Illustration Projects
Art meets storytelling
Stacy Abrams “Walk Together” Comic (2018)
A team of Atlanta native creatives were given the opportunity to tell the story of Stacy Abrams, the first black woman to run for Governor. As the page artist, it was my job to plan the pacing and visuals based on Van’s script, come up with people and backgrounds that evoked Georgia, draw all the images first in pencil, the in ink, and prep the files before sending them to Darrin for color. The comic was distributed nationally.
Written by: Van Jensen
Colors by: Darrin Wesley Chavis II
Lettering by: Matty Ryan
(Click here to read the comic)
Breakfast on the USS Amazon (2017)
Breakfast on the USS Amazon was both a conceptual and technical exploration.
The cluttered image was the first in a series of illustrations exploring claustrophobia by evoking horror vacui works and storytelling via context.
Once colored, I took the opportunity to make a dynamic digital image by creating simple gif to add more to the narrative and mood.
Excess (2018)
After using horror vacui as a narrative device, I decided to use it in a more literal approach in Excess. The goal was to use aggressive pattern and detail to bring focus to the cleanly drawn figure. This inverse of design principles creates a sense of mood, enhanced by the black void to the left of the piece.
Sweetwater Fish Tank (2017)
I was invited to show my work in an art show/popup at the Sweetwater brewery and showroom in Atlanta. In honor of the local company, I painted a piece that expressed the romanticism of growing up in Georgia, with an innocence only found in nature. The piece evokes finding small wonders while walking barefoot in the river.
Brew at the Zoo Atlanta (2016)
Zoo Atlanta’s “Brew at the Zoo” festival showcases local and up-and-coming Atlanta artists, by contracting them to create signage, t-shirts and billboard art promoting the event. During my senior year in college, I was asked to contribute and worked with the art director to create compelling and versatile advertising elements.
Other Comics (2015-2017)
Botanical Blabbermouth (2015):
Although this is the oldest piece of art on this site, I’m still proud of the writing and pacing in this short comic specifically. The visual puns were fun to research and the dialogue and pacing has a zip to it that still makes me smile when I read it.
5 Pages
Catch 22 (2017):
On the other end of the scale of Botanical Blabbermouth, I adapted an entire chapter from Joseph Heller’s literary classic, Catch 22, as an exercise in horror. This chapter was so compelling that it gave me nightmares after I read it, and I think I captured the chaos and uncertainty of that scene in the art of this comic.
12 pages
Extra Extra (2016):
My senior project as a Sequential Arts student was a satirical look at the superhero genera from the perspective of a Hunter S. Thompson like journalist working in that world. Since the creation of this comic, I think I’ve made a lot of progress both as a writer and an artist, but there are a few aspects of this story that hold up. I’m especially proud of the sheer scope of the world building that I put into this project, and I’m very proud of the colorful characters that occupy it.
11 pages