a faint dove in the pupil, using motifs from the comic to create a simplistic and appealing image.

it was a fairly unemphasised process for me, because i make playlists on 8tracks a lot that require typography - i think you develop an understanding of what fits well and what looks good, after a while.

titles / logos should definitely reflect your comic; its an element of the design, and among the first impressions people get. however, id prioritise legibility first - make sure your title can be made smaller and still recognisable and understandable. really stylised fonts are awesome, but not if nobody can read it - think death metal bands as a clear example of what not to do. so long as its legible, ornate-ness and simplicity depend on your style - imo simple is really nice for editing, so id always go with that.

[shaneoid77]

For HOTWAB, I was playing "World Heroes" on my Wii (very old Street Fighter clone) which gave me the basics, but I was looking for something which resembled the old 80's/90's franchises which oddly went for epic titles like:
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriros
Teenage mutant Ninja Turtles... you get the point.

I was a bit cautious about using '...and Beyond' as it's mostly associated with Toy Story, but I thought, what the hell!
Thus was born...

I was going for classy, not sure if that worked. But I hit a problem, when I was shrinking this logo to fit on things like banners, it just vanished, especially the smaller words. So I went for a redesign.

I basically decorated the font and went for an 80's theme, the shine influenced by the logo from Collective of Heroes, which I'd just joined. I originally didn't want something that felt as cartoony, but I was surprised at how much more traffic the colourful logo generated, obviously it's more eyecatching and it works much better on banners and the like.

Thinking back on it, with the use of the two different logos, representing your comic probably works best. The first logo didn't really say "Superhero".

[igneriss]

I have two series:

Both of titles are my actual handwriting, just one is with a pen and other with a tablet pen which I cannot really use //shot
ANYWAYS, 6,75 is a fantasy, fairytale-ish story, so I wanted to give that feel in the logo. I use this type of writing when I write letters, dates etc, and I think it goes well with art style in 6,75 ( : and the feather is there, because a main character has a coat made of feathers~
As for TMIC, I thought it would be good to use the type of writing I used to use during lectures for chemical components' names- so something really quick but also readable CX even more deformed due to the use of a tablet pen, haha ; u;

[Doubtcent]

For my main series, English Project Shorts:

Easily made from the letters E and P, with a sense of symmetry in mind. I just love coming up with symbols.

For a new series that I've been working on behind the scenes:

The main idea was that the letter "D" was a character's smile and the letter "C" was a telephone. The rest of the letters I just decided to make them horror/creepy themed, and the "-all" in the word call is based on the letters on a telephone dial pad. As for the name, it was originally "Death Calling", sort of like the idea of someone's calling in life, was in fact death. But then I realized that the title didn't roll off the tongue very well. Death Call just sounded better.

[Evan_Bee]

I'll show off my titles and talk a little bit about the design process.

This logo was very heavily based not only on the traditional colors of Nintendo logos, but also largely came together because of the first splash art for the series. I wanted a title that would play with angles, and largely focused on simplistic, yet playful font for the design. Of course, I downplayed the "the" in the title since the number was the most important part- there is a final cast of ten in the comic and that plays into the lore a bit, as well as being the middle syllable in "Nintendo". Knowing this, I streamlined my search for text that was simple and playful, but also wouldn't blend with the angles of the image- the filter I used in the photo straightens out curves, and I wanted to contrast that. The actual shape of the logo was fairly straightforward- again, I wanted it to flow with the angular nature of the image, so I simply skewed the art. I also wanted a little bit of visual flair, which emerged in the lighter stripe through the large part of the logo. Eventually, I would add a white border around the entire logo to help it stick out against certain backgrounds, but here's the final product in the image referenced:

Now, the sequel logo required a whole lot more thought, because I wanted to "mature" the series a bit more, and the logo change needed to reflect that. So, the same rules applied: I wanted angular font, but with darker colors and a more serious tone. I found them, and managed to fit them together in a way that honored the original logo design, but also looked new and "sexier" for lack of a better term. For the "2", I really wanted it to look slapshod and intense, so I settled on a font that looked really scratchy and brush-like. As I started to position the number, I saw the almost-perfect angles of the lighter stripe and the "2" aligning, so I rotated the number slightly and it all came together. The gradient on both blue parts was a delightful surprise, as I tried snapping a picture on my phone of the logo and sending it to a friend, and the resulting artifacts gave the "2" a gradient. It was perfect, so I kept it. Here's the final result:

Logo design is a really serious aspect of a comic- my first logo for The Ten was more based on how it blended with the first splash art, but the second (and eventual third) were concentrated efforts to encapsulate the mood of the series, and I think that text can speak volumes about that idea without being literal. Slight positioning alterations to make the elements mesh well is a huge focus for me, especially making sure the collective result is "tight". It needs to say all that it needs to say, without taking up too much space and detracting from the rest of the images that it will eventually accompanying.

[J.MORK]

i think the style of your title logo should somewhat reflect the style or themes of your comic

this is actually just my handwriting with extra flourishes on the capital letters, but i thought its delicateness combined with the connotations of the title suited the love story themes of the comic pretty well