Matisse Capital - Editorial Illustration

Overview

This project was created in my capacity as the Lead Designer at FPW Media. Matisse Capital’s principle brokers approached us for a portrait illustration to use in an upcoming article for the Oregon Business Magazine. They provided some sample graphics for stylistic reference. They decided to go with an energetic street vibe that I think created some fun visuals and broke the mold of an often serious feeling industry.

Challenges

Process

I worked entirely I worked in Procreate on an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil for this illustration. I began by doing some rough pencil sketches of the three individuals. Once the basics where there I worked on adjusting the layout to create a slightly more dynamic and compelling grouping of the three men. I ended up placing the two on the outside at slight angles and cropped all three mid to low chest. I then spent some time experimenting with various brushes and application styles to find one that would get us to the styles that they had provided. Once settling on that process, I began building up layers of color and adding in textures.

The last phase was establishing the background. We began with a mostly solid blue but decided to add in more grit and splatter to convey youth, energy, and excitement. Although not traditional I decided to add in the white outline around the portraits, more seen in street and skate art, than portrait illustrations, it make sure the focus remained on the portraits. Lastly I added in the fund tickers.