Influential Person Layout
Brief
Utilizing scratchboard techniques, illustrate an editorial portraiture of a popular public figure. The finished illustration will accompany a feature story that would be published in a newspaper or magazine.
Overview
With the famous image submerged under scratchboard, I illustrated the portrait with diagonal hatches. To establish strong contrast, the background is made up of wild, flowing strokes that outline the subject. Following the illustration, I sought out an interview that would fit the theme of gender, identity, and self-expression, combining the two to create an expressive layout.
Timeline
January – February 2024
Scope
Illustration
Print Design
Print Design
Role
Illustrator
Graphic Designer
Process
Going into this project, I knew I wanted to utilize one of her most iconic shoots, the 1981 “Nightclubbing” album cover. Before any scratching happened, we were instructed to posterize the image in order to reduce it to 4-5 values. With the original image already being limited in color, it provided me with a simple silhouette to follow and room to explore an abstracted background.
Known for her statuesque appearance, I strove to replicate that feeling through my strokes. Using rapid cross-hatching, I emphasized the bold highlights of her blue-black skin against the void encapsulating her figure. My approach for the background was to maintain the stark contrast of the original photograph before adding color. As a result, it is composed of fluid curves that frame her contour and offer textural distinction. Pushing for further contrast, I colorized the curves with hues of the androgynous flag and pulled dark brown from her lips to create pops of color against her achromatic skin.
Outcome
Once the portrait was completed, it was time to find an article relating to my theme of androgyny. After a bit of digging, I found an article that resonated deeply with me. It was the October 1984 Interview Magazine issue where she graced the cover and offered her take on gender in a conversation with Andy Warhol and Andre Leon Talley. The quote, “You can be a boy, girl, whatever you want…” and her general approach of doing what she wants with gender is something I’ve carried through my life as well. Maintaining balance, the article has a gradient border with the same palette and a divider combining the gender symbols to establish section hierarchy.
