For the second poster for the Secret Sherry Society, the Aviator was a lot of fun, just like the previous illustration concept: the country gentlemen: this one had elements that made it too much fun.
Just like all my project: minimum information in my sketch: so I can have fun in the final illustration!
Blocking colours to guide me a bit for the colour choices: honestly: I really never plan my colours: I love the challenge of choosing and tweaking the colours on the fly: makes the process more challenging.
Let’s dress this lady: the boots!
Then the blouse and scarf.
Finishing the jodhpurs.
I can’t take the credit for the “animal” the agency wanted: it was their choice: totally funky: I loved it!
The concept behind all the illustrations was to have a seemingly normal portraiture with weird elements to keep the viewer interested: this is my preferred way of working: the image has to catch you once and maintaining the curiosity level by these small details.
The first version had just a rusted metal background: so just before the delivery of the illustration: I opted for a hangar door (keeping with the theme: aviator) and added the shadows to shake the stillness of the pose.
The agency insisted with glasses on top of the head of the invisible aviator: they wanted some “Ray Ban” like the movie “Top Guns”, I was not in agreement with that decision.
After discussions: I suggested the older bomber style goggles. At the end: we all agreed that it was a better fit.
rené milot 