Roadmap for success

I thought I would share this comp I did for the Labs. This was actually done for them, not for one of their clients. The goal on this was to present a vision of the future for the Labs. I did this as a rough a couple of times and tweaked it with their input. The final art was done on a white board and photographed for the presentation off site. I wish I could have done this as a full illustration but I believe they wanted it on a white board as part of their brand. Which is understandable. Still, I think this would have been cool in full color. The background people on the horizon ended up being dropped. They represented the four key players at the Labs.

I spent the entire day at the Labs today. Not working though. No artist was needed today. And it was just the space that was used. The company I did one of those big 3' x 5' maps for had one of the last pilots for their client. Since I did the art for it and because they invited me, I got to be a participant in the pilot program. The client had a couple of people representing them too. They came in from Pittsburgh. It was my first time going through one of these simulations that I have worked on and it was great. The topic is Applied Behavior Science. Not my area of expertise, but I was surprised how much I knew without knowing the terminology. Anyway, it was very enjoyable and I learned some interesting information. Glad I was invited to take part.

Business Illustration - Comps

I thought I would show a couple of pieces that didn't make the cut on a recent job. For various reasons these didn't quite capture the idea or were too detailed in execution. It's more difficult to do visioning illustration like this for print versus the quick visioning I do on white boards. With the latter, it's just me and my take on it. With the other, it's a back and forth of refining the concept and the message. With this project, the client gave me some ideas of what they wanted and after I drew the first pass roughs, it made them think of things they didn't think of the first time. Or even made them realize that maybe this isn't message they wanted. Like I said, it's a back and forth of conversation and ideas. As an artist/business person, you can never take any rejection personally. You just move on. Ultimately I think we ended up with some nice pieces that do sell the ideas. As always, the process leaves a few unfinished ideas behind that may come into play another time.

Black Widow (progress again) and Logo Design

Today was a crazy day. I had just finished up some work and decided to take a lunch break. While my food was cooking, I started working on Black Widow again (Left side) About 15 minutes into it, I got a call from the Labs. Seems they didn't have an illustrator for the half day event that just started. This was about 1:10pm. I said give me 30 minutes and I will be there. My usual work attire is shorts and a t-shirt. Add to that, 3-4 days of beard growth and you get an idea of the mess I was. But 30 minutes later I was at the Labs, in my Rockports, slacks and Labs polo shirt getting my white board thang on.

Naturally that means the work I was going to do this afternoon has to be done this evening. I did manage to do a bit more work done on Black Widow (right side) since I got home. Maybe another 20 minutes. But hey, it's progress. Hope you enjoy. Sorry again for the digital camera shots. Both times the paint was wet and I don't want to put it on the scanner wet.

Since it was a surprise about me doing annual report work, I thought I would throw out another project I did earlier this year that might surprise everyone. I did a logo for a world wide company based in Tampa. I worked closely with them to develop their logo over a couple of months and I think we have a classic on our hands. They just put up a placeholder on the web so now I can share. The company is GlobeThink and their site and logo is here. I have also done some artwork for a Branding seminar/workshop they did in Helsinki back in the Spring. I will see if I can share those at a later date.

Back to work. :)

Black Widow (progress) and Business Illustration

I didn't have much time today to work on the Black Widow painting. I am in the middle of a project and the deadline is looming. More on that in a moment. Forgive the digital picture I took of the painting. Not as good as scanning  I know, but I didn't have time to scan. Here you can see I am just laying down some colors. Mostly the mid-range. I will be going in and adding darks and picking out the lights as I go. Still a good start.
This is one of 9+ illustrations I am doing this week. They are for an annual report. As you can see this is along the same line of style I do for business illustration on whiteboards, but here it is more refined and in full color. I am doing pencil roughs based on a list of things they want illustrated. So far 3 have been approved. The other 6 have gone to second roughs. Once the client saw the first proofs, they thought they might have sent me down the wrong direction so we are revising those six. Not a problem. They are a nice group to be working for and I think we are creating some nice images for their annual report. This is inked with pens and then colored in Photoshop CS3.

Whiteboard Jungle - The Sequel

This is from the Lab event a couple of days ago. For anyone that has not seen my white board artwork or understand what it's about, click on the tags to see past posts and explanations.

This was one of the hardest working groups I have ever seen. All were first timers and once the concept of the process was explained they really dove in and made it work. It's always a pleasure to work with people take the process and really work it.

