Illustration for TIME Cover

The Art Director DW Pine contacted me recently to see if I could help him with an Illustration for a TIME magazine cover. I had worked with this A/D before, and said I’d be happy to. Here is the initial pitch I received:

Initial Layouts

I figured, “OK, I’ve done this before”. The image on the right is of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who has been incarcerated in Russia for the past two years. (The other two images utilize my work as props.) My assignment: Make a WSJ-style hedcut portrait of Evan. Here is the photo I was provided:

Photo of Evan

I explained to DW that I would be supplying a keyline, as sketching my engraving-like like was not practically feasible. Here it is…

Keyline

We discussed color treatment, and I received from A/D Pine a version of my B&W finished portrait with a color backdrop generated by the Boss. Here is the finished illustration:

Sprouls - Portrait of Evan Gershkovich

TIME were pleased with my portrait illustration, and it was released today, with colors by DW Pine…

TIME Cover

Thanks, All, for checking this out. I’m looking forward to seeing this issue in print.