Of Hoops and Healing: Remembering, Retelling, Reliving for Bostonia Magazine

THE CLIENT

Bostonia Magazine (Boston University's alumni magazine)

THE ASSIGNMENT

Seven illustrations for an interactive on-line experience, depicting an eight-step meditation ritual, designed by teacher and author, Onaje Woodbine. The ritual takes the participant through a journey of major points in black history, using basketball as a metaphor. By the end, he or she makes a personal commitment to better the future in spite of their struggles.

GETTING STARTED

My client forwarded me a storyboard, to follow. So, the direction was pretty well-defined.

The participant, symbolically, starts in Africa, traveling through slavery, Jim Crow laws, lynching, the underground railroad, the great migration, civil rights movement, and finishes at liberation. The intensity of the basketball game shifts as we travel this journey. The crowd echoes the mood by being joyful, riotous, mournful, or other appropriate emotion. Text and sound helps share the story and completes this unique interactive experience.

The seven illustrations take place at Malcolm X Park basketball courts. The point-of-view is from the participant, as if she or he were on-court, playing. Lastly, the story should transition from day to night and back to day, mirroring the high and low emotions of these events. The first illustration would be repeated as the eighth liberation step, coming full circle.

My first step was to start gathering reference.

The main setting is the court, so, I hunt for the courts at Malcolm X Park, in Roxbury, Massachusetts. There is a unique blue and white paint pattern that distinguishes the court. It should, also, reflect the mix of its urban and natural setting. I decide to utilize the short concrete wall as a backstop design element, and as a separator of the court from the trees. It allows me to combine the urban and natural elements without having to get too complex or distract from the main story.




Fortunately, I live near a park, with a basketball court. So, I dribbled on down the road and took plenty of photos to nail down my perspective and create a solid foundation for my illustrations. I included shots of me, in various positions, on the court, to further solidify my perspective, with the players and crowd.




The diffuse lighting, that day, was perfect, as it allowed me the greatest versatility, without having to deal with hard, directional shadows.

The next major element are the players. So, I got into my faux-basketball garb and snapped myself in a variety of defensive stances.




Lastly, the crowd. Again, I threw myself in front of the camera, taking various postures and actions, relevant to the stories the crowds would tell. I'm always considering consistent lighting, as I take these reference photos.






PRELIMINARY SKETCHES

Since the direction was pretty clearly defined, in my client’s storyboard, I just needed to flesh it out, including the tonal transition from day to night and back to day. I sent some initial sketches to ensure I was on the right track.









REVISIONS

My client was on-board, with it, all. Just a few minor adjustments to a couple of players were requested. The next step would be to refine the crowds, who would be helping to tell the story, by what they were doing, in each panel. I, also, wanted to refine the players’ faces, replacing my “for-position-only” heads, from my initial sketches.

I re-submitted the following, along with a color comp, to make sure our visions, aligned:










THE FINAL ART

All was approved. It was time to move, forward.

The final interactive experience may be seen, HERE.

Click “Enter The Court,” and follow the instructions to move through all eight steps. Take a moment to, also, click “Read The Story.” It’s quite fascinating to learn the story behind this journey.

My thanks to the folks at Bostonia for the opportunity to collaborate on this fantastic project.









Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Prince Hall for American Legacy Magazine

THE CLIENT

American Legacy Magazine

THE ASSIGNMENT

A full-page illustration for a feature article on Prince Hall, who, in 1784, was one of the founding members of the first African-American Freemasonry order.

THE CHALLENGE

Create a beautiful, accurate, historical portrait of Mr. Hall, with the stateliness of “one of the first black organizers, in American history,” according to the feature article.

On the eve of the Revolutionary War, Prince Hall, and fourteen free black men, risked their lives, and their freedom, by taking a boat to the enemy’s fort, at the entrance to the Boson Harbor, in an attempt to join Freemasonry. After being rejected by colonial Freemasonry, these men, determined to join, were accepted by the Grand Lodge of Ireland, Lodge No. 441, on March 6, 1775. After the British evacuated Boston, the African-American Masons were left without a lodge. The departing Irish soldiers gave these Masons a permit to meet as African Lodge No. 1. However, without a lodge, this permit provided limited provisions. A petition for lodge was sent to the Lodge of England. In 1784, the petition was granted, and African Lodge No. 459 was founded — the first African-American fraternal order, with Prince Hall as its leader.

Today, the nationwide branch of African-American Freemasonry is named Prince Hall Freemasonry, in his honor.

GETTING STARTED

The direction would be a head and shoulders portrait with the Masonic symbol, behind. My task, now, would be to gather reference, showing what the man may have looked like. There is a bit of leeway, when it comes to historical figures, for whom no good reference exists. No one is around to dispute. I also needed to be sure and gather historically-accurate clothing and hair styles. This includes general Revolutionary-era attire and powdered wigs.

The Freemasonry symbol is the square and compass. As with many aspects of Freemasonry, these items are rooted in symbolism. There are no concrete, consistent meanings, behind them, however, they are, often, to be reflective of lessons in conduct. The square is to remind members to square their actions and the compass is to remind members of their bounds with all of mankind. The letter, “G,” is often found, in the center of the logo. It is generally believed to represent God.

PRELIMINARY SKETCHES

I provided 4 options, in various configurations.






THE FINAL ART

My client chose sketch #3.

My sketches are based on other sketchy artistic renderings. So, a photo shoot was in order. Matthew was my subject and a combination of a nondescript sweater and a Revolutionary War-era costume from the costume shop, was our wardrobe.

This is the photo composite reference I used for the final art...



Acrylic paint with Photoshop is my medium, of choice, for color work.

Unfortunately, the illustration did not see publication, as the magazine, unexpectedly, went through some restructuring. However, Prince Hall is still a popular figure and the illustration has taken on a life of its own, since its creation:

• It was accepted to Illustration West 50 annual and exhibition, in 2012, sponsored by the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles.

• As mentioned, there are not many depictions of Mr. Hall, and those that exist are not very detailed. As a result, it caught the eye of the leader of a California Freemasonry Lodge who licensed it as part of Prince Hall Day, at their Lodge.

• It will also be seen at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, in Bloomington, MN, as part of an educational exhibit.

My thanks to the folks at American Legacy Magazine for the opportunity to learn more about Prince Hall and to bring him to life, in this way.



Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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•Purchase prints»