Just a few posts ago, I revealed the cover image for the FRNY Annual Report. In the post I mentioned, I created several sketches for project that I really liked. Well, in honor of the unveiling of the Annual Report to the club, I've decided to share with you the rest of the sketches!Above is the sketch that most caught the attention of the club. They really thought it best caught the spirit of the club with the togetherness, diversity, and of course the rainbow. I really liked the idea for this image, but honestly the rainbow doesn't stick out as much as I would have hoped in the final. I really think I got caught up in the intricacies of the drawing and forgot to focus on the color shift. Looking back I see ways I could have emphasized it more, but hindsight is 20/20 and deadlines are even faster than me.
You can see The background ended up changing a lot (Really, there was no background before and simply, now there is one). This was my favorite development in the piece. I was happy to be able to incorporate the city and the park into the image. For me, the city and Central Park couldn't be more important to the club.
We meet every week (several times), race, host a race and generally escape from the city-ness in the park. The park is really integral to running in New York City and nearly any runner would agree to that. The city is also very important to Front Runners. Whether it is a First Friday social; a run across five bridges, along the waterfront, or down Summer Streets; or just the many great people from all walks of life, the city keeps everything exciting. There's just so much to see and experience running in the city.
These are the other covers I proposed to the club. I'm sure you can pick out the one that got turned into an interior page in the Annual Report (hint - #3). I'm really happy that I was able to incorporate elements from these into the chosen cover and the interior.
I was really excited about the image labeled #1. I had this really great idea to have the seasons (and outfits of the runners) changing with the seasons, but it wasn't chosen. I also was excited to get to draw so much nature, but I guess I'll have to wait for another event.
#2 I liked for it's simplicity. For those not in the club, it is a close-up of our team jersey. Really, it could be done with a photograph (OMG, an illustrator promoting a photographer!!), and I even mentioned this to the board deciding on the image. Everyone seems to really like the jersey/logo of the team and it makes us very easy to find in races. Seems like a good reason to have it as a cover... Simply iconic.
#3 and #4 where obviously used for the report. I've already talked about why I like them. Overall, I liked all the images I submitted to the club (if I didn't like one, why would I submit it as an option?).
I hope you're able to get a glimpse of my process from this. I know I occasionally get people asking me to share. I'm pulling together another post to share more of the process of anther one of my pieces. Stay tuned!