Airbrush

ILLUSTRATION

The airbrush illustration was in heavy rotation for self promotion before the acquisition of the Wallace company. Drawn conventionally and rendered in Photoshop, several versions were used over the years.

First we see the original sketch. Well, actually this one started as a much simpler drawing that was used for some early self promotional materials. It was even made into a font using Fontographer. I know, that is going back a bit, but the illustration was not far behind.

Naturally, digital illustration carries the capability of using layers, and layers can make the parts of an illustration quite versatile. The original rendered airbrush art (top image) was used for a promotional piece, seen in the center of the lower image. Even there it was used in pieces as the mouse element broke out of its background. At the time, this symbolized the transition from airbrush work to digital illustration. The mouse dates the illustration.

At one point, the color of the paint splashing out of the airbrush cup was changed to a bright red and the spray was dropped. Another version showed a cloud image mapped over the spilling paint and the spray. This version was used in a photo collage I created as wraparound jewel case art for a portfolio CD. The cloud feature may have been a stretch of the imagination, but truthfully, so was the paint splashing out of the airbrush cup. Paint splashing out of that type of airbrush cup would not look exactly like that. However, the visual suggestion here is kind of wild and free and tells us that anything is possible.

Eventually, only the cup and splash were used on a business card along with three small illustration snips. All in all, the airbrush is still a favorite, and I still haul it out and use it occasionally: the illustration, not so much the actual airbrush itself.