Charterville Poster

(click on the images for a larger view)

I recently completed this illustration job for Charter Cable through VaughWedeen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Everything was created as vector art to allow for large scale printouts, which is always a fun challenge. Working with somewhat more restrictive tools (like Adobe Illustrator) usually forces me to think in clean, simplified terms and I am often happy with the end result.

I vaguely remember hearing a story about a European filmmaker (Jean Renoir, I believe) whose Hollywood produced films never reached the artistic standards he had set with his earlier, lower-budget, European films. He said the problem was that he had access to almost unlimited resources while in Hollywood and didn't have to solve as many visual problems as he had in Europe. If he needed 100 horses for a shot, he got them. Early in his career he would have had to make 4 horses look like a 100 horses on screen, and in doing so he created more compelling visuals.

Not sure if I have that story exactly right, but its something I like to think about. I think it is good to view limitations and rules as an opportunity for creativity rather than an obstacle.