Field & Stream
One of the most enjoyable projects I get to take on from time to time is editorial illustrations for Field & Stream magazine. The reason I love working on these so much is it affords me the opportunity to create quiet moments of stillness in the wilderness, showcasing the beauty of our world and creating visuals for compelling stories. This month's article was no exception. The article, titled "How to Make the Most of the Karma Hatch", written by T. Edward Nickens, sets the stage for the scene you see above. Here's how it was made:
Pencils
As per my usual process, I like to create rough sketches to find my composition. Recently I've been working on the iPad Pro + Apple Pencil because it affords me all the power of a digital tool with the comfort and control of a pencil and paper (my favorite!). Its made digital sketching a true joy and I've been pleased with the results of adding it into my workflow.
With this piece, I wanted to create a powerful sunset scene in which we'd see 2 fishermen as they fish in a treasured, hidden location. Since it was a sunset, I knew I wanted to paint lots of light into the water to really help set the mood - as if the fishermen were paddling through the shadows into that perfectly lit spot where they'd find their catch.
Flats
Once the pencils were in place and approved by the client, it was time to move into flatting and texturing. This is where I try to make the lighting, shaping, and texturing all work together. I typically start with the background, setting the sky and distant mountains in place. From there, I work forward adding each layer until I hit the foreground. From there I'll go back in and make adjustments and small additions to help set the piece off. Once its working in this stage, I have confidence it will work in color.
With the color in place, I send it to the client, and that's that! Big thanks to my agent, Deborah Wolfe, and the rest of her team for helping me to bring in fun projects like these. I'd also like to thank James Walsh from Field & Stream for continuing to give me opportunities to illustrate pieces like this. It means a lot to me to have repeat business, especially from clients I enjoy working with as much as this one.
2014 LabelExpo · Set 4
2014 LabelExpo Americas · Cover Illustration
Here are the final illustrations I did for the 2014 LabelExpo Americas series. The idea was to capture moments outdoor with each character in unique environments defined by the client. I really enjoyed the challenge of exploring and drawing environments which I haven't tackled before, and was surprised which ones turned out to be my favorite (who knew drawing deserts could be so fun!)
After completing the cover illustration with the 5 adventurers (pictured above), I went on to tackle an alpine climber image. Because we needed to move quickly on these illustrations, I collapsed a bit of my process to include rough sketches with flat tones and then went onto finals. This process worked well since I've done so much work with the team from Tarsus, and we were all pleased with the results.
2014 LabelExpo Americas · Alpine Color Variation
2014 LabelExpo Americas · Alpine Sketch
2014 LabelExpo Americas · Alpine Final Illustration
The next image was of an explorer in the desert. I honestly thought this was going to be the most difficult image to create simply because I didn't know how inspiring a desert location could be. Halfway into the sketch, however, I realized this was going to be one of my favorite environments to work in.
2014 LabelExpo Americas · High Desert Final Illustration
2014 LabelExpo Americas · High Desert Sketch
Next up on the list was a forest illustration with a man cutting through shrubs, hacking down trees, and catching butterflies. This is one interesting individual... but at least he's keeping busy.
2014 LabelExpo Americas · Woodland Final Illustration
2014 LabelExpo Americas · Woodland Sketch
The last image on the list was a river scene in which our explorer would hike across a log bridge, fish, and boat down a river. This was the last illustration I worked on, and it was definitely the most serene.
2014 LabelExpo Americas · Wild River Final Illustration
2014 LabelExpo Americas · Wild River Sketch
And with that, the longest project of the year has been completed! I am truly grateful to the Tarsus folks for giving me another shot at illustrating their tradeshow materials this year. The theme was wonderful and I know I've grown artistically because of it. Thanks guys!
And big thanks to my agent, Deborah Wolfe, who helps keep things on track so I can continue to produce illustration work of the great outdoors.