There is a lot of speculation as to what the future of publishing might look like. If one thing is for certain, it’s that it will involve a screen. Apple’s irresistibly cool hardware, intuitive software and lucrative App Store created a trifecta that arguably saved the music industry. With the iPad, Apple looks to do the same with the publishing industry, from books to magazines to newspapers.
A screen presents new opportunities for a once-static medium, while users demand richer more immersive experiences. The iPad presents its own challenges, like the exclusion of Flash, opting instead to provide these experiences via new developing web standards loosely referred to as HTML5.
To test these new technologies, I put together this interactive HTML5 demo using the Canvas element, Javascript and artwork from my Mecanum Wheels motion illustration.
A few caveats: This demo works only in the latest versions of Safari, Chrome and Firefox. On iOS devices like iPad, iPhone and iPad Touch, it may run slow because Javascript is processed much slower than the native Xcode.
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3DInstructionalInteractiveLineartProductTransportation
Posted on August 23, 2010 by James Provost
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Some one-step how-to spot illustrations done for Canadian Family magazine’s Summer 2010 issue; How to eat the whole lobster, How to whistle with a blade of grass, How to make a jumpsie rope and How to raise an astronomer. Thanks to AD Colleen Nicholson who made this project a summer breeze.
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DIYFoodInstructionalLineartPeople
Posted on July 12, 2010 by James Provost
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b.spirit! is Brussels Airlines’ inflight magazine on long haul flights to Africa. AD Marten Sealby contacted me to illustrate a story for the magazine about the re-introduction of ferry service across Lake Victoria which borders Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. The ferries to be used are interesting because they would be designed and built in Seattle, then disassembled, packed into containers, shipped to Africa’s interior and then reassembled in Kampala.
Because the ferries had not yet been built, the illustration would be conceptual, emphasizing the design, assembly, disassembly and shipping processes. An inset map would help familiarize the reader with Lake Victoria. Here are the sketches I sent Marten:
Marten gave the green light to the second sketch, showing the rear of the ferry with a section of the bow cutaway and being loaded into a shipping container. Here is the final:
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GreenLineartMapMarineProcessTransportation
Posted on June 16, 2010 by James Provost
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It should come as no surprise that I’m a huge fan of Mythbusters. I like their “failure is always an option” maxim, meaning if you have an idea you should try it out, what’s the worst that can happen?
While watching the program one day, I noticed something weird about their forklift — it moved sideways. It didn’t just turn on a dime, but actually moved perpendicular to the direction of the wheels. Upon closer inspection, they looked more like worm gears than wheels. The answer was just a Google away: The Mythbusters’ forklift is equipped with Mecanum Wheels, also known as Omni Wheels or Ilon Wheels. These wheels work by rotating independently, depending on the desired direction of travel.
I had an idea that this might make for an interesting motion graphic (above), since still images really don’t do this technology justice. So I tried it out (what’s the worst that can happen?)
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InfographicInstructionalLineartProductSiteTransportation
Posted on June 9, 2010 by James Provost
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I’ve always been into music but only recently picked up a guitar and started to learn to play. I had seen guitar tablature (or “tabs”) before, but only knew it as some sort of esoteric shorthand musical notation encoded in monospaced gibberish; a specialized language for people who had studied music and practiced guitar to some degree.
When I started browsing for the best approach to learning guitar, the first page of every book, the first image on every site, the first video in every tutorial, was always an image like this:
Whether it takes the form of a drawing or marked-up photograph, this image is the standard starting point for learning to play guitar. Ignoring all other elements, the title and the image of the hand alone clearly communicate “to do this, do this.” To play the G chord, place fingers 1, 2 and 3 on strings A, E and e, in positions (frets) 2, 3 and 3, respectively.
The chord chart to the left abstracts this fingering map, representing the fingers, strings and frets in a simpler, more condensed form. It’s understood that these two images represent the same thing,”to do this, do this,” but without the fingering map the chord chart would mean nothing to the uninitiated.
The tablature (or “tabs”) on the right further abstract and condense the concept. We are presented with a column of our six strings with numbers representing the position (or frets) our fingers need to be in. The specific finger we use for each string/fret is taken for granted and omitted.
Whatever form it takes, this image is a technical illustration. It decrypts esoteric, specialized knowledge into general knowledge that any person could interpret and employ. With one image, I went from looking at a bunch of lines and numbers to music.
