Pope John Paul II for the University of San Diego

On the fast track to sainthood, Pope John Paul II is not only one of Catholicism's more popular Popes, he is also one of 16 illustrations I was commissioned to create for the University of San Diego's President's Report.

The theme of 2009's report highlights people, places, and things that serve as influences to the school's mission and heritage. Reading the contextual clues, one can correctly deduce USD has a strong foundation in the Catholic church.

This president's report is a beautifully designed work of art in itself. Bound as a leather printed cover, many of the illustrations accompany their own month in an included calendar, and double as removable, collectible prayer cards.

The challenges

•Compose an illustration that not only fits the format of a 3.5 in. x 5.25 in. space, taking into consideration an elaborate border treatment which will cut into the art, but also produce an illustration that commands attention at a smaller size.

•Establish a color palette which complements warm tones of the document's layout, and brings depth and interest to the scene.

Light and depth through color

Where light hits an object most directly, color is most intense. As that object recedes in space, and falls into shadow, color cools and loses intensity. Color theory 101, to be sure, but these principles were key in helping me create a sense of depth. Without such depth, this scene would quickly turn uninteresting (not to mention flat).

To also keep interest up throughout the illustration, it was important to make sure shadows and highlights kept some color and didn't become too gray or white, respectively (After all, the thing needs to be pleasing to look at, right?). That sounds like a simple thing to do, but it takes planning. Notice how the white stripe on his robe is warmer at the shoulder where light hits and turns cooler as it moves away from the "hot spot." Squint your eyes and notice the value doesn't change too significantly. His position in space is largely aided through color.

Using color like this is helpful to add complexity to a small, seemingly non-complex, picture.

A strong picture starts with a strong composition

This is especially true for a smaller illustration. There's not as much real estate to grab viewers' attentions. Plus, being small, people don't have much patience to squint their way through a scene to pick out intricacies. Hence, the simply-composed but easily-recognizable posture of the 264th Pope.

Here is the illustration in its final layout.



Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Hillary Clinton

Picture a painting by Peter Paul Rubens titled, Immaculate Conception. Picture Hillary Clinton. Picture a pants suit. Put them together and what does one get? One gets this particular illustration that speaks about her and the Democrats finding religion. One also gets an illustration that luckily made it into Illustrators West 46, the juried annual exhibition by the Los Angeles Society of Illustrators. It will be on-line in the spring of 2008.

When I have some extra time, I will do self-assigned illustrations. This piece was based on a TIME Magazine cover story about the Democrats all suddenly finding religion in hopes of reaching a voting segment they've been historically unable to reach. The Republicans have been the party of religion, so this newfound interest by the Dems to start talking more prominently about their religious beliefs seemed worth probing.

What I aim to do whenever I assign myself a TIME cover story is execute it under the same stringent timeframe as is typical for a TIME illustration. It's good practice. I read the story on TIME.com on a Thursday night -- when the new issue is published on-line. I generated some ideas later that night and decided on one to pursue for the finish. Friday, I shot some reference for the pose and did much of the illustration that night. Saturday, I added some final touches and it was totally completed that afternoon. It's very encouraging to have this effort validated by the gracious jurors at the Illustrators West show.

Now, as I add to this blog entry on March 4 -- Ohio and Texas Super-Tuesday -- and as we see Hillary take both states, this image takes on another life -- the martyr, the risen dead, the prodigal daughter? Is the tide turning? Does it matter? What about SNL? Are Tina Fey and Amy Poehler the combined Oprah of the Clinton set? How about religion? Funny how that has serendipitously sneaked it's way into the candidates' conversation. Thanks, Hil.

detail and inspiration

John Newton

Just who is John Newton?

John Newton became the main pillar of the Evangelical party in the Church of England during the 18th century. His writings and sermons were immensely popular and Newton leveraged influence in helping to end the slave trade. His early life, however, found him as a sailor and slave-trader in Africa. After some brushes with death, he made a spiritual conversion that led him to evangelical Christianity.

He also penned many hymns including the mainstay, Amazing Grace.

The crux of this book cover illustration for Crossways Books tells the story of Newton from his early troubled youth (lost in the woods) to his redemption and role with the Church of England (the Canterbury Cathedral on the right).

One of the benefits of illustrated portraits is they function perfectly when photographic reference is limited or low in quality. I've worked on a number of portraits and feel confident that I can work with any reference, no matter how small, lo-res, and out of focus the image may be. The references here were obviously historical depictions.

This is a charcoal drawing, accentuated and colored in Photoshop.

sketch

Billy Graham

Billy Graham holds a very unique position in American culture as spiritual adviser to the most powerful people, particularly in political office.

With this portrait, I aimed to capture a stately-looking and powerful composition, to speak to his role as spiritual confidant to political powerhouses. I tried to convey the story of his connection with presidents by positioning the strong, vertical White House-like columns behind him. Also a symbol of power. The sunset colors are also representational of his place in life, and perhaps his journey with D.C. residents.

face detail