Another project in the can.

Last night I finished up illustrations for the "Mr. T vs. Chuck Norris" book. There are still a couple drawings with which I'm not entirely satisfied, and I'd like to dress up some of the backgrounds a bit more, but I was under a huge time crunch and yesterday was the deadline. That's the way it is with every project; you always find little details that bother you after it's done. It's especially true with multiple-illustration projects. When you're on a tight deadline sometimes you just can't give each one the love it deserves.

It reminds me of something my BPMI instructor Dean Biechler used to say. There's a lot of "C" work available, a fair amount of "B" work and very little "A" work to be found in the illustration field. Clients need drawings, and they need them yesterday. Each one doesn't have to be a 30-hour masterpiece, it just needs to "look good".

Take this one for example. The concept is "There are only 4 horsemen of the apocalypse because Mr. T is going to walk." I think I did a good job with the line work, but I know there are some issues with the shading. I didn't have time to go into super detail, so I used some digital speedpainting techniques I learned from watching several Gnomon Workshop DVDs, and just roughed in some background texture, clouds and assorted hoo-hah.

Either way, I think I delivered a good service in a very timely fashion. I'm anxious to see the end result (and get paid for the job). In the meantime, I'm going to Dubuque to visit my family for Labor Day weekend, play some Rock Band, watch my niece in the parade, ride my bicycle and relax a bit.