Sky Cinema: Comic Book
Bringing the pages of a comic book to life for Sky Cinema.
Sky Cinema: Comic Book 40” Promo.
“A match-cut edit, but on the page of a comic book”
The goal would be to have one character travelling through all of these movies, but instead of the clips just floating in space - styling them to look like the panels on the page of a comic book.
With the main body of the promo being on a comic book page - ending on the standard Sky Cinema endboard wouldn’t do the promo enough justice. How could I level this up?
My mind immediately went to the character introduction scenes in ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’. Every time a character is introduced, the movie zooms out, revealing that the scene is taking place in a comic - then flipping closed and being added to an ever growing pile of comics.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Reference / Inspiration.
I proposed rather than using a standard Sky Cinema endboard, we zoom out to reveal the promo took place in a comic book the entire time, flipping closed to reveal the ‘Sky Cinema: Comic Collection’ comic book. With all the surrounding comics comprising of the comic book movies that would be featured in the main body of the promo.
If the endboard was going to be a ‘Sky Cinema’ comic book, I had to dive into the world of comic books for some visual research.
A collection of some of the classic comic book covers I found in my visual research.
I ended up looking at many different references, from traditional comics by Marvel and DC, to more modern day posters and comic book covers from the Digital Illustrator Doaly.
Silver Surfer (1968) #4 Comic Book Cover - Shared Elements.
Most of the comics I looked at had a couple of things in common, such as a 'character panel', which included the price, date, etc. They also had a stamp, indicating whether or not the comic had been ‘Approved by the Comics Code Authority'. This would have let parents know if the comic was suitable to buy for their children.
Creating my own ‘Character Panel’.
Creating my own ‘Approved by the Sky Comics Authority’ Stamp.
For the character panel, I thought a roll of film would be quite fitting for Sky Cinema. As for the stamp, I created one that read as ‘Approved by the Sky Comics Authority’ as a nod to the original.
Sky Cinema Comic Book Cover Hand-Illustration Process.
For the cover itself, I tried to bring in elements from my visual research while also tying it back to the Sky Cinema brand. I translated the Sky Cinema ‘Red World’ particles into a starry backdrop. I then added a spiralling film reel to represent the large range of movies included in the collection.
The final textured Sky Cinema: Comic Book cover.
Here I was able to go in and layer up textures and gradients to bring the comic book cover to life.
With the Sky Cinema comic book cover illustrated, it was time to move onto the look of the main body of the promo.
Comic panel development.
Here, I experimented with how the comic panels could look. Would we go with the traditional white background with black borders, or would it be more of a subtle play with negative black space? The promo could start out in traditional cinemascope letterboxing (the black bars at the top and bottom of a movie) then divide into panels. Or maybe we could try a more modern comic book style, where we could incorperate some of Sky Cinema’s brand colours?
Comic panel background with Sky Cinema brand elements and colours.
In the end, I expanded on the fourth option, incorporating a bit more of the Sky Cinema brand’s ‘Red World’ particles, represented by some brighter red halftone dots.
This would not only add some visual interest when the screen isn’t filled with panels, but would also serve as a bit of a visual ‘anchor’ giving the viewer a greater sense of the comic book ‘page’ sliding across when the screen shifts from side to side.
Comic panel layouts.
Although the comic flipping closed at the end of the promo is a very quick transition, in order to really sell it - I had to fill out every page.
I used a variety of different classic panel layouts from Jack Kirby, the famous comic book artist - and arranged scenes in the order that they play out in their respective movies. I also added extra details like speech bubbles, captions, and onomatopoeia. As the comic book nears closing, I wrapped up with the first few pages playing out with the same scenes from the beginning of the promo to tie it all together.
Endboard development.
Above, you can see the development of the endboard. Starting with the first pass with just a pile of comics, then trying a desk setting, then a bedroom floor. Ultimately, to make it feel a bit more 'Sky Cinema' - making the carpet red, and adding a box of popcorn.
Final endboard GFX breakdown.
Here you can see a breakdown of how all of the lighting and texture comes together to make the final product.
GOLD WINNER
BEST USE OF MOTION GRAPHIC DESIGN
SILVER WINNER
BEST FILM
