Chicago Communities Map – Done!

January 20, 2012 By 2 Comments

One of the skills I want to work on this year is creating simpler work. While I like the more complex and intricate illustrations, I’d like to do some artwork that are just as successful as my more detailed work. Since I work well within parameters, I gave myself some rules to follow with this illustration of the 77 community areas in Chicago. The main rule…it had to be only one color so it could easily be screen printed. Plus, if it could be screen printed, I would be able to use different colors and different paper as a way to make them more interesting as a print.

In the end, I decided to go with this handwritten style. I thought about using a specific font and manipulating it, but I thought I could achieve a more hand drawn feel by just doing the writing myself. After scanning everything, I just needed to trace the writing and figure out a way to make it pop off the page. I went as far as including some of the more recognizable neighborhoods housed within the community areas like Wicker Park and Pilsen, but it was beginning to look messy. In the end, sticking with just the 77 community areas made everything look much cleaner.

What’s next? I am going to do a dessert/sweets factory with a perspective looking up. Plus, I want to do a few more simple Chicago illustrations.

To see the portfolio page and a larger image, click here.

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Web Site No Longer Under Construction

January 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to update my web site. I’ve fooled with it a number of times over the years and sometimes I wonder if it is always necessary. This time, though, I think it was necessary and I hope to not make any major overhauls over the next few years. When I went from a more traditional portfolio site to something that highlighted my blog, the idea was to keep the front page looking new. The problem was that I had swung too far the other way…my portfolio had taken a back seat and it almost seemed like I wanted to hide it. This time, I tried to get the best of both worlds. While my blog is important for including new content, my illustration portfolio should be the reason people come to my site. The front page now prominently displays all of my portfolio pages plus widgets that show my latest blog post and Twitter feed. Also, I wanted to beef up my portfolio some. I included some more information about each illustration on the side of each image. Plus, I used a plugin that allows people to see a much larger image of each illustration. The images on my other site were way too small and the detailed images never did the illustrations justice. You can see an example here. I think it makes each illustration more dynamic.

With this complete, I need to make some changes to my Big Cartel store to reflect the new look. Other than that…its back to creating!

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Chicago Food Map – Finished!

January 7, 2012 By 4 Comments

Has it really been that long? Two months later and it is 2012…I guess blogging took a back seat. I got so consumed with the artwork I just finished that I didn’t even want to write about it. Then, the holidays and vacation…I know…blah blah blah… In short, I have finished the Chicago Food Map, and it looks very different from where I started…

To see it a little larger, click here. In my previous post about this work, it was much more like a map. As I continued to work on it, though, I just did not like how it looked. My need to make it a more conventional map was making it look bad. So, I swung the other way and made it more unconventional while improving aesthetics…I made the right choice. I ditched the roads, expressways, Chicago River, L tracks…even the Lake Michigan shoreline. The design is much more simple and it focuses on the most important part of the illustration…the food. Previously, it was the map taking center stage. Will you be able to find these restaurants with my map? No. Yet, the restaurants are in the right area of Chicago, so I’m not concerned that is not an actual map.

As for the individual restaurants, I chose food that was either their specialty or something that provided a good example of their cuisine. In cases where a restaurant had a specific cuisine, I included a small flag connected to the illustration of the dish. I knew I would not be able to include everything about each restaurant, but I felt it was important to include as much information about their food and the flag dot was a simple solution. Here is a detail:

It will be interesting to see how this illustration is received by people who know Chicago. I have many reasons for choosing the restaurants I chose but everyone has their favorites. I have not been to all of these restaurants so I did a lot of research to make sure I selected establishments that are generally well respected. Plus, I attempted to select a wide range of food from every area of Chicago. My plan is to one day sell these as prints but I won’t be back to Chicago for another year and the restaurant business is fickle. Just in the last week I read that one is closing its doors in August and another is reconcepting.

What’s next? It is time to move on. I have a bunch of “briefs” I want to complete before the end of the year so I will eventually be working on those, but first…changing the web site…again. Not that this isn’t professional, but I want it to be even more professional…a constant struggle I guess…

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