Communication Arts and American Illustration

Found out a few weeks ago, that I got a piece into the upcoming CA Illustration Annual.
It was for the bimonthly Generations column I illustrate for the NY Times.
This piece was about a young girl, who just couldn't fit in to pop culture, despite trying.
Something I personally related too. Art director was Richard Weigand.

Here are the roughs, the article mentioned Hairspray, Harry Potter and High School Musical.
I'm glad Richard choose the broader more conceptual solution. Richard also asked if gum always needs to be pink? Which got me thinking of a more interesting color palette that would highlight the bubbles, thanks twice Richard!

tighter drawing, composition was a bit tricky, multiple figures aren't my strength...
...and neither is color, so it took more than a few color studies.





This piece below was chosen for the American Illustration site.
It was for a Los Angeles Times Book Review, of the novel "Sunflower" which has femme fatale of sorts as one of the main characters. The art director was Carol Kaufman.

Here's the roughs below, that Carol had to choose from. I like including the roughs for two reasons to show the process of course, but also highlight how important the art director is in the process, from picking the best idea (half of the time I can't decide myself) to defending/selling the idea to editors.

CFO China

This was a piece I did for CFO China, in Hong Kong on all the new chinese business regulations which are well crafted but companies never know how they will be enforced. Wai Lam, AD

Some roughs,
I always give some extra ones, when trying to communicate across cultures. It does help a bit, (but not much) having lived in China for a few months. I lived just outside Panyu near the huge city of Guangzhou, I was there teaching english towards my last year of college.

Layout in the magazine, design by Wai Lam.
Below is some covers I've done with him in the past.


So when I decided I needed an intro page in chinese for my website, I knew who exactly who I wanted to do it.

Design: Wai Lam
I love how he echoes the train tracks in the treatment of the characters, with my name small like a train on a track, brilliant!




And here is the uncropped version, originally for Businessweek, it was on the how the chinese economy keeps growing at a steady pace despite commodity swings, I stamped it with a little stamp of my name I got when I lived over there.

Unintended Consequences

Bio-Fuel mandates seemed like good idea, but like alot of legislation it came with unintended consequences, which was the subject for 3 different illustrations all in the same week!
Above was for Newsweek International, AD Leah Purcell, on the food crisis.

Article was on using veggie oil to fuel cars, and how no one even California's Governor complies with the regulations, for Los Angeles Times, AD Kelli Sullivan. This piece was supposed to go on the front page, which is rare for a conceptual illustration, I wish I knew if it made it.


For Businessweek, AD Don Besom, about how we need to get rid of the bad bio-fuels, and keep the good ones.

the roughs for all 3 pieces lumped together.

ESPN the Mag

for an piece arguing that NFL players should be able to use HGH because it helps protect them and keep them healthy by healing injuries.
the offering of roughs
preliminary drawing
photoshop color study, a bit too muted for the magazine.


the final spread, AD: Lou Vega


some of Lou Vega's concepting for the design which I got from his blog
http://thoughtpreserver.blogspot.com/
which is helps you appreciate how much work goes into great typography.

On side note I was so impressed with his thought process that I turned around and commissioned him to design two typographic intro pages for my website a few weeks later,
seen below.





I only commissioned 2 but I had to have both dog options Lou gave me.