On the Drawing Board- 06/30/09

Summer is hit and miss with frelance work for me. Sometimes I am busy and sometimes… not so much. Her’e what i have on the baord right now:

• MAD Project– Finally wrapping up a small job for MAD that got put on hold by the special “Issue 500” spot and the Bo Confidential book. It might appear in 501 but likely it’ll be bumped to 502.
• Penthouse Illustration– a 1/2 page gag illustration.
• Graphic Novel?– I’m currently working with a well known cartoonist/writer on developing a graphic novel adaptation of a book he wrote years ago. We are doing some art for the “pitch” right now and if a publisher picks it up it’ll keep me busy for quite a while.

I just finished this workplace poster job Monday morning for The Marlin Company. It was a rare instance with them when the initial concept got changed and I had to do a fair amount of redrawing to suit the new direction.

The original image called for “a high school classroom scene. It’s the first day of school. Two students are comforting a student teacher – a husky, strapping guy – who clearly has a major fear of public speaking. On the blackboard, in very shaky lettering, he’s written, “Welcome! Mr. Williams. Student Teacher.’ He is facing the class, sweating, looking humorously terrorized, while two or three sympathetic-looking students gently pat him on the arm or shoulder in a show of support.”

The initial pencil rough:

Upon review the client decided that the students comforting the teacher conveyed the wrong message, which is supposed to be about supporting your coworkers when things get difficult. The students are the difficulty, not the source of support. Therefore they asked that I change the image to show more of the class, looking a little menacing but in a non-threatening way, and then have two faculty members offering the support.

The second pencil:

The only changed they asked for here was to add a sling shot to the back pocket of the foremost student.

The final art:

Click for a closer look…