Illustration Process
Here’s a look at my process behind an illustration for Fortune, from the initial sketches to the final artwork.
The commission was to create a full page illustration for an article about the growing corporate disillusionment with AI. After a rush to embrace it, AI isn’t living up to expectations, and companies have yet to see any significant returns on investment.
Sketchbook
The working headline for the article was Is an AI Winter Coming? (An AI winter is a downturn of interest and funding of AI after a period of hype.)
Here are a couple of examples of my sketching process. I explored ideas of winter, dissatisfaction, the AI bubble, and AI slop.
Concepts
These are the selected concepts that I sent to the art director, Leah Bailey.
Refinement
After an idea was chosen, I was asked to refine it, adding more logos associated with AI.
Final Artwork
This is the final artwork. The concept shows a bunch of flowers doubling as AI logos, wilting in the frost.