Well, hello there.
I hope everyone out there is doing well.
I wanted to make a quick post to let you know I'm still around and making art at a feverish pace. In fact, as you've no doubt noticed, I've had difficulty keeping my blog posts current.
Thanks for your patience and your continued support of this blog. I'll have some new work to show you, soon! Stay tuned...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Adventures of Danny and the Dingo

® & ©2010 Fuel TV, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
THE CLIENT
•Eyerus + Visual Communication Studio (the agency)
•FUEL TV
THE ASSIGNMENT
With a tongue-in-cheek nod to Drew Struzan's Smokey and the Bandit II movie poster, create an illustration reflecting the chaos and craziness of the upcoming 4th season of the FUEL TV show, The Adventures of Danny and the Dingo.
THE CHALLENGE
Create something wild and wacky, with as many visual detours as possible, and a Burt Reynolds/Dom DeLuise-ish movie poster vibe. The 2 main characters would take center stage while the chaos and mini story lines that succumb to the gravitational pull of a Danny and the Dingo experience orbit about their feet.
THE PROCESS
Research
I began by screening some episodes from the show, which stars Danny Kass, 2-time Olympic snowboarding medalist, and Australian snowboarding personality, The Dingo. This helped me get a feel for the show and its characters.
When taking on a job, I like to learn as much as possible about every component, so I feel confident speaking on its behalf -- which is what I'm entrusted to do, in a way.
This project took some initial sketching to find its concept. It started out with more of a Cannonball Run II nod, with the craziness bursting out at the viewer.

The client opted to go the Smokey and the Bandit II route, instead. They liked the storytelling potential of smaller elements swirling around large main characters.

This season takes place, largely, in the snowy climes of places like Alaska and Switzerland. So that sort of scenery needed to form the basis of the illustration's landscape -- setting the tone.
Snowboarders, snowmobilers, wakeboarders, heli-boarders, dogsledders, goat-milkers, fishing-boat-gun-shooters, trophy-truckers, RV-riders, Euro-sports-car-drivers, lederhosen-clad dudes, German-beer-maid gals, police and rescue vehicles, and any other crazy folks we could think of needed to feel welcome in this illustration.
Taking a respectful cue from Mr. Struzan's aforementioned poster, I set out to glean from its humor and general idea.
This type of assignment is a good exercise for illustration students to understand what makes an illustration work. There are a lot of decisions that went in to the making of Drew Struzan's poster, from the placement of the vehicles and the value composition within that swirl of vehicles, to the large figure poses, to the cloud composition, to the color of Bandit's jacket.
Sketches
We tried a few options with the guys in center stage, but they didn't seem to quite cut it.


In what I'm claiming as about a 3rd degree of separation to extra-coolness, Danny and the Dingo were called to a house in Los Angeles for a quick photo shoot just for this project. I was poised at my computer, on-call for when the agency received the photos and sent them to me. I would plug them into the layout and shoot it back for final approval. Upon approval, I would immediately turn my attention to the final, as our deadline was rapidly approaching.
It happened, I did it, and we got it...approval, that is.

The Final
If you are an illustration student, you've probably heard over and over -- there's no substitute for good reference. It's true. Listen to your professor, especially, if you're trying to work realistically. Bad reference will sink your ship, and quickly.
With the help of my intern, Andrew, I tracked down reference for the background: clouds, Swiss Alps, Alaskan fishing boat, Brandenburg Gate/Berlin Wall, Swiss airport, Berlin Tower, wakeboarders, snowboarders, snowmobilers, and dogsledders. I also researched the snowy ground for something non-descript, yet definitely snowy.
Then, it was time for my camera to come out of its bag.
Since this is such an unusual giant's-view perspective, I wanted to make sure the vehicles and people looked correct. So, I shot 'em.
I scoured the toy shops for scale vehicles of all sorts and set them up at the perspective of the illustration, shooting them group-by-group, lit from upper left, on a sheet of white foam core until I had what I needed.
Then, I needed to contact some models to pose as the characters at the guys' feet.
It was a race against the clock, at this point, and Briana (a lovely Southwest Missouri model) and her husband, Daniel, came through for me on short notice and knocked it out of the park. They completely embraced the humor and tongue-in-cheek undertone. Their participation, in my view, solidified this illustration. Look closely to see all the terrific roles they played. My sincere thanks to them for their perfect participation in this project.