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DIYInstructionalLineartPeople
Posted on June 8, 2010 by James Provost
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If recent projects are any indication, energy is a hot topic. From advances in sustainable production, to energy independence, to efficiency and control, the issues are boiling over and innovation is gathering steam. Above: Four solar energy technologies illustrated: photovoltaic panels, solar water heating, solar power tower and passive solar heating. Right: Cutaway illustration of a new horizontal drilling technique that increases yield and reduces equipment costs and surface disturbance.
Left: If the US’ annual energy consumption was converted to coal, it would fill a 1,000 mile-long train consisting of 100,000 cars. If that coal were to be dumped on Manhattan, a 23 square mile island, the pile would be 160 feet deep. If the entire world’s energy consumption were converted to coal, the pile would be 618 feet — it would reach the 60th floor of the Empire State Building. Wind power would account for 14 inches of the pile. Solar power, a mere 10 sheets of paper thick.
Below: Smart homes will manage energy usage, take advantage of off-peak energy, control appliances, produce energy and sell it back to the grid, and brief homeowners about their energy consumption, and encourage efficient living.
Top illustration for University of Minnesota’s Momentum Magazine. Bottom three for Missouri S&T Magazine. Big thanks to Art Directors Sarah Schmitz and Mindy Limback!
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CutawayEnergyGreenInfographicLineartMapScience
Posted on May 6, 2010 by James Provost
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Minneapolis-based Martin Ashal was charged with the task of communicating a broad range of thermal insulating access doors, viewports and wall panels for their client, an industry-leading manufacturer. The products are used in a variety of temperature- and humidity-sensitive applications, such as medical facilities, laboratories and clean rooms. The challenge was that the products are fully customizable, designed to meet each customer’s needs.
Under the direction of the talented Austin O’Brion, I created this series of icons to differentiate the product range by panel thickness and insulating ability.
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ArchitectureGreenIconProduct
Posted on February 15, 2010 by James Provost
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The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, strings of popcorn, candy canes and pastries in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. In 1847, Hans Greiner, an artisan in Lauscha, Germany, began producing more permanent decorations – glass baubles in the shape of fruit and nuts.
To do this, he heated a glass tube over a flame, then inserted the tube into a clay mold, blowing into the heated glass to expand it into the shape of the mold. After the glass cooled, a silver nitrate solution was swirled inside, the outside was hand tinted, and the bauble was finished with a cap and hook.
The ornament became vogue in the late 1840s, when a photo of Queen Victoria’s Christmas tree was shown in a London newspaper, decorated with lights and glass baubles from her husband Prince Albert’s native Germany. Today, holiday decorations are second only to gift-giving in seasonal sales. Ornaments are mass-produced world-wide, and about 20 small glass blowing studios still exist in Lauscha, Germany.
2009 was a great year for me. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it. I look forward to starting something new, solving problems and making things in 2010. Happy holidays!
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HistoryInstructionalSite
Posted on December 23, 2009 by James Provost
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Some fellow techies and I have started Technical Illustrators.org, a blog and community by and for technical illustrators. We feature portfolios of colleagues and share tutorials, techniques, resources, tips & tricks of the trade.
With more and more of the traditional in-house technical illustration jobs moving overseas, techies are finding themselves out on their own. In a time when communicating information clearly, accurately & concisely is paramount, there is huge demand for their skills however their trade is relatively unknown. It’s our goal with this site to unite these independent professionals and raise awareness of this highly communicative medium.
For more, visit us at Technical Illustrators.org!
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Site
Posted on December 14, 2009 by James Provost
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I recently had the pleasure of working under the exceptional art direction of Ryan Reynolds from MSDS on Electrification Roadmap. This report is a vision for an electric transportation sector and nationwide supergrid, published by the Electrification Coalition, a not-for-profit group seeking to affect energy policy to reduce economic, environmental and national security risks.
Electrification Roadmap Cover Concepts
I created lineart illustrations describing the different technologies that enable electric transportation: the different drive-train configurations (hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric and full electric) contrasted with conventional internal combustion engines, lithium-ion cells and battery packs, and home charging stations.
We also worked together on concepts for the cover that leaned towards editorial illustration, an area I’ve been exploring recently. The concepts play on the vernacular of circuit diagrams, information graphics and transit maps using symbols of alternative energy and transportation.
Despite the final above not being used, it’s always great to work on positive projects with forward thinking people.
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AutomotiveEnergyGreenHybridTransportation
Posted on December 2, 2009 by James Provost
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