Ad Week - Jan 2014

I haven't been doing much illustration lately; a FT job offer I received earlier in 2013 has allowed me to scale back and only take jobs that I have really wanted to do. But when Ad Week magazine called me up about this group of little portraits, I agreed because A)It seemed like a fun gig, and B)I've done work for Ad Week before, and they were a delight to deal with.

Click the image to see the portraits close up; the magazine put them in those little bubbles and I think they look cool!

Inc. Magazine - March 2013

These were portraits I did for the March 2013 edition of Inc. magazine, for an article called "You Have Nine Months To Get Healthy" about the impending full implementation of the Affordable Care Act, aka "Obamacare."

It was all very simple and Inc. was easy to work with. Done and done!

Smithsonian - Nov. 2012

I drew the contributor portraits for the November 2012 edition of Smithsonian magazine--nine illustrations in all, though one had to be dropped because the author's piece was bumped from the issue.

I used to like putting heavy outlines on all my illustrations, now I kinda prefer open color holds like you see here. For portraits this small, it helps each piece breathe, I think.

The Village Voice - 11/16/11

I was asked to do the above portrait of NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly (no relation) for the cover to the 11/16/11 edition of The Village Voice.

The VV showed me the rough layout they had in mind for the cover; a Russian Constructvist-type thing, and I immediately knew what they were going after, since I'm a big fan of that style. The portrait went through a couple of stages, and as it developed it got looser and rougher, to better convey that DIY feel.

I'm happy to see a piece of mine on a cover like this; I think its beautifully composed and really gets the message across. This is my first piece for The Village Voice, I hope its not my last!

San Diego Union Tribune Night & Day Cover

This is the cover to the October 27 edition of Night & Day, the free entertainment magazine that's part of the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper.

This is the second cover I've done for Night & Day, and it was a challenge, to say the least! I submitted a couple of different cover concepts for their "2011 Super Dining Guide" and I did this one last, figuring (hoping?) they wouldn't go for it, because it was so complex and the deadline was very tight. Guess what happened?

Anyway, in between trips to NYC to attend the 2011 NY Comic Con, I worked on this cover panel by panel. I did the easy ones first, to feel like I was on a roll, and then moved onto the more complicated ones.

I was aided immeasurably by my pal and master cosplayer Roxanna Meta, who I figured would have at least some good shots of her and her friends in superhero costumes that I could use as reference. I was right, and that's her at the bottom right, peering out from behind a giant menu. I used a shot of a friend of hers dressed as The Flash, but then reworked it so the anonymous speedster is carrying some yummy take-out.

It was a lot of work, but I'm proud of the final result and that I could stay focused enough to get it all done in time. I enjoy doing these Night & Day covers, I hope there's more in my future.


(BTW, click the graphic to see a larger version)

Charles Schwab On Investing - Summer 2011

This is the latest piece I've done for Charles Schwab On Investing magazine, their Summer 2011 issue.

Pine Magazine - Spring 2011

This is the cover to the Spring 2011 issue of Pine, the alumni magazine for Northern Arizona University. I was asked to a modern version of the iconic (and much-parodied) Norman Rockwell painting Thanksgiving, but instead using some professors and students from the university involved in a specific school program.

I can say with little doubt that this was probably the single most complex illustration I've ever had to create--I had to use the same basic set-up as Rockwell, but had to illustrate six specific people, two generic "seat fillers", plus all the accoutrements--table, drinking glasses, plates, books, silverware, diplomas, laptops, chairs, wall, floor, curtains, wallpaper, and window. I created each piece separately and then put it all together like a big puzzle, moving each piece around so every element could be seen properly.

To make things even more fun, the company that produces Pine didn't have much in the way of reference photos of everyone in the poses you see above. So I had to use the faces from the photos they did have and graft them onto other bodies that fit in the various poses vaguely approximating the ones in Thanksgiving. Not easy, I must admit.

Luckily, I had a decent amount of time to work on this and get it right, and in the end I was really proud of the piece. It was run on the inside as well, with less typography on top of it:

I also created some spot illustrations featuring some of table elements separated out that were used through the text of the article:

While I'll admit this assignment was more of a technical challenge than a creative one, I am nevertheless very proud of the final result. I take great pride in being a professional commercial artist; more a craftsman than an artiste, per say, and being able to produce something this complex and specific on time was a huge undertaking. I'm thrilled it all came together and to finally see it in use!

San Diego Union-Tribune Night & Day Cover

This is the cover to the March 17 edition of Night & Day, the free entertainment magazine that's part of the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper.

There's a new production of Cabaret starting up in San Diego, starring a local theater actress named Karson St. John playing what is usually a male role, that of the emcee. So I was asked to illustrate Ms. St. John in the traditional outfit of the character, using a monochromatic palate.

There wasn't much in the way of reference of Ms. St. John in costume, so I had to sort of splice different elements together and then add in the appropriate clothes. I came up with a couple of different poses, and the magazine settled on this one, with the Emcee looking directly at the viewer.

Once I had that established, putting together the final was relatively painless. It looks very smooth and very slick, and the art director made it even better by coming in closer and cropping the image a bit. All in all, I think it came out pretty well!

ESPN Head Shots 2

This was the second batch of head shots that ESPN magazine asked me to do for their "Scale of 1 to 10" feature--fortunately this group saw print, in the 2/21 edition.

Because these portraits are running so small (each is about about 1.5" high), I could leave some detail out, which not only helped make sure I could get them done on time, but gave them a slightly different look than a lot of my other portrait work.

These were fun to do, I hope I'll be hearing from ESPN again soon!

From The Vault: MBA Jungle Portraits - 2001

These are three portraits of a series I did for MBA Jungle magazine, back in 2001 when that mag was still around (from top to bottom: Jerry Stiller, Tara Reid, Bill Paxton).

