Where to begin?

Off to a big start in 2015. I wrapped two book projects, and was handed a stack of assignment work. It's good to be busy when the snow is piling up outside!

Here's a few highlights:

I created this robotic character for a magazine project. The client dubbed him 'Buddy'. I like that name, because it's a challenge to make something mechanical look friendly. I'll post more images once the issue comes out.

I've been working with Adam Ruppel from Crazy Canuck events over the years. I don't think I have posted any of the obstacle drawings before. Mud Hero is a fast-growing series of endurance events held across Canada. These look like so much fun. This year they are taking over Ontario Place in Toronto. Here's the course map.

I continued my work for the New York Times in January. This is for an ongoing, monthly feature called Raw Data.

This piece was a challeging topic - understanding the correlation between the causation and occurance of cancer. It's a confounding and sometimes random genetic event, with devastating implications. Read about it here: Random Chance’s Role in Cancer

Always great to work with NYT AD Peter Morance and writer George Johnson.

I also do regular work with Roy Comiskey at Security Management.

This is about the risks of GPS scramblers and the potential consequences of misuse.

I'll be posting more work soon. I just sent two postcards off to the printers. If you would like to receive a copy of either one (or both) of these, please drop me a line, and I'll be happy to put you on my mailing list. wiens@kos.net

Spot Lights

'Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.'

             - Pablo Picasso

I might be setting my sights high quoting Picasso as an opener, but I think the message holds true for illustration. Spot illustrations might not be something to feature, but they are an opportunity to show what you can do. You are limited by space or time, or both, so make the best of it. I always enjoy working on spots, and you have to bring your best to make them shine.

 

I taught my illustration students about isometric perspective in illustration and that may have influenced this pair of spots for Scientific American about artificial intelligence as well as potential emotional interaction in software and smartphones. The concept was explored in the film 'Her'. and the article explored the plausibility of engaging in a relationship with technology. I worked with art director Bernard Lee on this pair.

This was a quick turnaround assignment for Pete Hausler at the Wall Street Journal, about smartphone apps that allow the user to remotely control his/her home, adjusting temperature, unlocking doors, playing music or being alerted to incoming mail, leaking pipes or a pet wandering off the property. I passed this assignment to my illustration students to see what they came up with. Working on this, I wanted a simple colour scheme and designed them in illustrator to maintain clean lines.

Here's another set, in the same style for the tech section of WSJ. This one was about apps to help locate or disable a lost or stolen phone. Security and saftey features including location, alarm, notifications and a remote 'wipe' if need be (top left).

 

I do a monthy feature for UpHere magazine, a business magazine out of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Most of these images are resource-based. So clockwise from top left - oil glut and future oil prices; energy access and mining development; wind-based power; raising pot in former mines.

I'll leave with this image. It's not a spot, but it's a reflection of where I am at right now. I am packing up my studio and getting ready to move. I am organizing a road trip to Oregon for ICON8. Really looking forward to it,  making big changes & moves. I did this for the Work & Play show, organized by ICON. It's about maintaining the right balance, something I am always involved in, feeling like I am winning or losing the battle.

Something up my sleeve

'Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.'

- Mark Twain

Technology is becoming more and more integrated into our daily lives. We are connected in more ways (good and bad) than ever before. Pick up your phone, take a picture, text your friends and check your email. Soon you can wear your tech, too. Your necktie could remind you when you are late for a meeting.

Is your clothing in need of an upgrade?

Radcliffe Institue for Advanced Study at Harvard is hosting a symposium 'smart clothing' in November:

Radcliffe’s annual science symposium will focus on “smart clothes” and the science of designing materials that improve and protect lives. Experts in biology, design, engineering, materials science, medicine, and nanotechnology will address a variety of topics, including digital fabrication, soldier-centric technologies, smart materials and biology, wearable technology, and the future of innovative substances.

Sounds intriguing! I would love to sit in on some of these sessions.

I was asked to creat this identity image for the poster and promotional items for the conference. Designer Jessica Brilli gave me the call on this. Thanks, Jess!

I developed a number of sketches, the first more mechanical in nature, we decied to go with an androgynous figure. Here are a few iterations of the concept. I love to work on these, and it takes some finesse to get the right balance.

Left one is a little too manly, the right is a bit to sci-fi steampunk.

Symposium website here