Personal Project: I printed my own personal "Artist Edition" style hardcover book to showcase my favorite commissions 1 1

[PixelPusher]

Since 2018, I've been collecting mainly 90's era Wildstorm commissions as it's a very nostalgic time for me. As much as I love original covers and interiors from that time, I quickly found myself priced out of the original art game. It's been a blast seeking out artists and seeing their interpretations of the characters. For the penciled commissions, I'll usually get them inked and digitally colored so I can make prints for myself or a poster to put on my wall.

A few months back I decided to design and print a book to showcase my favorite commissions over the years. The oversize format of IDW Artist Edition books immediately came to mind and I was able to find a printer who would produce a one-off book that met the specifications. It was a great feeling combining my graphic design know-how with my love of comic art. 

Luckily, I got in the habit of scanning commissions as they arrived over the years. Everything had been scanned at 600 or 1200 DPI and catalogued for backup purposes. This made the process more streamlined as I assembled the different spreads and determined the order of the book. Everything came together in InDesign and after a few back and forths with the printer (like adjusting the width of the spine to accommodate the pages), it was off to be printed!

It arrived about 2 weeks later and I was really impressed with overall quality. The oversize format and full bleed throughout showcases the art in the best way possible. I find that I look at and appreciate my commissions more now since I have them in book format. It's easy to just grab it off the shelf and flip through.

If you're reading this and interested in creating something like this for yourself from your collection, please feel free to reach out! I'll help in any way I can and offer advice.

Design notes:
Cover: 11.25 x 17.25 Hardcover, Full Color, Full Bleed
Interior: 11 x 17, Full Color, Full Bleed, 156 pages
Scanner: HP OfficeJet Pro 7740
Production: Images edited in Photoshop, Book Assembled in InDesign

 View more images here: https://imgur.com/a/xo4zdUf

[Benedict Judas Hel]

Congrats, Double P!  That is awesome that you did this!

[grapeape]

Beyond fanboy. Slick and impressive.

[Will_K]

Great idea !!  And I think it's also a way of making a contribution to the actual commissions.  Like when you pick out mattes and frames.  It's a way of adding to the art.

If you can, can you give us a rough idea of the cost for printing a one-off like that ??  And that also misses the cost of having a professional layout and design the book.

[The Voord]

That's an amazing feat you just pulled off, very well done, I'm in awe . . . total respect.  

[PixelPusher]

1 hour ago, Will_K said:

Great idea !!  And I think it's also a way of making a contribution to the actual commissions.  Like when you pick out mattes and frames.  It's a way of adding to the art.

If you can, can you give us a rough idea of the cost for printing a one-off like that ??  And that also misses the cost of having a professional layout and design the book.

Exactly! I love how this gives the commissions another life and I found arranging the pages took on an unexpected bit of storytelling consideration. 

Pricing came out to ~$150 for 1 copy and shipping. Prep and design was about a week of my time.

[cloud cloddie]

I’ve thought about doing something like this... and seeing that makes me want to do it more. Great job - looks f’n awesome. 

[JadeGiant]

Awesome idea! Looks great!

[J.Sid]

Uh, that doesn't suck...

[Werebear]

That's very cool. I can imagine seeing this at a con booth, great work on the design layout.

[eewwnuk]

Can you share who you used for printing?  This came out great!

[vodou]

13 hours ago, PixelPusher said:

I'm as big a fan of this idea/project/exectution there can be, I promise. Wanted to get that out of the way first.

Now the crit: in layout design it's more traditional (for good reason) to place your lesser image on the right (for the flip through draw) and your related better (or more finished/inked/bolder) image on the left side - to hold the viewer's time/interest for the long contemplation and back 'n forth comparison. Now there is the traditional way of doing things and then there's breaking walls and doing things differently to see if that works too...all good, just putting it out there and my lean is the more traditional/conservative approach. YMMV

[PixelPusher]

On 12/23/2020 at 8:52 PM, eewwnuk said:

Can you share who you used for printing?  This came out great!

I was lucky to find a place that was more of a turnkey process with a few printing options. You provide the PDF formatted to their specs and they do the rest. I felt the price was fair (especially considering my quantity) and I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality. Currently trying another print job with them and hoping it turns out just as nice. 

Edited March 26, 2021 by PixelPusher

[PixelPusher]

2 hours ago, vodou said:

Now the crit: in layout design it's more traditional (for good reason) to place your lesser image on the right (for the flip through draw) and your related better (or more finished/inked/bolder) image on the left side - to hold the viewer's time/interest for the long contemplation and back 'n forth comparison. Now there is the traditional way of doing things and then there's breaking walls and doing things differently to see if that works too...all good, just putting it out there and my lean is the more traditional/conservative approach. YMMV

Thanks! I appreciate the insight and that's one thing I went back and forth on.

[PixelPusher]

14 hours ago, JadeGiant said:

Awesome idea! Looks great!

A similar book for your Bob Larkin tributes would be awesome!

[Randall Dowling]

4 hours ago, vodou said:

in layout design it's more traditional (for good reason) to place your lesser image on the right (for the flip through draw) and your related better (or more finished/inked/bolder) image on the left side - to hold the viewer's time/interest for the long contemplation and back 'n forth comparison. Now there is the traditional way of doing things and then there's breaking walls and doing things differently to see if that works too...all good, just putting it out there and my lean is the more traditional/conservative approach. YMMV

That's different from my experience.  I think the layout is exceptional for this project.  The OP avoided a lot of common mistakes and kept it pretty simple and elegant.  Nice work!  

Edited December 24, 2020 by Randall Dowling

[fenip]

2 hours ago, Randall Dowling said:

That's different from my experience.  I think the layout is exceptional for this project.  The OP avoided a lot of common mistakes and kept it pretty simple and elegant.  Nice work!  

For me it seems also logical to put the pencil on the lift and the inked version on the right. (I'm also left-handed...)  It's a book to savour, not to flip through...

Anyway, respect!

[art4comics.com]

Great idea and execution.  Now you can list everything as published:)  

[Local Net Plus, LLC]

Impressed!  And I don't impress easily.  

[ESeffinga]

23 hours ago, PixelPusher said:

Thanks! I appreciate the insight and that's one thing I went back and forth on.

Fwiw, one designer to another, I absolutely think you got it the right way around.

I was fascinated to hear you were able to get a 1off book printed for only $150 until I saw the source. It came out great regardless. I bet inspires a few people here to do something similar.

Kudos!