2 minute read
Under Cover Artist
THE BEST OF THE REST
When we first decided to run a competition to choose our cover for this issue, I don’t think any of us expected there to be as many entries as we had. Not just the number, but the quality of all of your beautiful work was so impressive. It was extremely hard to pick a winner, but after much (virtual) discussion, a couple of arguments and more than a few tears, we finally chose Beane’s wonderfully uplifting design. As there were so many entries, we decided to feature a round-up of the best of the rest, too…
We talk to competition winner Beane about the inspiration behind his beauteous cover...
Tell us a bit about yourself… I’m a graphic designer by day, DJ and promoter by night – I co-run the long-running Soul Buggin’ evening.
What was the inspiration behind the cover?
It was partly inspired by my daughter's rainbow and cloud patterned trousers, and partly by all the rainbow artwork that started appearing in people’s windows due to children being off school. I wanted to create paintings to show solidarity with the community and support for the NHS. I toyed with the idea of going down a darker, more moody route but that’s the last thing we need at the moment, so made it upbeat and bright. By utilising and tweaking some vector illustrations I attempted to communicate the current lockdown situation with us all living on our own little isolated islands.
How does it compare with some other projects you’ve worked on?
In my day job I work for many different businesses in a variety of sectors. I haven’t done any magazine cover work where I’ve been given free rein to do whatever I wanted, so jumped at the chance to do a LeftLion cover.
What was the biggest challenge that you faced in creating the piece?
As always, it’s making sure I execute a concept I feel is strong and do it justice. Here it was creating a vector-based illustration in a cartoon fashion that communicated my idea clearly.
Tell us about some projects you’ve worked on in
the past… I do all the Soul Buggin’ artwork for both online and print, so that keeps my creative juices flowing. But my clients in my day job are varied and range from both Nottingham universities, the Premier League, the NHS, Co-op and countless others.
What have you got planned for the future?
I honestly don’t know now that the world has been turned on its head with the recent coronavirus pandemic. Will I still be working as a graphic designer next month? Let’s hope so. Soul Buggin’ will most definitely be back, so the thought of getting mucky in a basement the other side of this is keeping a spring in my step.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell the LeftLion readers?
Keep busy to keep your spirits up and we’ll all be dancing again soon.
Jade Vowles - @jadek_v Kathryn Jackson - @katyjayy Beane - @beane_noodler Kathryn Jackson - @katyjayy
Deanna Ebblewhite - @DJDeDeMusic Pooja Gadhia - @artbypoojag Ava Hemsley - @4aalt
ZOMBIES