Business Solutions Maps

Today was a day of writing quotes for two jobs, confirming a new job, conference calls and writing emails. By the time 5:30 came around, I realized I had nothing done. Not too productive but sometimes the business end of freelancing demands some attention. I just got the approval a few days back to show the art I am posting today. I held off posting it as not to interrupt the pin-ups, but with no pin-ups today...

I was contracted by Solutions House of Tarpon Springs, Florida to create this map. Solutions House had become aware of my work at The Collaborative Labs and brought me in on this project. This artwork was created in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS3. It was created at the actual print size of 36" x 60" at 300 dpi. In CMYK. This was a big file. Most elements were created separately in one file and then pasted into the master. It made it a bit more manageable. Still I have over 60 layers in Illustrator when everything was done. The final maps were printed on a very thick vinyl.

The map represents the fictional county of Serene, Florida. When used with the supporting materials, (a guide book, chips, dice, instruction cards, etc.) and a facilitator, a group of 4-6 people play out civic planning scenarios. This was used for a series of "town hall" meetings in Sarasota County. The community was invited to go through the process of planning the future of a fictional county. At each of the events we would have 4-6 people at one of the 10-20 tables playing out the game. Other related activities followed. It really gave people the idea of what it's like to try to meet the needs and desires of the community. Not so easy. And it gave them a chance to prioritize what is really important to them in their community. It was a very successful endeavor.

Solutions House has been a pleasure to work with. And I'm working with them again. This time for a private corporation in Pittsburgh. I don't know if I will ever be able to show the work. I can tell you it is same physical size as this piece but much, much, much more complex. :)

Whiteboard Jungle

I forgot to share these pictures. These are boards from earlier this week. It was a full day of 3 year strategic planning and 1 year action plans. Another hard working group that made a breakthrough in planning their future thanks to the Labs. The group left with a very positive attitude about the process and what they took with them. A good day if there ever was one.

Cute girl tomorrow. :)

Growth and Cost Control

It was a full day at the Labs today. Helping a company identify areas that they can grow revenue and control costs. It's a tough time for a lot of businesses right now but this one is lucky in that the goals they are trying to achieve are possible without a lot of pain. It was a hard working group of about 75 people. I filled 5 boards, including this final piece to represent some of the main ideas that made the cut. And as always, these are completely done on the fly. No prepping can be done and no sketching it out first. Do or don't here.

Cute pin-up girl tomorrow. :)

Business illustration

Finished the last of four illustrations for one job. Been a bit hectic lately, though that is not going to stop anytime soon. Working hard to get caught up and hoping that by the end of the month I will have everything behind me. That whole process is threatening my trip to the Pittsburgh ComiCon. Hopefully I won't have to cancel. As for this piece, it was done in pencil and then colored and typeset in Photoshop.

Sketchbook Saturday

Just a quick sketch of some figures in motion along with some roughs for the next big piece I am doing for a business illustration. Taking ourselves out to the ball game right now. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. :)

Text Book Cartoon

Just a quick post today. Off to Sea World. Been up since 4:45am trying to get some work done. Completed a few pieces for the neuroscience book I am working on, including the cartoon above. Completely done in Photoshop. :)

The Winds of Change - Finished

Well, sort of. There is always a chance there will be some minor alterations. This was done for a group of not-for-profit hospitals. There is a lot of text I added to this, labels, flying pieces of paper with info on them and logos, but left it off for this post. Maybe I will post it at another time with everything intact, or just put it on my site after the client uses it. This was fun to do. Very solid two days of work. This one and the Penguins is for the same client. I have one more much simpler piece to finish tomorrow and if all goes well, I will be done.

Work in progress...

This is a really large piece. It was penciled in sections, scanned, put together and some digital penciling being done right now. It will then be colored in Photoshop. Deadline: Monday. Wish me luck.

If I Only Had A Brain...

Okay, let the jokes and puns begin. Finished? Good.

Yes I know, this is not a very sexy post, but I am trying to show variety. With my work load what it is, it's hard to get time to do the fun and sexy stuff. Instead I'm sure I am boring all of you with the not-as-interesting-but-pays-really-well-stuff. I do find it interesting myself. Every project can have it's fun moments. And every project can have it dull hours. But I wouldn't change my career for a million dollars. Uh, okay, for a million dollars, I would. :) Which just made me think of this: Have you ever heard someone say that a million dollars isn't that much any more. That it can't buy what it used to. My feeling on that is, "Hey, give me the million dollars! I don't care what it used to be able to buy, I'm sure it will buy more than I can buy now with the money I have." After this post I don't think I can ever claim I have linear thoughts. Have a good weekend folks. :)

Penguins!

