Character Design... preliminary pencil sketch

to see more samples, visit stevensalerno.com and click on "character design/vector"

I am currently working on a personal project, which at this stage is involving designing a handful of simple, comical characters... posted here is one of a doorman. It is a very small pen sketch, then scanned into Photoshop with some bold color added on a separate layer, then flattened. More to come...
See all my portfolio samples at stevensalerno.com

The Setback ...everything doesn't always come up roses

One of my preliminary sketches for a project hit the mark so well, that the AD felt it was fine "as is" to be used as the final art for the poster project. All I had to do was add in some color effects digitally and the brush drawing was ready for the designer. Hey! Why spend excessive time working on the final art stage? (This is a rare occurrence for sure.) My original intention was for the final image to be more "rendered" but the simple, rough and irregular line quality in the sketch seemed to reflect the raw quality of the play's content quite well, so we went with it.                                                                                                            
This drawing was created with black gouache and brush on paper, scanned into Photoshop with simple washes of digital color applied on a separate layer. I also created the hand lettering for the title "the setback" in Adobe Illustrator, which was then imported into the Photoshop file. Posted here is one of early poster design comps.

Nine Lives? (not this time)

Visit stevensalerno.com to see all my various illustration samples...

Many advertising assignments sometimes require the illustrator to jump through a couple preliminary hoops before actually attaining the final portion of the project... A large budget project usually entails the client needing to see several different kinds of visual approaches before they can decide on which one is best for their company or product. So, if the agency handling the account decides upon an illustration approach for the project, they may engage a few different illustrators with very different styles to create preliminary sketch or test stage images to present to their client. These preliminary test stage images may also even be evaluated by focus groups, in order for the client to get real consumer feedback as part of the total data in making the final decision.

It is best to initially get ballpark approval on a fee for the total project, in case you are indeed chosen to be the illustrator to create the final images used by the company or product... then just backtrack and determine the smaller fee for the test stage preliminary images only. There is no point in only negotiating the test stage images without also knowing what your total fee will be, should you get the full project.  In this instance I had gotten tentative approval for $X amount for the full project, and approximately 11% of $X just to do the preliminary test stage images.

I recently did just this... created many preliminary "test" stage images for a preliminary client presentation, and in this case it was images of cats. I am definitely a "dog" person, but drawing cats are fun, too. (see the cat character I created for the children's picture book, "Mathematickles.")

Posted here are a handful of my whimsical cat graphics from about thirty "test" images I had created specifically for the perimeters set forth by this particular advertising assignment. Unfortunately though, I was not chosen to proceed to do the full final project. It would have been fun... but as every illustrator knows, you don't get every big project that comes your way. I was hired specifically to create my whimsical, light, images... but apparently the client ultimately determined this was not the right approach they needed. I cannot say who the client is though, because that project is still ongoing for them, and I signed a confidentiality agreement...

These images were all created in Adobe Illustrator, then brought into Photoshop for a bit of additional color embellishments. 

The Joy of Sax

Posted is a doodle from my sketch book of a saxophone player... created with a black litho crayon and added watercolor washes. I had seen a street musician that day playing in one of the subway stations, and made this quick doodle from memory once I got back to my studio. I liked the way it came out. Sketches and doodles have an energy and life in their expression, mostly because of the speed of execution and raw image quality. And generally sketches are usually not for others to view, which eliminates self-consciousness and allows the artist to fall more quickly into an intuitive mode of making the lines and marks. 


Visit stevensalerno.com to see all my various portfolios. 

Happy Holidays from illustrator Steven Salerno

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Especially to all my clients, and anyone else who happens to stumble upon my illustration blog... have a terrific holiday season!  Let's all make 2011 a healthy and happy and prosperous new year.  -Steve   

Planes, Trains, and Especially Automobiles

visit stevensalerno.com to view all his illustration portfolios

Who loves their cars and car culture more than southern Californians? No one... and Westways (the magazine of the Automobile Club of Southern California) has been around for over 100 years to prove it. In 1928 the magazine first began commissioning California artists to create striking paintings for their magazine covers. -click this link to read about the unique history of their art covers.  

And in my particular case today, as an illustrator working on the opposite coast, the next best thing to getting a cover art commission from Westways, is working with the magazine's art director Eric Van Eyke on the their Drive Smart and Travel Smart columns nearly every month, creating fun little spot illustrations covering a wide range of topics involving cars and travel. From tips on buying a new car to finding the best weekend getaway, to traveling abroad, and everything inbetween. 

Eric has been working in the design/publishing industry for over 16 years. The last 11 of those years have been at the Auto Club of Southern California as Art Director and Creative Director for Westways, the member publication. 

"Steven's artwork is always first class. I can provide only a manuscript and get back quality concepts time after time. When I do provide concepts, he is able to take those ideas to the next level and put his own spin on it. It's always a pleasure collaborating with Steven, his sensitivity to deadlines and quality of work are always of the highest caliber." -Eric Van Eyke 

-and I didn't even have to pay Eric a penny to say such nice things about my illustration work! 

I have been working with art directors for nearly thirty years, and the indicators that you are working with a very good one is that they are organized, succinct in their communications, and they trust you to do your thing, but also understand your style and point of view so well that if you might sometimes struggle a bit to get a handle during the sketch stage, they can suggest an idea or angle, and it fits well with your thinking anyway. In other words they help get the best out of you because they understand your approach. Eric easily has all these qualities so working with him always feels seamless. 

Gee, maybe with all these assignments involving cars it will finally prompt me to actually buy a car for my life here in Manhattan! (don't anyone hold their breath!)

Posted here are just a handful of the spot illustrations I have created for Westways over the past couple years...

visit stevensalerno.com to view all his illustration portfolios

visit stevensalerno.com to view all his illustration portfolios

visit stevensalerno.com to view all his illustration portfolios

visit stevensalerno.com to view all his illustration portfolios

visit stevensalerno.com to view all his illustration portfolios

visit stevensalerno.com to view all his illustration portfolios

visit stevensalerno.com to view all his illustration portfolios

Pequot Library Children's Picture Book Festival

This weekend I attended the Pequot Library's first Picture Book Festival (in Southport, Connecticut) as one of the 14 invited children's picture book authors and illustrators, there to autograph books, and entertain the parents and children with readings and presentations. 

Steven Salerno signs his latest book, Pantaloon. It's the remake of the 1951 Golden Books classic, this version with all new illustrations by Steven. (Publisher: Random House Children's Books 2010)

Steven Salerno talking about his book Harry Hungry! (Publisher: Harcourt 2009)



author/illustrator Tad Hills signing his book

author Jennifer Berne signing her book

author/illustrator Brian Floca signs his book Moonshot

author/illustrator Tad Hills signing his books

author/illustrator Melissa Sweet

14 Award-winning Authors & Illustrators including the U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate, Winners of the National Book Award, the Caldecott Honor Medal, the E.B. White Award, and more!

The participating authors and illustrators were:
Keith Bendis
Peter Brown
Brian Floca
Calef Brown
Tad Hills
Jennifer Berne
Mary Ann Hoberman
Patricia Hubbell
David Johnson
Barbara McClintock
Marc Tyler Nobleman
Bob Shea
Steven Salerno
Melissa Sweet

Susan Hood, the event organizer, had invited me to participate. We first worked together a handful of years ago when she was an editor at Nickelodeon's NICK JR magazine. As you can see from the above feature title pulled from the event program, there were some prominent artists and writers highlighting the roster of talent. I personally like the picture books of Calef Brown, so it was nice to be able to finally meet him and talk a bit. The sale of the autographed books, as well as some original picture book artworks, were to benefit the Pequot Library. 

From the Fairfield Patch:

Pequot Library's Children's Picture Book Festival on Sunday was a meeting of a mutual admiration society, as celebrated authors and illustrators met some of their most devoted fans in person. Fourteen bright stars in the firmament of children's contemporary picture books descended on the library about 11 a.m. They came to read their stories, draw, autograph their books, share their poetry, answer questions and stimulate the imaginations of dozens of young readers and soon-to-be-readers.To the 4- and 5-year old set, they might have been rock stars. 
You can read the full article from the Fairfield Patch here... http://fairfield.patch.com/articles/stars-of-childrens-literature-descend-on-pequot-library