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The Art of Tim Reigert: Drawing “Olympics”

Looking back to the October 2011 issue of NEBRASKAland Magazine, there was a Page 49 department by Nebraska author and humorist Roger Welsch on the proposed “Olympics” of his home town of Dannebrog.

Like many Page 49s, this gave me the opportunity to do artwork to accompany the piece.

Here is how I went about the process of illustrating this piece:

First, I read his essay and highlighted any descriptions that seemed visual and exciting. I knew about how much room I had to occupy for the illustration, and what shape I wanted (in this case a horizontal format). Then, I did a quick sketch.

olympic2

I then searched the web for reference images (see composite below) which helps many times to develop even more ideas.

olympic2

After printing out the composite, I tape it down on the light table (yes, I may be one of the few artists working to still use a light table). Then with a piece of regular printing paper taped over this, I start penciling the illustration. Most times I will add and refine as I go – erasing, redrawing, darkening lines, etc.  Here is the final:

olympic3

Once I’m satisfied with what I have, I remove it and scan it – then place it in the design program and voila! Here’s the final page with artwork and text.

final

-Tim

About tim reigert

Tim Reigert was hired as a Graphic Designer for the Commission in 1988 and has been the Art Director of NEBRASKAland since 1995. A Lincoln native, Tim completed a Bachelor’s in Art and an Associate Degree in Anthropology from Nebraska Wesleyan University. During his tenure with the magazine, NEBRASKAland has won numerous awards relating to his graphic design including the prestigious Ozzie Award from FOLIO Magazine, and numerous Gold Ink Awards and ACI Awards (Association for Conservation Information). Reigert lives in Lincoln with his wife Joleen and daughter Jamie.

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