Animals of Finance...

Ok, puns are pretty bad but i couldn't bring myself to title this post "Recent Projects I Am Excited About" or something like that, it just sounds so dry and joyless...and anyway, somewhere Miles Southan is smiling. Moving on...

Last month i had the privilege of working for two of my favorite clients, both business magazines with stellar art departments, Plan Sponsor and Bloomberg Business Week. Furthering the feel-good vibe of both projects was the fact that each called for a different aesthetic and problem solving approach. 

For Plan Sponsor, i was asked to illustrate the concept of "sharing stories" for a piece about integrating blogging into your business plan. I turned in 2 sketches, the first with an Aesop's Fables direction, the second reviving the tiger-pelt clad weirdo from the abandoned "running shoe of the future" illustration from this past summer:

The client liked the first sketch (sorry again shoe-dude!), and it provided an opportunity to dig into some paint for the first time in a while, at least on for a commissioned piece. I was also super stoked that the eye-patched bear made it in.

For Bloomberg Business Week i was asked to do a photo illustration based on mounting cynicism surrounding the climate change conference in Cancun. The direction was an enhanced, slightly "defaced" post card, where some of the disasters and environmental issues would literally be imposed on (a consciously cheezy image of) the unspoiled and remote natural beauty of Cancun's beaches. Once the image was selected i turned in the following sketch:

Following a few compositional and layout i adjustments i proceeded to the following final image:

It was super fun getting to do both of these projects back to back as combined, they let me pretty much do everything i really enjoy about illustration with very little restriction or "toning down." Thanks again SooJin and Maayan!

From The Sketchbook.../Turkey Day

A baboon skull study in ink, gouache and spray paint. Trying to get back into more consistent sketchbook work and this was a fun lead off. A few big posts next week after the holiday, but for now Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

"Illustration Week" Wrap / Glamour Heads

I've been really excited lately to be doing a lot of assignments involving both some serious line work and that really demanded the drawing of people...neither of which is something i've been doing too much of in recent months. I have some tiny icons in the current issue of Glamour for their advice column of sorts. One had related to a letter about being comfortable with social taboos and the other attempting to curtail trash talk and "over-sharing." There's something deeply satisfying about spot jobs when they really come together, and i was super happy with the finish on these two. Sketches and finals below:

Finally,  a big thanks from all of us to all of you for everybody who came out to the Pencil Factory's American Illustration After Party, especially Zach O'Hora who was gracious enough to school me on the 1's and 2's for the first time in a while, Jennifer Daniel for her always hilarious flier and Peggy Roalf for legitimizing our half-baked shin dig with some 11th hour press.

 

AMERICAN ILLUSTRATION AFTER PARTY

The ladies and lads of the Pencil Factory studios invite you back to their stomping grounds in Greenpoint Brooklyn following that annual melee of drunken debauchery and finger foods (skewers!) that is American Illustration...

In honor of our esteemed colleague Sam Weber having landed this year's cover, we're throwing the after party in the shadow of our humble studios at Veronica People's Club, owned and operated by the same people who brought you Heather's (so for the squeamish, it'll be just like being in Manhattan, but in Brooklyn)... The venerable Zach O'Hora and less venerable Ted McGrath will DJ timeless chestnuts and obscuro nuggets of the party variety til the wee hours... join us, networking not required...

Directions: Hail a cab. Tell driver to go to Greenpoint and Franklin in Greenpoint.

Via subway: L to Bedford Ave, G to Greenpoint, but just take a cab.

Click here to see VPC on google maps, or here if you need to see it on facebook for some reason.

Flier by Jennifer Daniel.

New York Observer...

This week i got to work on a fun piece for the New York Observer's Sex Column, illustrating a story that took an awkward morning after "ride of shame" scenario and used it as a jumping off point for a pretty witty survey of contemporary gender politics. 

Lately i've been enjoying exploring this kind of direct narrative type of illustration as opposed to the collage-y "flat" stuff i usually do - with this piece it seemed more interesting to try to really get the annoyed, bored and sleep-deprived expression and feel of the girl blithely staring out the window of her date's car than come up with something more complicated or less direct. 

 

Once the sketch was approved it was a pretty simple translation to the final.

See the finished piece in more detail here.