Samuel Clayton Final Project - "The Every Day Hero"

For the final project I wanted to go with a theme that was meaningful and that would tell a story. After about two hours of straight brainstorming, I decided to create a comic book character. However, the difference between the usual comic superheroes and the character I created, is that the hero of my story is real, and not fictional in the slightest. As depicted in the image I created for the final project, I had my cousin Preston hold an American flag behind his back as if he were putting on a cape. The idea behind the entire image was to create a character that is not usually seen in comic books, but is almost forgotten by the millions of people these real heroes protect each and every day. The hero of my comic does not have superpowers and does not wear a real cape, but every day puts on a cape of courage and freedom depicted by the American flag in the photo. The hero of my comic is real, and the heroes I want my children to someday recognize are not the ones in fictional comics or movies, but those heroes who fight every day to protect our freedoms and our great country.

The photo actually is very different from the original. I first made sure when I took the photo that I was using the rule of thirds. One corner of the rule of thirds grid is on the heroes face. Then I cropped the image to make sure that the character looked close and personal, like many comic book characters appear. I then changed the color scheme multiple times, finally deciding that I needed an array of colors to get the point across that this image is to look like a comic book layout. Furthermore, I added different texture options to replicate a comic book print. I made sure that the typeface, called Smash was very comic book looking and fit my comic book theme and layout. The text in the image leads the eye through the picture starting with the phrase at the top left, and then leads the eye to the speech bubble on the right, and then that cloud moves the eye to the main object of the image which is the story’s hero which is an American soldier. Finally, to give it more flair and comic feel, the hero is darker as to illustrate that this hero is not always seen as the bright hero everyone is expecting, but the light and lines added to the image behind the speech bubble was meant to show that as the story’s hero puts on a different cape, he will become the superhero that no one expected to be the one that was helping and protecting them, and that they were hoping for all along.

I commented on the following images:

Steven Porter - Huck Fin
Anna Umstead - Water Conservation
Charlotte Duerden - Band Ad
Bryan McDonnell - Rewind
Hannah Maines - Disappearing World Locations