Showing posts with label Eyerus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eyerus. Show all posts

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Arthur J Simms, for Eyerus Visual Communication Studio and The Arthur J



THE CLIENT

Eyerus Visual Communication Studio and The Arthur J steakhouse

THE ASSIGNMENT

A portrait of Arthur J. Simms, patriarch and pioneer of the Simms’ Restaurant Group — the family venture behind some of Southern California’s hottest eateries — for their newest Manhattan Beach steakhouse, The Arthur J.

THE CHALLENGE

Create a portrait reflecting the colorful character of Mr. Simms, while illustrating a timeless piece of art with Mid-century Modern styling, to reflect the vibe, color, and decor of this brand new restaurant.

GETTING STARTED

Arthur J. Simms was quoted in his obituary as “wanting to leave no tread on the tires by the time I’m done.” His colorful fashion style reflected his flamboyant personal style. According to those who knew him, Mr. Simms' tires were threadbare upon his passing, in 2000. The Arthur J is a celebration and homage to the man. Decked out in Mid-century Modern colors, shapes, and spaces, the restaurant takes patrons back to the time when Mr. Simms was at his most powerful, and gives diners an experience as delicious as their meal.

I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with Eyerus Visual Communication Studio on several occasions. It’s always been a fun and rewarding experience. Being part of Eyerus’ branding of this important South Beach steakhouse would be no exception.

My first step was to review the reference provided me, about Arthur J, his story, and the restaurant Eyerus was helping to brand. The portrait would hang in a very visible position, greeting visitors, upon entering. It should complement the warm colors of the decor, and blend with the bold styling of the 1950s-60s Modern design, gracing the restaurant’s interior. Equally important, the portrait should reflect Arthur Simms’ style and personality.

He was no stranger to vibrant fashion. But, we also want something that people can look at, every day, and still capture the essence of his atypical style. His signature pink jacket was my choice, because it provides a sense of presence with vibrance. A yellow sweater and pants complements the pink, as well as the decor, and reflects his warm personality.

For the art's visual style, I took some cues from the art and design of the period, often perusing the wonderful collection of Mid-century Modern art found at Shelby White's blog. I wanted to keep the strokes graphic and somewhat simplified, while maintaining the general illustration style my client expects from me.

SURPRISE!!

The luxurious three week deadline? It has been tweaked a bit. It’s now three days. Can we make it happen? Of course we can!

PRELIMINARY SKETCHES

My client wanted something standing, head and torso. As I tend to do, I utilized the services of myself, as test model, to work out the best poses.




I always like to cover the gamut and provide several options for my client. These were the preliminary sketches...





Since color is so important to this piece, I knew it would be helpful to include a color comp. This helps minimize any surprises, for the client, with the final art



THE FINAL ART

My client chose sketch #1.

Shifting into high gear, it’s time to race forward and show our new deadline whose boss. West coast client vs midwest illustrator = two hours extra, for me, before they get into the office. This is important for wringing every last second out of my workflow.

Deadline day comes. A jpeg version is sent for final approval. Everything is a-okay! Time to upload the high-res file. One day, high-res file transfer will be instantaneous, but, on this day, it still took what seemed like forever. There I sat, confirmation email composed, ticking down every last byte, my cursor on the “send” button. Will the power go out with one byte left? Will my system corrupt, spontaneously? All possibilities, you know? But, not today! Upon full transfer, I click “send,” and the talented folks at Eyerus complete the framing and presentation of this portrait in time for the eagerly-awaited opening.

Many thanks to Eyerus Visual Communication Studio, for the opportunity to work with you 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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Sunday, March 25, 2012

March: Ian Ziering's Birthday -- The Captains of Industry Calendar



THE CLIENTS

Eyerus + Visual Communications Studio
The Captains of Industry

THE ASSIGNMENT


A calendar, illustrated in the style of '70s Blaxploitation movie posters. Each month will focus on an extremely esoteric holiday (or a popular holiday handled in an extremely esoteric way), all staring The Captains of Industry.

The Captains of Industry are: Graham Funke and StoneRokk, two innovative and eclectic DJs known for their creativity, sense of humor, and opinionated worldviews. You may find them working high-profile corporate and celebrity events around the country, or at their Las Vegas residencies at the Palms Casino Resort. They are "Your favorite DJ's favorite DJs."™

THE CHALLENGE: MARCH

March's featured holiday is Ian Ziering's birthday. Mr. Ziering was born on March 30, 1964. You will remember him as Steve Sanders in the original Beverly Hills 90210. So, how do The Capts celebrate this day through illustration? Mash it up with gangsta rap, another cultural benchmark of the '90s.

THE PROCESS

The Capts took part in a photo shoot, exploring their inner-gangsta. The original thought was to live the thug life with Beverly Hills attire, but that was quickly abandoned for full-fledged thug.



Not being an aficionado in Beverly Hills 90210 lore, I gave myself a crash course on its workings -- the characters, The Peach Pit hangout spot, and Steve Sanders' black '89 Corvette, among them. The black 'Vette would be the logical intermediary between the 90210 world and the N.W.A. world (N.W.A. are one of the most influential artists of the gangsta rap genre), so the guys should be posed against it.

Here are a couple of composition secrets: when there is high volume and finite time involved, one must rely on certain successful rules-of-thumb and apply them, throughout. If I don't follow this system, I'm left to re-invent the wheel with each illustration, which is not the most effective use of my time when deadlines loom. In addition, this mode of thought adds another sense of consistency to my brand, which not only reinforces it, but eliminates surprises for the client.

