New Magazine Cover

I just received my comp copies of CURRENTS magazine, which not only includes a slew of new artwork of mine, but this is also my third magazine cover, and I'm very pleased with it.

The cover was created in Adobe Illustrator CS3, with some touch up in Adobe Photoshop CS3. I'm becoming much more familiar with Adobe Illustrator, and this new version has some nice features in it that make me rely less on Photoshop to complete a cover like this. Once upon a time I'd need to do a lot more finishing and color adjustment in Photoshop, but I've found transparency adjusting in Illustrator, and other helpful items which have enabled me to create much better work, in less time.

The Statue of Liberty was created first, and in much detail, so that the image could be taken apart and enlarged to create sub images for inside the magazine. This wasn't done, but I am planning on using Liberty herself to make a fine poster.

Something I shouldn't admit here, but since I try to use photo reference for those little details that create realism, I found myself having to pose for the guy on the right waving his cap. I just couldn't get my models to do it right (4 year olds are really hard to work with), so I did it myself, and so there, that's me on the cover of CURRENTS. :0)

After CURRENTS magazine, I created illustrations for my first Annual Report. Yes, the freelance career has really taken off, and I'm hoping to be able to do more high end work like this. For the Annual I created 10 fine art type pieces based on ports of the world, which was really fun considering my interest in travel. I'll definitely show off that artwork after the Annual has gone to print either here or at my travel blog, or both.

And speaking of blogs, I'm thinking of starting a third blog to feature The Inquiring Minds. I'm still looking for a big venue for the strip, so maybe a blog is in order to focus on the strips and build more of an audience.

Magazine Art Directors are welcome to contact me for copies of my work or hiring info. You may also check out my online portfolio , which is currently being updated. And please look at my previous post for a Vector Illustration comic book cover.

Cheers, JOHN :0)



UPDATE: Inspired by posting, I went and finally finished the Statue of Liberty print I mentioned in this post. I also used a 'stained glass' technique that I have been experimenting with, which gives it a unique and beautiful appearance. See the art below, or you can preview and buy the print at my Lulu.com shop.