I had the honor of being asked to create a cover illustration for the September Self-Promo issue of HOW magazine. Everyone there is a pleasure to work with, and a special thanks to the art director, Bridgid McCarren for bringing me in on this issue. The editor, Bryn Mooth was kind enough to write  a post about the new cover on the HOW blog.

here are the initial roughs:

the inspiration behind the peacock feathers came from a conversation i had once with the amazing, modern day, god father of illustration, Brad Holland. it was at my first showing at the Society of Illustrators in NY. specifically the now defunct 3-Dimensional Salon. Being Mr Holland was one of the judges for the exhibit he came to the opening and it took me all night to get the courage to walk up and speak to him. After we exchanged hellos, he asked about my studio name Red Nose Studio and how many people i had working for me. i told him it was just me and my dog and he chuckled and said i was using the name like peacock feathers, to sound bigger than i was. i kindly replied that i chose the name because it had more character and branding than ‘Chris Sickels Illustration’ and that i hoped it would allow my work to also expand into other markets beyond what was then, for me, mostly editorial illustration. Thanks to Mr Holland for the chance for me to justify and clarify my career objectives, for being a factor in how i was able to show my first pieces at the Society, for being an inspiration when i saw him speak when i was in school in Cincinnati and for leaving an impression that help me generate this image that ended up on the cover (my forth!) of HOW.

this is the second concept, i like the idea that the character isn’t quite sure how to use the megaphone and the sidekick dog seems to really add a punch line. i am sure this duo will show up again in my sketches.

this one was a bit of a stretch and just didn’t have the quick ‘zing’ that the others had.

this is the chosen concept in the cover template, with an added sidekick, but the sidekick was more of a distraction..

the approved sketch. we decided that the assortment of megaphones showed how he has tried a few other ways to promote himself and that the peacock feathers became the best choice.

these are the fabric swathes and color studies i did for myself prior to the build.

the final cover on newsstands at the end of the month.

the hot point at ICON6 earlier this month in Pasadena, CA was the topic of motion in illustration as the next great thing or not. i wont get into pointing fingers or saying what is right or wrong but i do think the way the topic got people stirred up and talking can only lead to good things. it stemmed from the idea that magazines specifically WIRED magazine is spearheading the way on how magazines can potentially  utilize new devices and programs to allow readers to have a direct interaction with the editorial content by having graphics that can be multi-dimensional and by having illustrations that move. the hot point was that illustrators are illustrators not animators, that the power of a single image that can bring the reader into the text is a skill that shouldn’t be watered down by simply making something move for the sake of eye candy. the high point was that the content should remain the focus. if the content calls for something to move, then by all means move it, the software needed to do that is now becoming more accessible… the point that i see from all of this is that we as illustrators should continue to push our mediums and allow things to grow and expand and with open minds we will continue to ride the flow of up and downs and still continue to move forward in our careers.

with that said i wanted to post an illustration i did last fall and include a little animation that i did as an experiment in seeing how an illustration of mine could potentially come to life. admittedly this animation is not much more than eye candy, i don’t think it adds to the concept of the illustration, but i does allow the viewer to see that the characters are moving along and doing there best to spread the message of their brands which we are all trying to do these days.

the project was the cover for the October 2009 issue of Deliver magazine. the topic was on how direct mail can work in tandem with other methods of marketing.

here are the three roughs submitted for the piece.

here is the clipping from an old history of war book that i have had on my worktable for several years that was the inspiration behind the trumpet mobile contraption.

here is a preliminary shot with the sketch overlayed to check for composition and fit into the layout.

the final shot

and the final cover, thanks to Grayson Cardinell for a fun project.

here is the animation test to see how movement could potential enhance the visual concept. there is no audio in this test, and being that it focuses on trumpets that is an aspect that could take this experiment to the next level of interaction. if you can imagine Devotchka’s Basso Profundo playing over the animation.

this year i have been honored to have the chance to illustrate a majority of the covers for Angie’s list magazine.

the new october issue which addresses with what to do when an elderly parent has passed away or moved and you have to deal with the life time of stuff that they have accumulated.

here are the roughs the art director Tanja Pohl and i deliberated over.

and with the last minute aide of a great working headline ”

They’re dead
You’re buried

How to get out from under the clutter

this is the sketch that came up

a sequence of about 100 shots during the process of setting up the clutter, setting up the lighting, adjusting the lighting and getting the image ‘just right’

the final…

here is the new cover of Planadviser Magazine. as always the creative director SooJin Buzelli is a delight to work with!

sketch 1

sketch 2

final image

for the curious out there, this piece (not unlike much of what i do) took about 148 shots until i got it right.
shotsquence_lookahead-copy.mov
the movie shows the progression of the 148 shots to give you a little behind the scenes action.

a full spread for an article on the theories and successes of new marketing strategies of Broadway shows and Hollywood movies.



sometimes there aren’t any good short cuts for the right effect and for the marquee to look ‘right’ i went through a bundle of exacto blades and two boxes of christmas lights. the first box of lights failing right after they were all in place…

this one of those sets that just needed to be animated before it was taken down.
velvet1.mov

happy to announce my debut on TOR.com
illustration for the story The Things that Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away by
Cory Doctorow

here are some details of my favorite props from that piece.



the van built with card stock and old watch batteries, the green plastic is from discarded packaging


security cameras

color sketch for the main character Lawrence

again i got the opportunity to work with one of my favorite art directors. SooJin Buzelli of Asset International.
this piece was on how Annuities are a promising option for retirement income. sub-head: Risk-based funds remain popular on plan menus. Why some plans pick them, and how some advisers benchmark them.
what makes her a great AD is that she sums articles on subject like that into something like this. “a good thing, something that keeps on giving”

that was one of my rough concepts, and after we talked on the phone and she made some suggestions that helps take the piece to the next level, this revision came about.

happy to announce my first work for TIME International in the recent July 14th 2008 issue.
Although last year the editor of TIME (US) openly stated that 3D illustration doesnt belong in print, i was pleased with how this series on the role of Japan in the upcoming G8 meeting turned out.

happy to announce that i have two pieces in the upcoming book and editorial exhibit at the Society of Illustrators on New York. the exhibit runs from Feb 23 – Mar 22 2008.
you can find out more on the Society of Illustrators and the exhibits at SI

this piece was a wraparound cover for Deliver magazine for the USPS. the theme of the issue was Loyalty.

this piece was for the 2007 Fall Shoe Guide section for Runner’s World magazine: focusing on the over the top technical shoes out now that sound as if they do more work than the runner.

this guy got caught on the cover of the dec 2 2007 Washington Post’s Book World

this issue has the years best picks for books.