Additional Works
I was often tasked with creating the magazine covers. The cover is ultimately the reason why someone would pick up a copy of the magazine so they needed to catch a person’s attention immediately. These are a few of my favorites which show the range of my skills. They vary from art-direction, illustrations, photo-manipulation, painting and even hand-made clay sculptures.
COVERS
I took the visual lead for these covers. After getting my concept approved by the publisher, writer and art director I would begin the task of getting it made. After scheduling whoever needs to be involved, I would sit down with the photographer and discuss the look and feel of the issue, often times with mood boards and examples for inspiration. I would occasionally join the shoot if hands were needed.
Art Direction
This cover received the highest engagement on Instagram out of any of my covers. This bar has history with the city and me personally. I was able to convince the team to go with this bar for the cover and it paid off greatly. I assisted the photographer, Wade Vandervort, with anything he needed. In post, I did the typography and effects.
Food issues always do well, and when they are shot this good they do really well. After discussing the venue and color themes with the photographer, Wade Vandervort, he shot this beautiful scene of dumplings. I laid the final cover typography after receiving the final edit of this photo .
The concept of this cover was simple, “Make Poker Sexy”. We bought several poker sets to make this shoot happen. Christopher DeVargas, the photographer, built several set pieces for this then followed it up with extending the poker chips to the edges. I assisted where I could and laid the final cover typography.
Often there would be a reason we couldn't shoot photos of a subject, like unavailability, something not existing yet or the concept is too grand and out of our budget. If anything, I am resourceful. I would find ways to make the thing. Whether working with provided imagery, archival photos, stock, or creating something from scratch, I know how to pull all the pieces together and make something greater than the sum of its parts.
Graphic Design
This is an example of subject unavailability. I doubt the quarterbacks of Superbowl LVIII would have time to shoot with us two weeks before the Super Bowl even if they wanted to. I sourced images from the Associated Press, Shutterstock, and staff file photos, then composited and applied all the effects in Photoshop to build the final image.
I love this cover as an example of resourcefulness. When Covid hit, our budget was wiped to zero. I wanted to create a unifying and optimistic image of the city as the Strip reopened for business. I had the photographer go to these properties and shoot the buildings looking almost straight up. I went through hundreds of photos to find the right ones to composite together into this image.
This is the new age of design. Generative AI had just started to appear and we were experimenting. It wasn't good enough to stand on its own, so for this cover I combined real photos of the Hoover Dam and the surrounding landscape, then used generative AI to create the empty drying valley where Lake Mead used to be.
To change up the look of the magazine, every so often we would opt for an illustrated cover. I have a background in painting and drawing and loved to do these. I used a combination of Procreate, Photoshop and my hands to create these.
Handmade
I wanted to create an acid filled fever dream for this cover to reflect the insanity of this music festival. After drawing and blocking the initial drawing, I played with lots of colors and blending modes to achieve this look.
Our publisher loved the idea of classic Christmas claymations so I pitched to physically make a few iconic characters out of clay. Christopher DeVargas built the set, lit the scene and shot the photo. I followed it up with the typography.
This is a full circle cover for me. Growing up I idolized video game magazine cover illustrations and never imagined that I would do one. The time came and I jumped at the opportunity to illustrate my some of my favorite characters.
These are a collection of packages and spreads with varying topics. I’ve selected these illustrate the range of topics I have worked with. These showcase my hierarchal understanding, page layout skills, typographic choices, and image choice. I had to treat the visuals to be have the pages be cohesive, this include photo editing and manipulation on Photoshop.