Color
Cool blues would have to rule the landscape. But, then what?
Too much color amongst the cars, below, would be too chaotic and distracting. I kept it somewhat muted, with a few flashes of light on the U.S., Swiss, and German police cars.
Why is Bandit's jacket red?
The rest of the Smokey and the Bandit II poster has very muted tones and colors. The red jacket leads the viewer's eye toward the main character and creates, arguably, the primary area of visual interest. Cover up that jacket with brown and the color composition becomes very blah. The red makes it work. And, there's just enough of it below to harmonize it with the color palette.
So, that's what I needed to do, too.
Thank you Mr. Struzan for the lesson.
This was a very complex and involved project, but also very rewarding. The folks at Eyerus are an illustrator's dream with which to work. I'm very grateful to them for the opportunity to help with this very cool assignment.
This ad can be seen in the December 2010 issue of Transworld Snowboarding Magazine (on newsstands as I write). And, the 4th season of The Adventures of Danny and the Dingo debuts Tuesday November 16 on FUEL TV.
Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Labels:
advertising,
concept,
illustration,
landscape,
portrait
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Howard Nusbaum for The University of Chicago Magazine

Mr. Nusbaum was also the subject of a charcoal portrait I completed for The University of Chicago Magazine, earlier this year.
For some reason, I always feel as if I'm in my groove whenever I'm fortunate to work with the folks at the U. of C., whether I am or am not. The charcoal marks feel just a little more vivacious and my confidence beams just a little brighter.
Charcoal portraits are a large bulk of my workload, and something I thoroughly enjoy doing. It's fun for me to explore mark-making as I sculpt a face.
I lay down large, vague areas of charcoal and, without committing until I have to, pull details out of the morass until my subject emerges, like a Smilodon out of the La Brea Tar Pits.
Maybe not exactly like that, but close. I'm sculpting, over here.
It's always a pleasure and an honor working with the U. of C. and contributing to their thoughtfully-designed publication.
Things have been ultra-busy for me over the past few months with commissioned illustrations and my newest hobby -- photography. Hence, my lack of posting. Thanks so much to everyone who has checked in, looking for a new post. I sincerely appreciate your loyalty!
I have some neat things coming your way, so stay tuned.
Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Saturday, August 21, 2010
Lady Gaga

Wild, outlandish, and over the top help define Lady Gaga, pop music performer and current Twitter queen (more followers than anyone else). Her sunglasses and pyrotechnic bra turns her into Gaga and hides Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. I wanted to challenge myself and take a more intimate look at the the human being rather than the public persona.
When looking for reference, one problem I encountered was, she looks an awful lot like Madonna in many of them. At her essence, what makes Gaga, Gaga? For me, it's her facial features -- her nose and mouth, particularly. I needed to reveal her eyes, too. Her ever-present shades only serve to further hide, creating an unwanted obstruction between me and her.
The colors should be mostly muted and kind of un-pretty, speaking to the sometimes un-pretty vulnerable side of everyone. The artistic challenge came in creating something subtle and mostly devoid of color, but still giving the viewer a retinal stimulation and a reason to want to explore the image.
It's a relatively simple composition, so there needed to be complexity, somewhere, as a balance. The brush strokes are kind of interesting to look at, but color needs to play an important role. I decided to use the rouge in her cheek as a focal point and communication tool. Coupled with her subtle, but unusual head wear, the shock of red hints at the vibrant performer side of Gaga.
The cool balances the warmth and adds just enough depth, while keeping the composition almost abstract. A shift in the color palette to a yellow/green slant removes a level of predictability and adds a bit of complexity to not only the color itself, but also to its functionality as a communication tool and how it defines form.
This was also done as a demo with my 2010 intern, Andrew Towler. For the past 2-1/2 months, he's helped run my business and learn about both the art and profession of illustration. I sincerely thank him for his assistance and for being an important part of Allan Burch Illustration.
Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Sunday, July 11, 2010
ICON 6: News from LaLa Land

