Word Play Illustrator Progress

This is the progress I've made thus far on my word play project. 

It is based on the bottom sketch on this page. I have made some changes though. First I put the sketch into illustrator and outlined the sketch with the pen tool and used fills. I used blob brush to make the snow. Then I moved the letters farther apart and edited the L into an uppercase L versus the lowercase L just to make it a more recognizable letter form. I also removed the awkward top of the I and made a sun to be the dot above the I. However, I'm not sure if I'll keep it that way. I'm also currently working on illustrating a climber so I'll experiment with how a climber looks on the mountains. I added a shadow for the letter forms at one point but it didn't seem to work very well so I took it out. 

(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60MBzyduQEEC7zacfcAcDqJSxyfjUwT-YuXj5aKcA1IHokDIsxw_UYTq-93-ngSH5YRnmKMTQSv3fjjwyUOad7E85oaQ1R4_EmZ9nx6AltjHCHd7vdjUv6wUz3qSMc6G5AuKCHnW93iM/s1600/IMG_0027.jpg)

This is the reference image of a climber that I'm thinking of using. 

Word Art Rough Sketches

Here are some rough sketches that I made of ideas on how to illustrate the word "climb."

The first one here is pretty awful, but I was trying to experiment with a mountain shape. I like the second one in this set though, it's supposed to suggest the climbing of snowcapped mountains. It looks quite clean and straightforward.

This sketch is climb illustrated as stairs.

The top sketch on this set is climb on stairs, which I really don't like. And honestly, I think much more of mountains and trees when I hear climb than I think of ladders. The second two are bad portrayals of climbing trees.

I think this sketch of a climb as illustrated by a child climbing a tree is kind of cute, so I might experiment with that some more.

Word Play Assignment, Part I

CLIMB

My word for the Word Play Assignment is Climb. The point of this assignment is to turn this verb into vector art. The art might include type and shapes- so the word and images. Here is my word list.


climb,
mountains,
ladders,
stairs,
hills,
the corporate ladder,
strength,
endurance,
hiking,
Mt. Everest,
rock wall,
the outdoors,
clif bars,
roller coasters,
Six Flags,
Mt. Fuji,
Mt. Rainier,
mountain men,
beards,
the Alps,
climbing gear,
climbing shoes,
trees,
childhood,
branches,
green,
brown,
wood,
difficult,
suits,
success,
failure,
struggle,
constancy

I have quite a few ideas of how I could turn "climb" into vector art, but I'm not sure if they would either be too cliche, or too abstract to understand the connection. I'll have to find a balance. I'm going to make some sketches and I'll post those. But first, here are some inspiration pictures.

http://www.travelodestination.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/mountain-climbing.jpg

http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/everest60/bp30.jpg

http://b-i.forbesimg.com/alanhall/files/2013/04/Corporate-Ladder1.jpg

http://cdn6.triplepundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/clif-bar-logo.jpg

http://thebeachsideresident.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/climbing-trees-375x500.jpg

http://www.vanishingculturesphotography.com/img/s8/v13/p414554415-3.jpg

http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1606/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1606-15898.jpg

http://eveningsends.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/scarpa-feroce-climbing-shoes.jpeg

Final Product of Magritte Inspired Driller

This is the final product in the Magritte inspired composition that Ye and I created. We're pleased with the outcome. Ye completed the background and sky while I completed the figures of the drillers and the shadows. Then together we decided where to place the figures and where to place the shadows. We really made all the decisions about the composition together. We decided to keep the drillers golden because the color of the Tulsa Driller is so iconic. We thought that the composition really calls "Golconda" to mind without us changing the drillers to a darker color. 

Magritte Progress 2

This is where Ye and I are at on our Magritte Inspired Composition. Ye finished the library and the sky for the background. He had to extend the left side of the building quite a bit and I think it turned out very well. I standardized the size of the drillers and started arranging them to match Magritte's Golconda. It's coming along fast.

Magritte Composition Progress

So this is how far I got today working on our Magritte inspired composition. I live-traced 3 images of the Tulsa Driller, edited their color a bit, erased all the extraneous background and started copying and flipping them. This is nowhere near what the final comp will look like, but it's a start on the Drillers. Ye has been creating the background.

Bear Suit II

This is my roommate in a bear suit. Illustrating friends in bear suits has become a dangerous procrastination tool.