Cutaway illustration of a 50m (164′) luxury super yacht. Furnished with a 6m tender, personal water craft and cabins for 12 guests and 12 crew.

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:

Concept illustration of a ‘ferry in a box’ to be designed and built in Seattle, then disassembled, packed into containers, shipped and reassembled in Uganada for service on Lake Victoria. The ferry is to carry 200 passengers and be powered by locally sourced biofuels.
For Brussels Air’s b.spirit Magazine, AD Marten Sealby.

Cutaway of an 80-foot flybridge motor yacht revealing cabin interior.

Recently completed a cutaway illustration of an 80-foot flybridge megayacht and its cabin.

Technical illustration allows for the communication of a vast amount of visual information. In this case, the entirety of the vessel – inside and out – can be presented in a single image. The quality of design, materials and finishes can be emphasized. At the same time, distracting details such as bilge pumps and thrusters can be diminished or omitted to maintain clarity.

To capture the same amount of information with product photography would require numerous shots from various angles, each diminishing valuable layout space – and more importantly – diminishing the viewer’s attention.