Here’s to 2013!

2013. What a year. Miley twerked! Snowden talked! Healthcare.gov tanked! So when I was approached by Beutler Ink to create an image highlighting some of the most memorable events and personalities from the past year, I jumped at the chance.

The task was daunting. Illustrate a scene mishmashing all of the major news stories from 2013, almost 90 to be exact. We decided the scene should be staged in a Times Square-like setting. I didn’t really know where to start, so I began by mapping out the events into basic zones…

I imagined a symmetrical scene with a large central element being the dominant thing to draw your eye in. It seemed only fitting to go with a Pacific Rim Kaiju & Mech duking it out. I loosely mapped it out…

Then a tighter pencil version…

And finally on to the finish…

Some of my favorite detail areas. Red wedding, get it?

Tobias & Lucille hanging out on the stair car…

And no group shot would be complete without a little self-portrait. Here’s me having beard envy…