Throughout this calendar, I built my compositions using pyramids and perspective. Can you see them in the following sketches?

Why pyramids? Because, angles are more interesting than static horizontals and verticals.

Why perspective? Because, perspective is like an angle in the third dimension. Perspective adds depth, visual complexity, and interest.







HOW TO START?

The middle rear-view 'Vette sketch was approved, with a few modifications. So, let's get started on the final art.

The Catps had a definite look in mind for their gangsta attire, from the Eazy E Locs, right down to their Nike Cortez shoes. I did extensive research on it all, acquired appropriate clothing props, and put it together with a supplemental photo shoot, with my fantastic models Ricky and Melodie. My goal was make sure I had the best working photo reference I could put together, so there was no guessing going into the final.

I'm pretty proud of my homemade UZI and Glock 9mm, smartly modeled in pseudo-gangsta stylings, by Ricky.





Melodie and Ricky also gave me a few 90210-style reference shots, in period-attire, with extra emphasis on the tussling.







We swapped my original Beverly Hills street sign with the more iconic sign, and we dropped in some of the characters in the background, including Mr. Sanders, himself. To top it off, why not add a final homage in the form of a logo?

In each month, Graham is rockin' a different mustache, integral towards telling the story for that month. Here, Graham is, naturally, rockin' the "Eazy E" 'stache.

Here's my final black and white comp.



Here's the final color art, again.



Thanks, again, to the amazing team at Eyerus for allowing me the opportunity to be involved, for their direction, and for fostering an environment for creativity that any illustrator would cherish. Thanks, too, to The Captains of Industry for conceiving such a wonderfully-inspired collection of ideas for the world to devour, as well as for their very generous write-up about the project and their kind words toward me. See it, here.

You may secure your own calendar at The Capts Online Haberdashery.

Over the coming weeks, I will show and tell the stories behind each month's art. Stay tuned. Tell your friends. You won't be disappointed!

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
View more of his work»
Sign-up for his newsletter»
Purchase prints»

Saturday, February 18, 2012

President's Day -- The Captains of Industry Calendar



THE CLIENTS

Eyerus + Visual Communications Studio
The Captains of Industry

THE ASSIGNMENT


A calendar, illustrated in the style of '70s Blaxploitation movie posters. Each month will focus on an extremely esoteric holiday (or a popular holiday handled in an extremely esoteric way), all staring The Captains of Industry.

The Captains of Industry are: Graham Funke and StoneRokk, two innovative and eclectic DJs known for their creativity, sense of humor, and opinionated worldviews. You may find them working high-profile corporate and celebrity events around the country, or at their Las Vegas residencies at the Palms Casino Resort. They are "Your favorite DJ's favorite DJs."™

THE CHALLENGE: FEBRUARY

February's featured holiday is President's Day. The idea, here, is The Capts, chiseled atop Mt. Rushmore with our other immortalized presidents. But, the additional twist is that it is to be depicted in the style of a cheesy 1950s postcard one might have found at any gas station -- in this instance, likely any South Dakota fuel stop.

THE PROCESS

The Capts took part in a photo shoot, exploring all sorts of expressions, from the not-so-presidential to the presidential. My first sketches depicted that range, with presidential winning out.





My research included studying all manner of these '50s postcards -- what colors and shapes are prevalent, what typefaces are used, and how do they use touristy imagery to tell their stories?







My other challenge was to create an appealing illustration that captures the essence of an inherently ugly design. It also means adding a few subtle savory extras that makes a viewer want to come back for seconds.

HOW TO START?

The guys on the mountain is obviously the main story, so I needed to make sure to construct them in such a way that looked like they belonged, without question, stoney and all. As per our theme of a different 'stache for every story, Graham is seen rockin' the Chester A. Arthur, here on the mount.

The graphic treatment below the faces is pretty dominant, too. A wavy font motion seems to be a recurring theme on these postcards. It happened to work with this composition, so I embraced it.

The interior text images should be typically touristy and add to the scene, without distracting from the faces. What better choices than a landscape, bison, and the ever-popular fireworks? I matched a couple of fonts for "Greetings from" and "Mount Rushmore," and off I went.



Color is always very important. Here, it's not only important for creating a strong design, but also for cooking up an appropriate retro-chic flavor. I spent time experimenting with a striping color combo that looks last century yet beautifully-ugly, while also complementing the overall palette. Slightly-saturated earth tones seemed to do the trick. I couldn't forget to make decisions about the widths of the stripes to further create interest and elevate the composition.

What about the clouds? Not just any cloud formation will do. It needs to be a cumulus formation.

Why?

The cumulus clouds have more shapes for viewers to sink their teeth into. Plus, they interact with the faces in a more interesting way, echo the bold shapes of the mountain, and create more definitive leading lines which guide the viewer through the composition.

THE DETAILS

To further the idea that this is a retro postcard, why not add a ribbed paper texture that appears as if it's chipping away? And, that's just what I did.

Thanks, again, to the amazing team at Eyerus for allowing me the opportunity to be involved, for their direction, and for fostering an environment for creativity that any illustrator would cherish. Thanks, too, to The Captains of Industry for conceiving such a wonderfully-inspired collection of ideas for the world to devour, as well as for their very generous write-up about the project and their kind words toward me. See it, here.

You may secure your own calendar at The Capts Online Haberdashery.

Over the coming weeks, I will show and tell the stories behind each month's art. Stay tuned. Tell your friends. You won't be disappointed!

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
View more of his work»
Sign-up for his newsletter»
Purchase prints»