Let’s talk about process…
I often get questions about how I come up with concepts and go from initial sketch to finished illustration. Below I am sharing with you a description of my process and some case studies from client work.
I develop my thumbnails after careful research. When I am first assigned an article to illustrate, I print out the copy, read it carefully while highlighting and write notes on the margins. Then, I use a notebook to write word stacks. These are words that I associate with the text, key words or moods I pick up on, visual ideas that pop into my head, notes from art director and word associations with the topic. I then do extensive online research to look up topics, visual ideas, photos of the person, background information and topics that came up in my notes.
After looking through all of the visual research I feel ready to dive into thumbnails. I create a custom thumbnail template based on the size of the illustration that is assigned and usually have at least 8-10 thumbnails to start. When working on thumbnails, my focus is to first take into consideration the ideas, mood or concepts that the art director has expressed to me. I work on developing those ideas first, trying to find unique and varying ways to visualize that idea. Then I work on ideas that are out of the box, my own ideas or are from a different perspective.
I work first in line, but then use value and/or color to express the idea further. It’s important to be able to communicate the idea clearly because the art director is trying to “sell” the idea to their editor and team. Giving clear options and variations is important in the process. After feedback from the art director about the thumbnails, I often create variations to show the AD or, if a thumbnail is approved, I jump into developing the thumbnail into a full size color comp. I enjoy creating illustrations that are well researched and communicate the concept or person in an authentic and meaningful way.
I hope this gives you a little insight into my process. Scroll down to see a more in-depth look at my idea creation, concept sketches, thumbnails, tear-sheets and process videos. Thanks for looking!
SCROLL DOWN FOR PROCESS VIDEOS!
CONCEPTS & THUMBNAILS
Texas Law Magazine | Art Directors: Davian-Lynn Hopkins & DJ Stout
I was honored to create a portrait of the Honorable Harriet Murphy for the inaugural issue of Texas Law Magazine that was redesigned by Pentagram. Davian wanted a portrait with a simple, colorful background to pop visually in the magazine. I worked with a few photos of Judge Murphy, but used a number of different sources, including my own hands as reference, to create a unique, stylized portrait.
The Washington Post | Art Director: Maria Alconada Brooks
I was commissioned to create an illustration for the cover of the Sunday Style section for an article by Manuel Roig-Franzia entitled, What’s it like to be prosecuted by Jack Smith? I had fun playing with different ideas for the thumbnails and working with a color palette for Washington Post. I used hand-painted textures from the background. I loved seeing this illustration printed so big!
POLITICO | Art Director: Jade Cuevas
I was asked to create this meaningful 2-day turn-around portrait of President Biden for his presumptive exit from the 2024 presidential race. This illustration was used for an article by John F. Harris entitled, Biden Lost His Voice, Then His Power. The AD wanted to see #1 and #2 as color comps. I was then asked to combine the background from #1 with the side view like #2 for the final. I shot my own reference for Biden’s hands and worked to make sure his likeness was strong and his expression relayed a pensive, but hopeful expression.
POLITICO | Art Director: Jade Cuevas
I was asked to create illustration for Politico based on an article by Sarah Ferris entitled, McCarthy Pressure Hits a Boiling Point before Kevin McCarthy was being pushed out of his position of House Speaker. I worked with the AD’s great idea of having Kevin McCarthy floating/sinking on a gavel and then I created some new ideas as options. I used a wide variety of my own photo references that I shot at home and some found ones to create this illustration. I loved working with conceptual realism to create this piece.
Forbes Magazine | Art Directors: Robert Priest & Charles Brucaliere
I was asked to create a full page illustration of J.R.R. Tolkien and a second spread for Forbes Magazine based on the Top-Earning Dead Celebrities of 2022. This illustration was a dream being able to create 12 celebrity portraits. I had to work around a gutter in the middle of the illustration. It was a fun challenge to create a seamless illustration with no important information in the center. I enjoyed working with Robert Priest to find the right likeness for each celebrity to convey their most recognizable look.
The New York Times | Art Director: Minh Uong
This was such a fun assignment to illustrate a feature illustration for the cover of the Sunday Business section of the New York Times. Minh wanted a clean-up scene after a party for this article by Erin Griffith entitled, “The Party’s Over, Start-ups”. I liked working conceptually to come up with the visual idea, but also really enjoyed painting all of the party objects and perspective. It was wonderful to see it printed so big in the paper and see how well it looked online.
The New Republic | Art Director: Andy Omel
I was commissioned to create a 1/4 page illustration for The New Republic magazine for an article by Patrick Iber entitled, The Realist. The portrait of George Kennan, foreign policy strategist during the Cold War, was fun to work on conceptually but a challenge because I only had black and white photos of George Kennan. I came up with the idea to use the board game Stratego for this illustration and used my own photo references and imagination to create this portrait.
The Boston Globe | Art Director: George Patisteas
I was fun to work conceptually on this book review of The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner for an article entitled Prams & Privilege by Kate Tuttle. The book is about a suspicious death in the Cornish countryside centered around a posh new moms’ group in London. I loved George’s great design and to see this illustration full size in the Boston Sunday Globe. It was fun to work with shape and silhouette for this vignette.
Al Majalla | Art Director: Sara Loane
I loved working on this quick turn-around illustration for an article by Nazareth Sefarian entitled, Is the Russian bear right to be bullish on it’s economy? I created a financial graph with realistic objects. I loved illustrating the bear and was delighted to see it animated by Nabil Hamdani at Al Majalla. I gave him flattened Photoshop layers and variations of the bear’s eyes and eyebrows to work with and he made it come to life! See the Editorial page for the animation.
Al Majalla | Art Director: Sara Loane
I was commissioned to create a full page spread and spot illustration for an article by Con Coughlin entitled, Will Tony Blair play a peacekeeping role in Gaza? for Al Majalla Magazine. Originally it was going to be a 3/4 page spread, but the designer decided to expand the illustration to a full page spread with type across the artwork. I shot a lot of my own reference photos for hands and body and worked with multiple sources for the likeness.
National Labor Federation | Art Director: Mike Petteys
I loved working on this illustration for the National Labor Federation for their 2023 Calendar. The topic was “Women Lead Working Communities Forward” for the month of March. I partnered with Eastern Service Workers Alliance in Dorchester, MA which helps support low-income service workers in the Boston area. I met with ESWA multiple times and volunteered before finalizing this illustration. After the initial sketch was approved, I posed and photographed real women working at ESWA for photo reference to get a more authentic illustration. I also used my own hands as reference and took photos of homes in Dorchester for the background. I was honored to receive multiple awards for this assignment.
Southern Poverty Law Center | Art Director: Sunny Paulk
Iwas honored to work on the cover illustration for the 2023 Southern Poverty Law Calendar, Vision for a Just Future. I was tasked with creating a hopeful perspective on eliminating racial economic inequality in black and brown communities. I was excited to work on this realistic but conceptual approach to the concept. I used lots of different references, including photographing myself and my family to create this artwork.
Think:Act Magazine | Art Directors: Rodolfo Franca & Jenne Grabowski
I was excited to be commissioned a series of 4 illustrations for an article by Helene Laube entitled, The Fearless Four Who Want to Change the World in Think:Act Magazine (based in Berlin). I was honored work on these portraits of pro-social entrepreneurs that are working towards transforming their own organizations to make the world a better place. I worked with a color palette established by the designers and tried to create unique ways of portraying the four entrepreneurs.
