Last month I created this illustration for New Orleans Magazine, and I wanted to share a bit of my process. The article was an overview of the state of the economy, and I drew a few major themes from it- uncertainty, hope, and tentativeness.
My sketches show banks (some doing better than others), piggy bank hot air balloons going wherever the breeze takes them, and businesspeople peeking out from other their umbrellas hoping for the sun to come out. My favorite was the last one, so I was delighted to hear that the client wanted to go with it.
I started with a background wash on a subtly printed fabric. My color scheme was dusty blue and green with accents of orange and red, and for this painted layer I worked deeper colors towards the bottom with lighter colors at the top.
I layered a pencil drawing of the characters with other pieces of fabric and more drawings here and there. I love the freedom I have with Photoshop to take my hand-made elements and tweak them all to 'work' together. I hope you like my little sneak peek- take a look at the digital issue of New Orleans Magazine to read the full article.