But, I'm here, today, to bring your attention to several things going on in the world of illustration that you should be aware of.
ICON 6, The Illustration Conference, will be held in Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 14, through Saturday, July 17. I will be attending.
Several events will be occurring during the conference. If you are in the Los Angeles area, be sure to check them out!
•THE ROADSHOW
What: a salon for illustrators and invited art buyers to meet, network, and maybe secure some projects
When: 4:30–7:00 pm
Where: the Viennese Ballroom at the Langham Hotel, 1401 South Knoll Avenue, Pasadena, CA
If you are an art director or art buyer in the L.A. area, and wish to attend, drop me a line and I'll get you on the guest list. If you're planning on attending, please look me up. I'd love to meet you!
•THE ILLUSTRATION WEST 48 ART EXHIBITION
What: a select exhibition of accepted work from the Illustration West 48 juried exhibition and annual, held by the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles
When: Tuesday, July 13–Sunday, July 18
Where: the Wentworth Room at the Langham Hotel
Keep an eye out for Black Flowers (above), one of two pieces I was fortunate to have accepted to the annual. The other piece is Peak Oil, seen elsewhere on this blog. Black Flowers will be the only one exhibited.
•ICON6: A LABOR OF LINE
What: a select group of work from this year's attendees, featuring 50 artists in all
When: July 16–August 9, 2010
Opening Reception: July 16, 7:00 pm–11:00 pm
Where: Gallery Nucleus, 210 East Main Street, Alhambra, CA
Keep an eye out for Bruce Springsteen, a piece I am fortunate to have shown at this exhibit.

Follow along with my Twitter feed (link to your right) for updates from the conference, and hopefully, a blog update or 2 from the show.
Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Labels:
Illustration Conference,
portrait
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
I Want My Fuel TV!

•Fuel TV
•Eyerus + Visual Communication Studio (the agency)
THE ASSIGNMENT
In homage to early-80s montage-style TV Guide covers, this art is the cover for a faux TV Guide-style publication promoting network programing and personalities found on Fuel TV.
THE CHALLENGE
Create something wild and wacky, with as many visual detours as possible, and a kitschy 70s vibe. Include personalities of 3 of their main shows: Captain and Casey of The Captain and Casey Show, James "Bubba" Stewart of Bubba's World, and Laban Phiedas and Ted Newsome of American Misfits.
Also include the network's 6 core action sports: snowboarding, bmx, motocross, surfing, wakeboarding, and skateboarding.
THE PROCESS
Research I spent some time digging into Fuel.tv, the client's website, learning what makes the network tick. I also went through each represented show's vast photo galleries to pluck potential reference.
Compositing Time to start laying things down and see what kind of grayscale compositions I could flesh out. Montage illustrations are a different breed of animal. Of course, basic principles of 2D black and white composition come into play -- value, weight, shape, movement, and space -- but other challenges, inherent to the montage, present themselves...
Space One can't simply slap figures and objects onto a montage illustration without forethought to their relationship to each other in space as well as their light source, otherwise one has a recipe for a disparate cut-out mess. The twist -- figures now become the landscape, and not only need to work together in space, but also define it.
There are 2 planes of reality, here. First, the large background figures. They provide weight and define overall movement, due to their large size, shape, and visual importance (both to the network and to the crux of this illustration's story).
The second plane of reality lies with the smaller figures, in front. Since they are of a relative size, they need to all work together, perspectively -- larger in front, smaller in back, and with a consistent vanishing point and light source. If they don't work together or relate to one another in some decipherable way, we'll have confusion.
In a montage, there are already lots of elements with which to cause potential confusion, if not planned carefully. Without a believable sense of space, the viewer is guaranteed to be confused. Unintended confusion equals an unsuccessful illustration.
THE SKETCHES
My first sketches were sparse. I mistakenly thought the 6 core sports could be hinted at without including all.







The client liked the direction, but wanted to be sure to include all 6 sports.
A preferred composition was chosen and I added the missing sports.

This was a step forward, but I needed to up the humor and wackiness quotient to properly reflect the sensibility of the network as well as the concept of the cover. Think 70s kitsch -- Cannonball Run.

Real close, but lose Mr. Stewart's Rick James 'do and put the gals in "Token Hotties" shirts (integral to one of their shows).
Done and done. Here is the approved sketch.

Now, step-by-step through the final. But, first...
ONE MORE TWIST
In addition to a 5 in. x 7.5 in. periodical cover, the art would be used as a 5 ft. tall poster for a client presentation. I produced the illustration with that large final output size in mind, creating the underpainting on a sheet of 30 in. x 40 in. gessoed illustration board, scanning at a high dpi, and finalizing the art at about 4 ft. W x 6 ft. H at the dpi required for the printing device.







The final "underpainting."

Scanned and tidied up with values complete.

THE RESULT
Quality people make it easy to go the extra mile. My client is happy, which, in turn, makes me very happy. When coupled with the art's fun subject matter and uniqueness to much of my portfolio, this turned out to be one of my favorite illustrations I've done.

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Labels:
advertising,
humor,
portrait,
television
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Pope John Paul II for the University of San Diego

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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•Sign-up for his newsletter»
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Labels:
painting,
Pope John Paul II,
portrait,
religion
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