TOM - Here is an illustration I did a few months back for BUST Magazine. The article is about how Britney Spears is a total fucking nut, but it's her nuttiness that is keeping her in the spot light. After a couple of sketches, the art director picked this idea: Britney as a train wreck. I was excited to get a portrait assignment, because I usually have a lot of fun doing portraits of people, but I soon realized that this one was going to be a lot different. People like Johnny Cash and Amy Winehouse have such strong, distinct, and slightly ugly features that are easy to run with and build around. Britney on the other hand has very few distinct facial features that are easily recognizable. After going through TONS of Britney reference, I found that there are two Britney Spears'; the hot, 'Oops I Did It Again' Britney, and the out of shape, trailer park mess Britney that we have come to know nowadays. For authenticity sake, I originally attempted to draw the current Britney which I thought would also visually push the whole 'train wreck' idea. The problem with drawing the current version of Britney is that she now has even LESS defining features! She looks like any loud, self disrespecting girl at a neighborhood bar, so my drawings were coming out looking more like a chubby Lindsay Lohan, or a thinner Rosie O'Donnell. After several failed attempts, I decided it was smarter to go with the vintage sexy Britney that we all used to love. Can't say it's one of my best portraits, but it sure was challenging, and I got to experiment with different textures in my colors, and create a more conceptual illustration which I don't always get a chance to do.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Train Wreck
TOM - Here is an illustration I did a few months back for BUST Magazine. The article is about how Britney Spears is a total fucking nut, but it's her nuttiness that is keeping her in the spot light. After a couple of sketches, the art director picked this idea: Britney as a train wreck. I was excited to get a portrait assignment, because I usually have a lot of fun doing portraits of people, but I soon realized that this one was going to be a lot different. People like Johnny Cash and Amy Winehouse have such strong, distinct, and slightly ugly features that are easy to run with and build around. Britney on the other hand has very few distinct facial features that are easily recognizable. After going through TONS of Britney reference, I found that there are two Britney Spears'; the hot, 'Oops I Did It Again' Britney, and the out of shape, trailer park mess Britney that we have come to know nowadays. For authenticity sake, I originally attempted to draw the current Britney which I thought would also visually push the whole 'train wreck' idea. The problem with drawing the current version of Britney is that she now has even LESS defining features! She looks like any loud, self disrespecting girl at a neighborhood bar, so my drawings were coming out looking more like a chubby Lindsay Lohan, or a thinner Rosie O'Donnell. After several failed attempts, I decided it was smarter to go with the vintage sexy Britney that we all used to love. Can't say it's one of my best portraits, but it sure was challenging, and I got to experiment with different textures in my colors, and create a more conceptual illustration which I don't always get a chance to do.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Wow, cool illustration. The textures really compliment your line art...
yeah, it's very 'explosive' and eye catching. the train looks great, and would make a cool illo by itself, even.
the britney portrait is definitely recognizable. i have one criticism, if you could call it that: one of my favorite things about the way you draw is how you position your characters' heads - they always capture alot of motion and emotion, and i think it's a major weapon in your arsenal. i think the portrait woulda been a little better if you gave her head some movement or angle. it might've even been a little easier to do her in a profile.
but what do i know - there's a reason why i don't do portraits. good job - psyched to see it in print, and we gotta trade texture tricks when i visit. it looks great here.
I think Britney looks enough like Britney...especially in the context of an article, so I don't think people will be confused, and the "train wreck" part is the point of the drawing anyway, and that comes across quite clear.
In short, good job, kid.
Looks great, I love the colors.
Post a Comment