4/29 Cover

This weeks cover deals with a very sinister situation in Philadelphia's government. The DROP program, by which government officials are rewarded a rather exorbitant sum following their retirement, seems to have a few holes in it. These same officials, have figured out a way to retire for a day and then go back to work, thus collecting their sum and maintaining a steady paycheck. This has added greatly to Philadelphia's budget crisis, and it has been going on for quite a few years without an end in sight.

My part here, obviously, has been the illustration. As it is, the illustration presents a landscape of $100 bills, with a large well of bills cut out in the shape of a briefcase-wielding man getting away with the rest of the loot taken out of the landscape. I feel like I have developed a comfortable digital process, where I am usually very happy with the result. This illustration is no different, however it took a little while to get here. This piece was supposed to run almost a month ago, and was pushed back further and further for whatever reason. I had finished the idea fairly quickly, as it is not so complex, and had much time to refine it (although I barely touched it in the interim).

Success.

I Designed Something?

I find it strange that, despite being a professional Graphic Designer (Senior Designer at that) I rarely post design work on my page. Truth be told, much of my design work is fairly similar week to week. Bulk advertising design, especially on a tight deadline does not allow much time, and therefore little variation. I wish this were not the case, there is always more I would like to do with most ads and projects, however time simply does not allow, if I am to finish the host of other projects within my "inbox". However, every now and then I am given something fresh and new to create from scratch. So, with a variety of notes, limitations, and demands, I was able to make an ad campaign for the restaurant LE BEC FIN's new bar-lounge.

OH NO! More illustrations.

This story concerned a new government policy basically shutting out the libertarian and other minor political parties from their share of the legislative vote. I used an old "Boss" Tweed illustration (below) as the base, and put the ole' Green party in the grinder. Anyone interested in who "boss" Tweed is go here.

The thing about this illustration that interests me, is that i used a process used by an artist I really admire named Adi Granov. Anyone not interested process would not find this interesting at all, but I recently found an article he took part in highlighting his methods, and was interested to see they were not so different from mine. His skill surpasses mine , of course, but the basic idea is there. He starts, and bases all his work, with pencil drawings. This may seem like a no-brainer to most, but these days, folks rely very heavily on photoshop, which I have always thought is a dangerous path. Most digital designers and illustrators are not taken as seriously as traditional artists because of the computer influence. I see the point they attempt to make, but with any digital art there is as much possibility for genuine art should you use the digital influence correctly. To make a long story short, Granov relies very much on the shade of the pencil and inkwash, and uses photoshop as an additional color element. The interesting part to me were the ways he allowed his color layers to interact. Using the transparency palette settings and mixing above vs below the artwork provides a really interesting depth to the project, and I feel maintains the color to print.

Grant it, this is merely I beginners effort. As i refine this process and make it more my own, I may put up a tutorial myself.

This illustration dealt with cracking down on office facebook, twitter, etc usage, and the tension it may cause.

In this failing economy, people are still paying exorbitant amounts of money on pet insurance. (that felt like the line from Monty Python's meaning of life, where the Corporate businessman says people aren't buying hats.)


Rental cops aren't getting paid for sick days.

Another MEGA ILLUSTRATION POST!!!

This is a little Banner for the Autumn Society website. In case no one knows about them, check it out. They are a fantastic grouping of artists, illustrators and all around charismatic creatives.


This is a preview of an upcoming illustration for the Citypaper. The story is apart of the "Naked City" local news section, focusing on increasing the city budget for domestic abuse support services.


I copied the pose and overall look of a Lord Byron portrait. The style, of course, is different than the original victorian painterly approach. I chose this idea because the focus was on amateur writers in Philadelphia. The writer, in this case, is in a flooded basement, as we here in the tri-state area have been K.O.'d by mega-rainstorms lately. No-one seemed to get that, except my boss... she shrugged.


One of the many depressing facts about eating out is that we don't realize how dirty everything is. Someone took a further look into local restaurants and got themselves a birds-eye view of the filth.


The finds a cheaper way to demolish houses, and the editors find a way to get me to draw something about it.