Iron Bowl

Iron-bowl-IIThe annual matchup between Auburn and Alabama was always preceded by a special section in the newspaper. This particular cover was a challenge posed by my publisher who claimed that I was relying on my computer too much. So I resolved to render this cover by hand and color it was a process called Fluorograph. Normally, color separations involved opaque or screened masks on plates, but Fluorograph allowed the artist to paint in real colors and then convert them to opaque with a special fluid.

It was in the middle of painting the image that a photographer friend inquired about the process, and I explained that after I was satisfied with the color I would simply spray on that liquid. He asked “what liquid?” Yes, it was empty.

I waited until the publisher left, and I scanned the entire image into the computer where I colored it by mouse. Technically, it was cheating, but it still retained the hand-drawn feel.

It was the only time I ever withheld the truth from a publisher… that has even been documented.