jonathanchan.com

08/10 MECHANIC GIRL

Jonathan Chan — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:40:20 +0000

Recently picked up the NORMAN ROCKWELL, BEHIND THE CAMERA book and have been on a Norman Rockwell tear of late, picking up a few more books about him and his work. Obviously, his work is incredible! I absolutely love the narratives that he imbues in his illustrations. I had to do a Rockwell inspired piece.

Looking at his LIBERTY GIRL piece that was the cover to the SATURDAY EVENING POST on September 4, 1943, I took the theme of celebrating the contributions made by women during a time of war and did my own magazine cover.

For the main image, I was thinking of a girl mechanic being called to duty to fix yet another damaged vehicle. She’s got her protective goggles, work boots and gloves on, and a backpack full of spare pipes. Slung around her shoulder are spare wires for electrical work while she’s dragging some heavier wires for hydraulics. She’s got her utility belt full of tools and is movin at a good clip to get to fixin!

I kept the same design elements as the original cover, but altered things like the name of the magazine and the story titles. For the names, Stephen Galileo is a combination of two famous astronomer’s names — Stephen Hawking and Galileo Galilei. For the Buzz Armstrong name, I combined two famous astronauts’ names — Buzz Aldrin’s and Neil Armstrong’s names.

*(addendum 8/10) Reworked some colors and textures from when this was initially posted in 4/10.

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[11"x14"] Col-Erase Pencil -> Micron Pens -> Photoshop (for coloring) -> InDesign (for the lettering) -> Photoshop (for texture and adjustments)

08/10: NOUVEAU GIRL

Jonathan Chan — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:36:52 +0000

I was lookin’ over some Alphonse Mucha books (so awesome!) and was inspired to try my hand at an Art Nouveau-ish illustration. I know I could’ve been more ornate and decorative as per more of the usual Nouveau illustrations. In this case, I was looking at some Mucha pieces that had simple geometric shapes and long linear curves in the background.

I kept the coloring simple and flat as I saw in the books I have. Overall, it was a fun experiment.

*(addendum 8/10) Reworked the composition of the piece as well as some colors and textures from when this was initially posted in 2/10.

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[11"x17"] Col-Erase Pencil -> Micron Pens -> Photoshop

08/10: FUTURE MUSIC

Jonathan Chan — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:32:56 +0000

I wanted to do a slice-of-life drawing with a twist and did this recently. I got the idea for this drawing a few months back when the Beatles digitally remastered albums came out. I was thinking about how these albums have been put out again and again and now have been remastered to come out again. Surely, in the future, they will be released again in another form, right?

That’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in her hand…

*(addendum 8/10) I made some coloring changes since originally posting this back in 12/09. I feel like the colors are more harmonious now. Also changed the composition of the piece and gave it more “breathing room.”

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[11"x17"] Col-Erase Pencil -> Micron Pens -> Photoshop

07/10: GUARDING THE GLOBE ad

Jonathan Chan — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:59:21 +0000

Here’s a comic book page ad for the new GUARDING THE GLOBE series! This was a really fun image so I wanted to intrude on it as little as possible. Mainly, just wanted to introduce the series logo, note that it’s a spin-off from the INVINCIBLE series, state the creators working on it, and when the book is coming out.

07/10: INVINCIBLE 75 ad

Jonathan Chan — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:55:51 +0000

Here’s a comic book page ad for INVINCIBLE 75. This one was tough because this is actually part of a big spread image. The composition of the figures was less than ideal, but sometimes, you just gotta play the hand you’re dealt (the image wasn’t specifically designed for this ad). So I focused on Invincible and his impending collision with the Viltrumite leader. I placed the book logo, solicitation taglines, and sales info in the surrounding space. Also, I made certain to state unusual content, page count, and price.

07/10: THE WALKING DEAD 75 ad

Jonathan Chan — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:48:33 +0000

Here’s a comic book page ad for THE WALKING DEAD 75. I used the regular cover image and added solicitation copy to provide context to the image. Placement of the text in the negative space at the top of the image helps lead the eye left-to-right, top-to-bottom. The red in the logo and text kept the red color palette consistent throughout the image. Also wanted to make certain to include sales info noting the unusual content, pagecount, and price.

07/10: THE GIRL IN GREEN

Jonathan Chan — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 07:09:27 +0000

Was looking at some Phil Noto art which led me to looking at some Robert McGinnis art. Both of those guys do awesome work. Looking at their work inspired me to do a retro looking girl.

Tried to use more of a retro color palette and experimented with color holds. Used a filter to give it a printed-on-canvas feel.

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[11"x14"] Col-Erase Pencil -> Micron Pens -> Photoshop

06/10: DYNAMO 5 VOLUMES ad

Jonathan Chan — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 07:09:33 +0000

Here’s a comic book page ad for DYNAMO 5 volumes 1 through 4. I did my best to convey what the series is about while also highlighting that all four volumes of the series is available now. Kept it close in look to previous Dynamo 5 ads I’ve made in the past. Also, needed to include each volumes ISBN number and price.

05/10: WWII CAP PROPAGANDA POSTER

Jonathan Chan — Sat, 29 May 2010 08:05:38 +0000

A few weeks ago, I bought a copy of ULTIMATES #1 out of my comic shop’s bargain bin. I already own a copy of it in single issue form as well as in tradepaperback, but I just couldn’t pass up having another reading copy around. I still remember what it was like when I read that issue for the first time and being floored by Bryan Hitch’s work. Plus, I love the design for the World War II Captain America. I felt like I had to do a tribute piece of some sort.

I decided to make a World War II propaganda poster. I felt that if Cap really was alive at that time, his image would be used to help boost morale to the troops on the frontline as well as the people back home. I drew him looking happy and confident — proud that he was in the fight. But I also wanted to dirty him up some to convey that the fight was time-consuming it wouldn’t be easy.

I looked at some examples of the poster art of the time for design inspiration. I did my best to reflect the simple and graphic nature of the period. Lastly, I mixed in a few textures to give it an aged look.

*(addendum 6/9/10) Edited the texture a bit and gave it more of an aged feel. I like it much better now.

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[11"x17"] Col-Erase Pencil -> Micron Pens -> Photoshop (for coloring) -> InDesign (for the lettering) -> Photoshop (for texture and adjustments)