Almost a year ago I was asked by the folks at Backpacker Magazine to do the cover of their winter catalog “SNEWS”. I obviously jumped at the opportunity because I like to draw and getting the cover of anything feeds my ego. I like it when everyone knows I’m awesome. It’s a hole that can’t be filled, a monster with and endless appetite, a vampire trying to comb his hair with a mirror. Accept me! The art director told me what they had in mind and sent me some samples of past covers so I went to work. One of the things I realized about illustration on this assignment was that the work that I do, or any illustrator for that matter, is more than helping someone communicating their idea. When an art director chooses an illustrator, they are also choosing that illustrator’s personality and experiences. I was really proud of this image. What made it special for me was that I was able to draw my dog Rebo into it. I had to put Rebo to sleep a few months before I got the assignment and this was a great way to remember him. Rebo was on the cover of newsstands everywhere! I couldn’t be happier. So I feel like Backpacker could have picked any number of illustrators to do the cover, and I’m sure each of them would have done something personal, but they didn’t. Backpacker chose me and I chose to have my dog on an adventure playing in the snow.
Below is a quick mock up of what the cover looked like with text:
