Color Boost!
Recent Illustrations and Animations, sorted by color palette
One of the best advice I got in art school was to use color boldly and with a purpose, and I have tried to stick to that mantra ever since. Some combinations (complementary colors, triads) are naturally harmonic and work well with each other, however, thinking about the context or intention behind a drawing can make a dramatic difference when it comes to color choice. Here are some illustrations and videos where color-coding was used to set the mood and guide the eye to the focus point.
Hope you like them!
Red
Typically associated with blood, it can evoke anxiety and danger. If that´s the case, I try to use it on less obvious elements (ice, the sea...), leaving the characters in almost neutral shades to balance.
"What could go wrong?" . Client : Entrepreneur Magazine. Chosen for American Illustration 37 show.
Contribution to "The Thing" Artbook (Printed in Blood publishing, 2017)
At the other side of the spectrum, I had the challenge to use bright red as the fun color accent to balance black and white cartoons.
Selection of cartoon illustrations for Men´s Health ("The Exchange" monthly section).
Yellow / Orange
I like to use these hues to make drawings pop when some elements cannot be color-coded or should keep their natural colors (team jerseys, logos, famous characters, etc). A softer, "beige" background also works great for linework and diagrams.
You can´t stop these Patriots... illustration for ESPN magazine.
Nick Saban turns 40. Illustration for ESPN online
Mickey, mein Sohn und Ich. Illustration for Lufthansa Magazine.
How a song brings out your beast. Illustrations for Men´s Health.
Green
The least popular hue in my experience, (sometimes said to look too "toxic" or too dominant) is often reduced to show literal green elements from nature ( grass, trees or...alligators ). I love to use it in my personal work, though, as a balance to pinks and purples.
Freelance parenting. Personal piece.
Against the Odds. Illustration for ESPN online
Bracketzoology Mascot Ranking. Illustration for ESPN online.
Blue (Teal, Cyan, Cool Grey)
The safest color in all its variations has become my go-to choice in Editorial . Combined with a warmer complementary yellow or a red for highlights makes an elegant and non distracting combo.
The Best of Both Worlds (Kevin Durant in Madrid). Illustration for ESPN magazine.
Playoff clash of mascots. Illustration for ESPN the magazine.
The Superbowl nap. Illustration for ESPN the magazine.
The Battle of the Bugs. Illustration for Men´s Health.
The Game Changers. Best Videogame Weapons illustrated for Shortlist Magazine
Purple and Pink
These colors seems to evoke night life and music particularly well. As standalone of paired up with a complementary light yellow make a nice art-deco-inspired combo which has worked the best for me in entertainment magazines.
The rulers of Hip Hop Streaming. Billboard Magazine
Live Podcasts are coming to your pub (feat. Bitch Sesh). Illustration for Entertainment Weekly.
Pink is often considered kitsch, but it makes a fun balance when you can play with bright greens like Street Fighter´s Blanka :-)
Most Compelling Videogame monsters. Illustration for Shortlist Magazine
Coloring Animation
I teamed up with online pop-culture site Fandom to transform some iconic NFL plays into action comic sequences for Superbowl promotion. Storyboards and illustration assets were provided by me, while mood boards and animation was handled by the team at Fandom. Since these were supposed to reference both a certain classic superhero and the team colors, I decided to make each of them with one dominant color, depending on the main character.
Red, for Falcon´s Julio Jones
Navy Blue, for Seahawks "Beast Mode" Lynch
Green, for Packer´s Aaron Rodgers
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