This is a business piece I just finished today. Penciled, scanned and colored in Photoshop. There are words on the final piece but since it is specific to a client, I thought best not to share. This one went pretty smooth from start to finish. The only things that were changed from the initial concept was the addition of the flip chart in the lower right hand corner and the penguin in the water front and center. The idea for this comes from a book titled "Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions" by John Kotter. The final file for this piece is quite large: 40 inches wide at 300 dpi. 

Whiteboard art

I haven't shared any art from the Labs in a while so here ya go. This was done Thursday for the Science Center of Pinellas County and SPC Leadership. Looking for ways for their partnership to grow and be a benefit to both groups. Both teams are incredible. I have to listen to everything during the course of the event and I was impressed with what they both do. Getting kids to learn that math and science is fun and a benefit for them in life as they grow up is a good cause. This group worked really hard and were very passionate about what they do. Nice to see that sort of conviction. I created a lot more than what is seen on these two boards but I try not to overwhelm the casual observer. Click on the art and see all the details.

Textbook studies

Since I spent the day doing artwork I cannot show because of a non-disclosure agreement, I figure now would be a good time to show another area of my work. For more than a decade I've done illustration work for primary and higher education text books. While not as sexy as comics or pin-ups, it does pay quite well. Better than comics almost every time. All of this art was created digitally, either in Photoshop or Illustrator. Or a combination of both.

Business Illustration

Today was a Collaborative Labs day. And the client was the Tampa Bay Partnership. They are like a Chamber of Commerce, but on steroids. It was a whos-who of the Tampa Bay area business leaders. Above are 3 of the 7 or 8 boards I filled up. The first one is a greeting board, something that shows what the goals are for the event. In this case, planning for the next 3 years. The middle image represents a round of brainstorming done by the various teams and the last one represents the unified vision of the future for the Tampa Bay area. I have two more events over the weekend. It's very unusual to have a weekend event, but there you go.

I know these are not as exciting as pin-ups of pretty girls, but I hope they can give everyone an understanding of the wide variety of work that is out there for a freelance artist. AND the ability to network with all the major players is a side benefit. The Labs have no problem with me giving out my business card to those who request it. Today was no exception, I gave out a few. Today's participants were the CEOs, CFOs, Presidents, and Publishers of businesses both local, national and worldwide. And I get to show what I can do for a day. Better than a cold call.

Performance Art

As a freelance commercial artist, I get to be involved in a wide variety of jobs. And I find new business avenues all the time. For example, one of the jobs I get contracted to do a few times a month is that of a live business illustrator.
This is how it works: A company that is interested in creating or refining a plan gets all the principle stakeholders together in a collaborative venture with a facilitator, a documenter and me. My job is to sit in on this meeting and create artwork based on the live discussions and planning. Sounds easy right?
Wrong. The group can be 10 to 300 or more people. While they are working on various exercises I am listening and drawing on a giant rolling white board. It is about 6' x 4' of drawing surface. I will fill up 5-7 of these in an 8 hour session. And every event brings in a different set of goals. Sometimes it is a large corporation, or a small company, or a college or university, sometimes it is a non-profit. Each group needing something different. This work is created for state and local government, local and national businesses, non-profits and back in October of 2007, I was flown to Washington DC to work a 3 day Job Corps event with over 800 people participating from all over the U.S. That was exhausting.
As the artist, I have to draw quick. White boards are not the best medium and there is no time to rough out something and not one piece can be precious. When I am drawing one thing I am already thinking about the next thing I hear and the one after it. It's challenging and fun too. I do this in a state of the art facility. When I am not working on the rolling boards, I can work on the boards surrounding the meeting room. There are three large rooms. At the end of the day, I have to present my work to the clients. I try to make the whole thing fun and amusing because these people are tired from working hard all day on their end of the project. I usually create one big piece that fills up a 6' x 4' board at the end. They have seen everything I have done during the course of the day, so I try to keep this one under wraps until the big reveal at the end. The piece will encompass the entire day, both the work and some of the silly jokes and things said. This is usually the piece that gets everyone excited. Most of the time they request posters of it, which the facilitator does provide. The artwork shown here was created today at a half day event for a local college and university who are putting together a partnership to supply international help. The top people from both schools were there. About 20 people total. This is only a small sample of what I completed. These pictures were taken with my iPhone, no flash, and to get an idea of size, the top image with the boat is 6' wide.