The Digital Sketchbook of Caitlyn Kurilich

Process for Golden Hour, Graphite and Digital Media, 2012.

Here’s some process work behind this New Yorker cover I created for my Editorial class. The prompt was, “Autumn in the City.” I think it’s pretty straightforward- nothing too crazy.

• 1 & 2 - Thumbnails! Most of the time, nobody actually sees these, so I make them super scribbly and gestural. It’s a wonder my professor can even tell what I’ve drawn in some of them.
• 3, 4, & 5 - Comps! For those non-illustrators out there, comps are what you show the art director (or in my case, professor) so they may pick out which idea they like the best. I’ve got a guy feeding pigeons in Central Park, monarch butterflies crowding the Empire State Building (for monarch butterfly migration), and a brownstone apartment building with an apple pie and a cat.
• 6 - Revisions! He liked the third comp, but wanted it to be a little more dynamic, so the idea was redrawn and tweaked a bit.
• 7 - Rendering! Now that the final comp is approved, I get to sit down and render it again in graphite. I use a mechanical pencil on marker paper, and blend with a colorless marker blender to get a grainy effect. I spend most of my time working on this part.
• 8 - Final image! Color is added digitally in photoshop, and the masthead is applied. All finished.

Some people have been asking about my process and the steps I go through when completing a work, so here is some explanation, using my newest work, Decima.

1. First I sketch out a pencil study. I try to get all my mistakes worked out in this phase. (Sometimes I get too excited and render the whole thing.)

2. I lay out a light pencil sketch on the paper.

3. Next come some light acrylic washes. 

4. I usually get really excited about finally using colors, and render the face all in one go.

5. Little details still need rendering. This is the point where I have to step back, consume lots of tea, and tell myself, yes, I can still do this.

6. The work is done! It’s photographed, posted online, and I get to send it off to whatever contest, class, or client it’s for.