I love doing illustration for magazines, for several reasons. Perhaps the main reason is because those assignments come in and leave pretty quickly. From the very second I get a magazine illustration job it's a whirlwind of activity: Understanding the impetus of the story I have been selected to illustrate, finding the style that the art director/creative director wants me to use in illustrating the piece, gathering the reference I need to execute the piece, initial sketches, honing the sketches until it's time to do the finished art...etc. I just love the entire process. Then there's the thrill of actually seeing my work printed in a publication. That excitement is still there after all these years.
In the past year I have seen a resurgence in my magazine illustration assignments. Even though there are fewer magazines being published now than there were 5-10 years ago I haven't let that discourage me from reaching out to magazine art directors. Even in writing this blog entry today I realize it's time for me to produce another magazine-themed promotional postcard.