Most National Geographic illustration assignments go through a months-long exploratory process, going back and forth with the art director, editor, writer, and scientific consultants.
My job is to digest all the information and to explore lots of variations in visual terms.
How can we incorporate the caption and text in the design? What tells the story most effectively? How can we communicate what's known and unknown?
Many archaeologists don't want to veer too far into speculation. But on the other hand, we want the reader to be fully transported back to the heyday of this mysterious ancient culture.
In the case of this tomb, big sections of the wall mural were lost or damaged, and the contents of the tomb were missing, so we studied evidence from other tombs to guess what the full picture must have looked like.
In the case of this tomb, big sections of the wall mural were lost or damaged, and the contents of the tomb were missing, so we studied evidence from other tombs to guess what the full picture must have looked like.
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On a two page spread, how do you adjust for the fold? stapled, perfect, booklet fold, etc?
ReplyDeletecould you please explain the difference between a sketch and a comprehensive, if there is any?
ReplyDeleteRainier, both a sketch and a comprehensive are preliminary drawings, not the final drawing. Sketches tend to be smaller, more summary, and more numerous. Typically there's only one comprehensive, and it's at the size of the final painting. It often used to be called a "cartoon."
ReplyDeleteThank you, James!
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