Everything started with a mail from the Art Director Martin Colyer...
Martin: “Hi Chris, sorry to disturb your weekenD, but I’m working on a new magazine launch and have just done issue one – now for issue 2 – and this piece has just come in and we’ve decided to put it on the next cover.
I’m hoping you may be interested in doing it – the magazine is called The Critic, and is a literary, politics, opinion and culture monthly. It’s great to be working on something that has room for illustration!
It would be the cover illustration for a speculative piece about looking back at World War 3 from today…”
Me: "Hi Martin so happy to hear for you. And happy to hear you're launching a new magazine and want me aboard. Of course I'm avalaible and interested."
Martin: "Great! Really glad you can do it."
Me: "Do you want me to focus on a particular issue of the article?"
Martin: "The cover needs a striking image, with some nuclear warhead imagery..."
Me: "Something like Orwell and Philip K. Dick sci-fi mood I'm meaning?"
Martin: "Yes. Love the idea."
Me: "I'm attaching you an old illustration I did some years ago as reference for the mood...please let me know your thoughts..."
Martin: "I’m not sure Chris, the cover needs a striking image. Like: US/China flags fused together, with some nuclear warhead imagery? That sort of conceptual thing..."
Me: "Great, I'll send you some sketches asap..."
Me: "Hi Martin, I’m sending you some roughs I did for the cover. I tried to be more conceptual and poster-art referenced. I followed your suggestion to mix up the two enemies flag (China and US) together plus nuclear warhead imagery."
Martin: "Cover more problematic, can we use a diagonaI keeping separated the two flags, just to try to see where that leads?"
Me: "Just like this?"
Martin: "Looks terrific! Please proceed with the final!"
Me: "Hi Martin, I'm sending you the final illo before i go with the textures."
Martin: "Love it. Please finalize it."
Martin: "Thanks again Chris."
Me: "Thank you Martin. Looking forward to read the magazine."
