WEEK 1 - POST 3: Website is Coming Soon // #illustration, #art, #follow

Greetings! I just wanted to send in a quick posting in regards to my new website, Chris Arnold Illustration. I am grinding hard on this and hope to have her up and running by early March 2013.  Until then, please enjoy (and follow) me via my fancy new blog (you're here), twitter account (@CracktheCover) and/or my new Facebook Page (Chris Arnold Illustration)! Thanks for your continued support, A*

WEEK 1 - POST 2: Preparation Mode // #image, #illustration

IN STUDIO: Pulling together some materials for the project/blog sketchbook. A*                                     

WEEK 1 - POST 1: My Big Dream & the Goal

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The Goal (Listed Page Above): I have always had one BIG dream as a commercial artist, to illustrate the cover of The New Yorker. Yes, I am aware that this is arguably the most coveted job in the history of illustration, but that does not change my mission. Since graduate school at the Savannah College of Art and Design (MFA, 2007), I have been working in a variety of different markets and on a range of professional narrative-based projects. Even with the good fortune of industry success, I have always wanted something more…

After 2012, a year that felt more like a hangover than the night of the party, I realized that I wanted to add some fun back into my art and design career. Enter in 2013 and my new blog: ‘Crack the Cover (CTC).’ This was not an idea I just came up with on the fly, however this blog is a new extension of the process. I have been talking about making the artwork and submitting it again for the last few years. Now it's time for me to put up or shut up.

So how is ‘Crack the Cover’ going to work exactly? I have set up some basic parameters and a timeline that will guide me over the course of this year and beyond (not looking to quit until this happens). I will make one New Yorker cover every four weeks while documenting my entire professional process. NOTE: I am pretty green when it comes to this whole blog thing and will consider everything CTC related as a work in progress. I will also welcome your comments, feedback and ideas along the way.

Here is the five-part outline I have created for my CTC project:

PART 1: Research = Week One

PART 2: Thumbnails & Sketches = Week Two

PART 3: Final Illustration = Week Three

PART 4: Submission = Week Four

PART 5: Results = As Available

Each week I will provide a minimum of two updates for each of the first four parts of the process. These updates will include: my personal successes and failures, illustration technique, work documentation and professional tips. Part five (the rejections) will be published as I receive feedback on my submissions from The New Yorker staff. I am as curious as you are as to how this will go, but I welcome this new adventure and each of you into my creative process.

Thank you and look for WEEK 1 - POST 2 in the next day or so. A*