Being asked to do an illustration for a magazine is fun and exciting work. Being asked to illustrate the cover is even better, especially when it’s for a well crafted article written in the style of a Hardy Boy’s mystery. It was titled “The Mississippi Five and the Case of the Missing Case”. After being briefed on the general concept and reading the article I couldn’t wait to get started. During the initial conversation I grabbed my sketch pad and sketched out the picture that had formed in my mind.
The client loved the concept which allowed me to get straight to work in Illustrator.
Once I had all my lines and shapes in place, I brought everything into photoshop to finalize and add in the dramatic atmosphere.
The original illustration lines were dropped on top and a layer style was applied just to help the edges pop. Once I had finished it in Photoshop, the left side felt a little empty, so I added in a dead tree, and a murder of crows. I left room at the top for the mast head and along the right side for the mailing address. This was presented to the client as my final draft which they were thrilled with. Best of all there were no changes needed. Final approval was given and they were sent off for printing. I was really quite happy with the final product once it arrived.
