Building Crashers

I have a (way-more-smarter-than-me) friend that wanted me to illustrate a magazine article for him based on building technology that depicted major building automation companies, HVAC, etc., that have system controlling buildings for decades - becoming more and more IT-like by using servers and networking, but now with a battle on for "platform" control of the building, BAS companies who know HVAC or Cysco types who know IT (sort of a tool belt), AC guys, or propeller head IT guys, but with periphery scrappy lighting control, and systems furniture companies are all fighting for control with BAS and IT.

Yep, he lost me at the word, "building."

But it was yet another challenge, for this entire concept needed the simplification power in an illustration, and I had a No. 4 graphite pencil (and wasn't afraid to use it either). Here's the rough ink to get my thoughts on paper:

But we needed to show that the forces at work, in this case, huge building-climbing monkeys, were battling each other:

And with that, the pencil went through a tiny revision. The periphery scrappy forces at work went well in them being tiny, obnoxious bi-planes trying to cause a dent in the raging havoc the monkeys were creating.

And there's nothing like Painter to help make a turnaround such as this, pulling the color out in basically a day's time SO much easier.

With the below version...I get to what I call a "halo" point in the illustration. I hate showing anything to an Art Director before I think it's done, but with this, I could either stop at this point and submit if their time was up, or I could put several more hours into it and amp the fun up more. Luckily here, she said I had another day or so.

And if you look at the difference below, I was able to really sit on it in Photoshop and have at it. I added blurs (planes), motion blurs (flying arms), gaussian blurs (planes in distances), and shadows on the building. Also, I had time to add hair...lots and lots of hair.