The most prominent black sportscaster at ESPN, lover of hip-hop and Broadway Stuart Scott completed work on his memoir, Every Day I Fight, shortly before he passed away last month. Coming from Blue Rider Press on March 10, it is a fearless, intimate, and inspiring story.
Spicing up his sports commentary with his signature phrase \"Booyah,\" and \"Cool as the other side of the pillow,\" \"Just call him butter ’cause he’s on a roll,\" and \"Wow! That was as hard-core as the Wu-Tang Clan on steroids,\" Scott became a pop culture figure and was \"easily one of the most influential personalities in ESPN history,\" according to James Andrew Miller, an author of Those Guys Have All the Fun. Slate called Scott \"a transitional figure for sports journalism, opening the door for a younger, blacker lexicon in sports media.\"
\"(Scott) really wanted to write a book, and as time went on and cancer really became the focus of his life, the most important thing for him was to write a book for his children,\" literary agent David Black told Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, referring to Scott’s daughters, Taelor and Sydni. \"So it became a story about his fight to live. That was the story he had to tell. He wanted his girls to be able to know their dad, and this was one way he could do it.\"
Larry Platt was Scott’s collaborator on the book. After a day together, Platt told the New York Times, \"I knew it was a project, but not just a cancer memoir, but a media memoir about a guy who’s fought back on every level — personally, professionally and healthwise.
\"He was very much aware that the clock was ticking. We were talking about whether he wouldn’t be here when the book came out, and I said, That’s just you having the last word on cancer: ‘Yeah, you thought you’d silence me, but you didn’t.’ \"
Every Day I Fight, with a foreword by Robin Roberts, has a planned first run of 100,000 copies.
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Hello, reader! Welcome back! I'm happy to say this post will feature ART!
In regards to my last post concerning the field of illustration, I would like to say that after some research and correspondence, I was educated on the Conyers Bill from 2002. Check it out for info on what was almost an illustrators' union as well as info on antitrust laws. Its interesting stuff. I do still think some type of universal creative organization would be beneficial but I will stop talking about it as it appears its been tried before and didnt work out as parties could not agree or act in unison.
No worries, though! Lots of other things to focus on! New cards are coming this week. Maybe you will get one. Six new pieces are finished or in the works for future publication in the coming months. I'm hopefully getting to work in some personal project book covers this summer, and I'm looking for new ways to promote. I am looking for illustration groups and organizations to join as well in order to just have some sense of community as working from home is very solitary.
What else to mention? Currently, I am halfway through a multi-illustration project that I look forward to sharing when published. Its all hush-hush now but hopefully it wont be for long!
So for now, I can only share some artwork that is being published tomorrow:
ESPN the Magazine contacted me back in March with a cool illustration assignment: the defensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The artwork was for ESPN's Fantasy Football 2009 Magazine. I had been wanting to do some sports-related art but I could never find the time; so I was super-psyched to do the job!
I was actually a little intimidated as the magazine is for "SUPER DIE HARD football fans." I was so paranoid (as is always the case) that I would mess up a uniform aspect or a player's name/number. So I did tons of research before even starting sketches to really familiarize myself with the team. Ed Mann, the art director, also sent me some nice high-res reference as well which helped greatly. After Ed and I settled all the details of the project, I sketched up these action-based images for him.
The Sketches:
I called this one "the stack." I was really having fun just trying to show the defense as a mass of helmets and uniforms. A swarm, if you will. I liked how this one was a stack of players where you don't notice the ball carrier at first; it focuses on the defense by not even show the carrier's face/front.
I called this one "the wave." In this sketch, I was going for more of a "crashing down" on the ball carrier. Unlike the first sketch, this one features the ball carrier prominently but in a position of weakness. I really enjoyed how the figures are unrealistically stacked to the right; this sketch feels almost like fantasy to me. Perfect for fantasy football!
The last sketch was one I called "the wall." I wanted to show the defense as a literal "wall" between the ball carrier and the goal. The aspect I liked of this sketch was the hands obscuring the ball carrier's uniform number; this would help by not singling out any particular player as the victim, and its also a bit metaphoric. I also liked the "back against the wall" aspect that no one would probably ever notice but me :)
Ed chose the third sketch ("the wall"), and I was off to create the final art. I decided to flip the image so that the viewer's eye would travel top left to bottom which made more sense to me. I also altered my use of blacks to focus more on the Steelers' uniforms and less on light and shadow; it worked well in this piece as there is still a healthy pattern of blacks and value.
Final Art:
One note I would like to make is the effort put into the logos and uniform numbers. I dont mean to boast, but its all there, even the helmet "Riddels!"
Thanks to Ed for the opportunity to make artwork I really enjoyed! I hope to do more action-oriented artwork in the sports field for future assignments.
Enjoy the Day,
Chris
Without a doubt, the Hispanic and Latino populations are the fastest-growing minority groups in America today. Brands looking to connect with and effectively market to these cultures must step up to the challenge of understanding their youth.
An... Read the rest of this post
