New York Poster – Statue of Liberty

Am I still doing artwork? Yes, but when life gets in the way, it was hard getting back to it…I had started the Statue of Liberty weeks ago, but never finished it. Well, as you can see, I finished it. I had almost forgotten to include Ms. Liberty, but I am glad I remembered. It will be an important part of the New York poster. It is truly iconic…which is ironic considering how much people attribute the Statue of Liberty to the cityscape of New York. I was afraid the green was going to be too strong with some of the darker colors on the poster, but it provided a nice contrast. I actually feel like this poster is going to need the color contrast. I still have some details to work out. I want to add some writing on the book and I might include a person in the flame or over her headdress. For now, I’m satisfied. And if you did not notice, I even included a silhouette of the Chrysler Building in the background. The key moving forward will be finding the time to add more to this poster…after a month away, I am still excited about the finished product.

New York Poster – Times Square

The image at the top and center of the New York illustration is Times Square, so it was important that I get it right. Since the illustration is supposed to have a 1970′s feel, this is not what you would see in 2010. I used a lot of imagery that is associated with a time when people went to Times Square for peep shows…not family friendly tourist attractions. Instead of perfectly lit advertisements for major corporations, I used more “grittier” lighting that you might have seen in an earlier time period. The text on each sign is significant to the overall theme of the poster. At this time, I’m going to avoid explaining it…I need to keep some mystery.

After completing Time Square, I realized how important color will become for this illustration. I intend to use a lot of murkier colors, but I also realize I need splashes of very vibrant colors. It is my intention, though, to not have the vibrant colors just stick out while everything else just fades into the background. It will be important to strike a delicate balance….

New York Poster – World Trade Center

Since this poster is a fantasy, I had to include the World Trade Center. As you can tell, I have only completed one tower, but you can see the style I am trying to achieve. The World Trade Center was known for those long vertical lines, but if you take a closer look, those vertical lines do not continue through the entire tower. There are longer and shorter sections of lines. I am trying to achieve a higher level of detail with this poster, so I resisted the urge to just make those long lines and included those different sections. I know this will make a difference as I continue to work on this illustration…