CITY ISLAND SERIES
- ADOBE CREATIVE RESIDENCY 2018 -
About the project:
Throughout my time as an Adobe Creative Resident, I will be creating digital illustrations in Photoshop of various cities from across the United States. These illustrations will showcase buildings, pop culture, and history of each city. They will be a part of my “City Island” series that I have been working on as a passion project where I take existing cities and make them surreal floating island landscapes.
I started this project when I was attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I grew up in the country and never visited the city until art school. I did not know my way around Pittsburgh so I decided to draw the landmarks of the city for a better understanding of the layout. The reason I drew Pittsburgh as a floating island is because Pittsburgh has its own unique language called “Pittsburghese” where they use slang such as “yinz”(meaning you all). I remember thinking to myself “this place is like an island” after I met a fellow student who was originally from New York and he couldn’t understand the local slang. I realized that every city has its quirks, so I decided to make illustrations that showcased the uniqueness of each city. I currently have New York City and Pittsburgh completed and I am looking to create more islands with the help of the Adobe Creative Residency.
PREVIOUS PROJECTS
- NEW YORK CITY ISLAND -
How the project builds off of my previous work:
The previous illustrations that I have made for the "City Island" series were originally drawn with India ink on watercolor paper. I would scan the drawings and color them digitally in Photoshop with a mouse. I recently purchased a Cintiq monitor and plan on drawing each illustration in Photoshop, on the Cintiq, from start to finish. I want to utilize the new 2018 drawing features in Photoshop such as the new brush sets, smoothing tool and symmetry tool. I think this will make my process faster and my illustrations better.
I start every island with a mind map to determine which buildings to incorporate .
The finished drawing. India ink on watercolor paper.
A look into the inking and coloring process.
- PITTSBURGH ISLAND -
Sketch and inked drawing.
- SPINOFF PROJECTS -
Two color T-shirt version of my Pittsburgh Island.
Rough sketches.
Cup design done in a similar style to my proposed project which was made using Illustrator. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust commissioned me to create an illustration to be used on their theater cups that are available at the Benedum and Byham Theaters during musical productions. They wanted an image that represented Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. When sketching ideas for the cup, I came up with the idea of using water from the “Water Cube” (a giant square drinking fountain in the heart of Pittsburgh) to tie all the design elements together. The “Water Cube” not only shows its functionality but also represents Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers, a key staple in the community. They commisioned me to do this after seeing my Pittsburgh Island drawing.
Project timeline & budget:
My goal is to finish one 22X28 inch floating island city illustration every two months. However, I am hoping to exceed my initial goal so that by the end of the residency I would have finished 6-9 cities. Making illustrations this large and detailed causes the process to be very time-consuming so I will be working on a side project called "Creature Islands.” "Creature Islands" will be mini, 8.5X11 inch island illustrations that will feature fantasy creatures living in their habitat, like a terrarium. I will be completing one illustration every ten days so that I’ll have a continuous stream of finished work to share with the creative community while I work on my main project. This side project will attract a wider range of people to my work while also allowing my illustration style and character design skills to evolve and grow. Also it will not require research and can be done somewhat quickly. By the end of my residency, I will have 6-9 city islands and roughly 36 mini creature islands that I want to compile into an art book and release at the end of the residency.
I have everything I need to complete this project already, therefore, budgeting is not an issue. However, I would like to visit the cities that I am planning to draw for a few days to attain reference photos, talk to locals about what makes their city special and experience the local culture. If this travel opportunity became possible I would need to cover the cost of both transportation and housing.
SIDE PROJECT
-CREATURE ISLANDS-
Above are some examples of creature drawings I've made previously. The creature islands will look similar in style to them.
The main creative tools I plan to use for my project:
DESKTOP:
Adobe Photoshop CC for the illustrations.
Adobe Indesign CC to create the artbook that I will release at the end of the Residency.
Adobe Premiere Pro CC to edit vlogs and to create a drawing timelapse.
Adobe Captivate 2017 to record my illustration process in Photoshop from start to finish.
MOBILE:
Adobe Photoshop Sketch to sketch on the go or on location with my iPad.
Adobe Photoshop Express to edit photos on the go.
Adobe Spark Post & Video to edit content for social media.
OTHER:
Cintiq 27QHD for drawing the illustrations.
Digital camera for reference photos and vlogging.
How I plan to share my project with the creative community:
I will be using Instagram as my main sharing tool to document artwork, travel, and conferences. I will be posting images and Instagram stories daily. I will post story highlights on my profile about the residency so that all of my stories are saved in one place. Posting my highlights will allow people that discover me throughout the year to watch all the stories and get caught up in what I am doing. I will also use Instagram Live to connect with the community, answer questions and share my process as it unfolds. Youtube will be my secondary sharing tool where I will be posting either a vlog or a drawing timelapse weekly. I'll also be using Facebook, Twitter, Behance, Dribble, and Ello, when appropriate.
What I want the community to learn from my project:
Through my art, I want the community to learn about cities they may not have been to before, or if they have been there I want them to learn something new about the cities. By combining all the important aspects of the city into one image, people can learn about pieces of history. I also want to make people aware of Photoshop’s new illustration features and how to use them. Above all, I want to inspire creatives to make large-scale detailed drawings and demonstrate that they are not so intimidating if broken down into tiny steps.
My career goals & what I want to learn:
I would like to learn business skills such as best practices for contracts, invoicing, promoting work, and gaining clients. By the end of the Adobe Creative Residency, I want to be an efficient full-time freelance illustrator. I also want to travel to Art Festivals around the country and sell the work I create as an Adobe Creative Resident.
Thank you for taking the time to look over my project proposal and your consideration for this project.
