CLUTCH is a new character that i thought would make an appropriate post this week. Here in Indianapolis, the  MotoGP races are going over at the speedway this weekend.

a bit of backstory:

Clutch has never won a race, he is still looking for that elusive victory, any victory for that matter. He will race anything, a tree, a barn, his shadow, you name it he’ll race it and no matter how hard he tries he still manages to loose.

this is a shot of the 1:9 scale model of the Norton bike that i assembled and ‘modified’ along with an initial sketch of Clutch scaled to the size of the bike.

here is a schematic of Clutch with notes on his costume and gear

the final shot with his ‘mark’

it was a bear getting the image to have speed (that’s where a cordless drill and a hairdryer came in handy)

here is a film of the set in action:

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.

this month’s (August) issue of Indianapolis Monthly has a little write up on my studio and the recent covers i have done for the Indianapolis based Angie’s List Magazine.

thanks to the folks at Angie’s List and Indianapolis Monthly, its nice to get a little recognition in the neighborhood.