They had a regular feature where a new celebrity each week would pick stocks, and then the magazine would measure those stocks' fortunes against other celebrities. Maybe it was this kind of "its all a big game" attitude toward our financial sector that got this country in the trouble we're in. But I digress...

Anyway, the feature was fun, and it was one of the first regular assignments I had gotten in this style, so it taught me a lot about getting things done on time and looking consistent. When I look at these now, I'm generally unhappy with them: the grey tones are too heavy and hard-edged, giving the likenesses a rockier look than I like. But, like a lot of things, it was a learning experience.

I did something like a dozen of these (some of which I have on my website proper), and then the magazine decided to drop me in favor of another artist. Eventually, MBA Jungle went belly up. Coincidence?

Charles Schwab On Investing - Winter 2010

Every time I post a project I did for Charles Schwab On Investing magazine, I always say the same thing--it was an enormous challenge and it was drastically different from all the other pieces I've done for them. But those cliches were extra true this time around!

I was asked to do four sports-centric illustrations for the Winter 2010 issue, using football, soccer, hockey, and sports-stadium-centric images to represent each of the articles' points. It required a lot of pre-planning and prep work to put together all the various elements, and since the images were all different I went for a cohesive set of colors for the minor elements and background, figuring that would help the four pieces spread across the article feel like they were of a piece.

The hardest one to do--and the one that was most satisfying when finished--was the last one, with the jumbotron. I generally don't get asked much to draw objects, or scenes like this, but I thought it came off pretty well.

I'm hard at work on another piece for CSOI, I'm happy to say!

ESPN Head Shots

I was commissioned by ESPN magazine to do these eight portraits for their "Scale of 1 to 10" feature, and because of the MLK holiday it was a bit of a mad scramble to get them all done in time.

Because the final illustrations were only going to run at about 1.5" high each, I didn't have to get into as much detail as I normally would have, which helped getting them done on time and presented me with a challenge--capturing a decent likeness without being able to represent every little color and detail found in real life.

In the end, I thought they all came out pretty well, and ESPN was happy with the results. Unfortunately, as it was explained to me, the subjects of that week's installment changed and none of these illustrations ended up being used in the magazine! So it was either post them here or never let them be seen.

Like I said, ESPN was happy with what I did, so much so they commissioned me to do another set, for the next issue, which I'm hard at work on as I type this. I've done stuff for the magazine before, but its been a long while, so let's hope there's no last-minute snafu and this second set actually shows up on your local newsstand!

Sandra Lee Halloween 2010

Boo!

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by the people who put together Sandra Lee magazine, asking me if they could use my Universal Monster posters for a special segment that would feature them as decoration at a Halloween-themed dinner party.

I of course said yes, and a week or so ago the issue--a special one-shot simply called Sandra Lee Halloween--hit the newsstands, and I was really blown away by how great everything looked, and how integrated my posters were with the surroundings:

Using eight of my posters in all, the article featured each piece on two pages; one with the poster in its setting, the other with a description of the elements used for the food and the settings. They even used my original logo treatments from the posters to adorn the whole piece!

All told, the article ran eighteen pages, certainly the most amount of space my work has occupied in a magazine!



(Reprinted with permission from Hoffman Media and Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Magazine. Semihomemademag.com)

Charles Schwab On Investing: Fall 2010

While I'm hard at work on another assignment for Charles Schwab On Investing magazine, here's the last piece I did for them; this will probably the only time I will ever have to draw a beret, for any reason.

From The Vault: Drug Raid - 2007

I did this piece for a medical magazine, part of a series of illustrations for a long article about a South American country. One of the aspects covered was the massive drug trade, the evidence of which can be seen here.

For reasons I can't remember, I don't think this ever saw print, which is kinda too bad--its different than the kind of stuff I normally do, and I thought it came out okay.

Plus, it took forever to draw all those packages!

From The Vault: Lobster - 2004

I honestly can't remember who/what this piece was for--it was never published, which is maybe why it looks a little unfinished to me. I think I got pretty far along and then the whole thing was scrapped. The rest is lost to the mists of time.

This piece was a change of pace for me, since its anthropomorphic, humorous approach isn't the kind of thing I'm known for. But I don't think it came out too badly!

Jager in Armani

I was asked by a German magazine called Wirtschafts Woche to do an illustration for an article about headhunters, clad in Armani, doing their thing on the streets of Germany.

They asked me to do it in the style of my faux-vintage paperback book covers, which of course was a lot of fun. I did several versions until we settled on this more modern approach (inevitable, with the Armani suit, cell phone, etc.). It feels more Tom Clancy-ish than the other paperback covers I've done, but heck his books are in paperback, too.

From The Vault: Campaign Finances - 2008

This straightforward piece was done for a financial magazine (called dBusiness, I think) back in early 2008 for an article about the respective finances of the Clinton, Edwards, Obama, Guliani, McCain, and Romney campaigns.

The page had so much text on it all they had room for were these six headshots across the bottom of the page, which is why they're all crammed in there together.

From the beginning, I definitely had a favorite candidate in the mix, and I have to say as the campaign wore on I enjoyed watching each of them fade away and drop out, until...

Charles Schwab On Investing: Summer 2010

Another issue of Charles Schwab on Investing, another chance for me to do something really fun and different!

From The Vault: Wish You Were Here - 2006

This was done for a magazine client; but time has erased my memory of just what it was for. I do remember that it was about this specific woman (whose name, again, escapes me) and the magazine wanted her lounging on a beach chair on a prototypical Summer day.

So that meant I had to stitch two pieces together to get the portrait (head + body), and overall I think its fairly seamless. The colors are maybe a tad too saturated, but overall I thought it came out okay.