Cityscapes are just shapes

It's been a very busy month, and I've spent many evenings crouched over the tiny desk.  But the second shift has produced some great work, starting with 5 city skyline illustrations made for the Philadelphia based stationary and event planning company Paper Rock Scissors.

Even as I heard myself say, "I can have them done in a week," I was simultaneously thinking, "Am I really saying this?"  But it's amazing how much you can get done when you stop watching reruns of Law & Order: SVU and get down to business.  And after extensive researching, sketching, and mistake making, I ended up pretty happy with the results, as did the client!  It was a challenge to reduce everything to simple lines and shapes—I swear I'll never look at buildings the same again.  The raw illustrations are below, the technique is India ink on watercolor paper.

Manhattan from the East River

Manhattan from the Hudson River

Philadelphia

Annapolis—my personal favorite

Washington, D.C.

Some close ups are available here.  Can't wait to see how they'll be used!