My lucky number(s)

People love to keep track of numbers, quantities, awards, rankings anniversaries and such. Since I know most of the numbers by heart, I often get to illustrate them on magazine covers for subjects such as "The 100 scariest Zombie movies of all time" or "37 of Cleveland's finest restaurants where you don't have to wear a coat and tie." In fact, I have a little gallery of past numbers jobs on my Drawger page entitled "By the numbers."

This latest opportunity came from ColoradoBiz magazine thanks to "50 Colorado Businesses Poised for a Breakthrough" and the new art director, whose vision we were able to realize without a hitch.

The AD had the idea of a theatrical presentation for the cover and an inside page. I showed him a lot of idea sketches but, I think his plan was the best of all and it worked like a charm. As a bonus, I was able to use my own fonts in the underlines, subheads and even the headline.

I did sketches focusing on the concept with which I was presented but, threw in a couple of my own weird ideas, just in case

As always, if it doesn't read in black and white, color isn't going to save it and could easily make it worse.

For the cover, we are welcomed with a classic theatre marquee. Where better to put a message you want noticed? If you remember to ask, I'll show you a bunch of other assignments where the "marquee" gambit worked nicely.

Entering the magazine, we also enter the theatre to see the curtains unfold on our story in the brilliant glow of the footlights.