Patrick Leger

Esquire Big Black Book - Fall 2011

2011-10-05T13:59:00.000-07:00

Over the summer, I worked with designer Michael Pangilinan on Esquire's fashion tip biannual issue "The Big Black Book." I did a lot of illustrations for it but this is a small sampling. They all had to be in black & white so I got to play around with halftones more, which worked out really well with my style. The issue's on newsstands now so check it out.

Also big thanks to Josh Cochran who put in a good word for me.

FHM UK

2011-08-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

I think this piece is pretty self-explanatory. For the always bizarrely creative, FHM UK.

Streets of Fire

2011-06-12T20:02:00.001-07:00

Here's a movie poster I did for the Colony Theater in Raleigh for a movie that could only have been made in the 80s, Streets of Fire. The colors came out a little wonky but I've learned to deal with it. I don't know that I can really recommend this movie to the general public, but I will say that if you are into rock operas, Willem Dafoe wearing leather chest waders, Rick Moranis in a dramatic role, Diane Lane's hair feathering, and sledgehammer fights then you should definitely check it out. June 15th at 8pm.

HHMI iPad

2011-05-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Last month, I did a series of iPad-friendly illustrations for the HHMI Bulletin with the overly-talented Jennifer Lee over at VSA Partners.

The article dealt with bones and the team had the nifty idea to do a series of illustrations where, when you pressed an icon, an x-ray version of the image would be shown.

A subscription to HHMI is free and so is the app! If you're a fan of illustration, they feature a lot of the greats. So now you don't have any excuses and you're obligated to check it out.

HHMI iPad App

HHMI Print Subscription

Piccard in Space

2011-05-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

Check out the awesome job Harriman Steel did on the program for the BBC opera "Piccard in Space." So awesome to be a part an amazing project. And as an added bonus you get to check out my slacks. Enjoy!

Prints

2011-04-04T12:55:00.001-07:00

I uploaded a lot of newer pieces to Thumbtack Press. If there is any other piece on my site that you'd like to see for sale as a print, shoot me an email and I'll do my best to make it available.

And the best part of April? Why, doing your taxes of course! Enjoy!

FHM UK

2011-03-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you not in "the know", I do a monthly spot for FHM UK. I'm not really sure what the section is about. I think it's either an advice column or just something where readers write in with short meditations on things that happen to them. Either way, the AD sends me a description of how they want the image, I confer with my staff of historians and sociologists, and then do some sketches.

The subject of this one was the thin line between taking off a sweater and inadvertently flashing everyone around you. It's a serious problem, and one I'm glad I was able to address with the gravitas it deserved.

sketch (thought provoking)

drawing (tragic, heartbreaking)

final (an eloquent portrayal of man's struggle to find his place in the world)

Globe & Mail

2011-03-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

This was for an article about US state governments being able to file for bankruptcy due to the mounting debts incurred by the recession. It being an article about the US means I didn't get the chance to use any stereotypical canadian imagery for the Toronto based Globe & Mail. Which was a shame since I had this great one in mind with a hockey player riding a giant beaver, brandishing a curling broom. I can see it in my head, and it is so beautiful... *single tear*

This was the second set of sketches I sent in since the AD and I agreed that every sketch in the first group were the worst ideas ever.

And the final. At least we've got the snow, that's pretty canadian.

UCLA

2011-03-14T09:01:00.001-07:00

This is a page I did for UCLA about scientists decoding the mind. I didn't have an article to work from on this one, so I basically had to stick to scenarios where scientists were doing something involving the brain. The AD had the idea that one of them should be up to no good so I sort of crafted a little mini narrative out of it.

I really liked all of the sketches. Hopefully I'll be able to use some of these ideas in the future.

Piccard in Space!

2011-03-10T08:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick teaser of some images I did for a BBC performance taking place at the end of the month. If you're in or around London and you're into operas about Auguste Piccard crossing the alps in a balloon, then get your tickets now! It's a pretty interesting story and imbibed with the grandeur of scientific adventure that doesn't really exist now. When do you ever see the headline: "Scientist embarks on poorly conceived plan, fraught with danger!" Never, right? In the 30s, that was like the front page story on like a daily basis. People just quit caring after a while. When Einstein wrestled a bear to prove relativity, it didn't even make the "lifestyles" section.

For info and tickets go here.

The Progressive

2011-03-08T09:06:00.000-08:00

Part 2 of my update deluge is a piece for The Progressive. This one was pretty quick from sketch to finish but luckily The Pro, as I call it, only prints stuff in black & white so you don't have to worry about those time consuming colors. The article was about what a lesbian member of the coast guard went through under "don't ask, don't tell" as told by some musician that knew her. Being passed over for promotion, having to be secretive around shipmates, and generally feeling like an outcast. Cast? Casting shadows? Hidden in shadows?! Bam. Done.

Portland

2011-03-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am the worst blog guy ever. I'll try and do some quick regular updates this week.

This is a piece for Portland Monthly about post apocalyptic Portland based author SM Sterling. I don't typically get to do many portrait pieces like this, so it was nice to switch it up a bit.

The AD really liked the idea of a flaming "Welcome to Portland" sign, so I didn't get to do my ruined statue of "Portandia" (second largest bronze statue in the US behind the Statue of Liberty!)

I don't know if the sign would even be recognizable to anyone from the town because I had to crop it so much. Deer seem to be a reoccurring theme in the landmarks of the city though so hopefully deer = Portland.

NYT OP-ED

2010-10-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

New piece for today's OP-ED section. The article was about how communication between the US and Taliban could help to isolate Al Qaeda troops in Afghanistan. I did a lot of sketches and during the last round came up with this one. Here are some of the early sketches:

Thanks Aviva!

clothing

2010-09-21T09:51:00.001-07:00

the container I keep my red paint in used to have garlic in it, so every painting I do with it smells awesome.

photoshopin'

2010-09-19T17:32:00.001-07:00

digital bit style

halftone

portraits

2010-09-10T09:23:00.001-07:00

I've been doing some portraits lately for practice. I'm going to do some looser color stuff next.

Prints

2010-07-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Thumbtack Press has been resurrected so if you want prints of my work, that's the best place to go. If you see any images on my site that aren't for sale as prints yet, let me know by email and I'll try to have them available for purchase on the site.

http://www.thumbtackpress.com/

HHMI

2010-06-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Ah, the floaty object-thinking piece. One of the old standbys for illustrators and comic artists alike. The objects are often substituted for montages of memorable moments or the disembodied heads of people who used to pick on you in highschool.

The article is about students in WV recruited to take part in a study where they keep a diary of their caloric intake and the amount of exercise they do any given day.

Great direction from Jennifer Lee for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Bulletin. This image was a delirium of pink before she stepped in. So much pink.

Reading about Howard Hughes, lost in the sea of wikipedia, I discovered that he was a huge fan of a movie that I myself watched not too long ago. He kept it running constantly on a loop on a projector. That film was "Ice Station Zebra" from 1968. - (Robert Osbourne would be so proud)

The Shadow

2010-06-16T21:22:00.001-07:00

I've been reading a lot of the old Shadow novels lately. You can't find better mystery/crime stories. It's hard to believe they were written almost 80 years ago.

Prints

2010-05-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Thumbtack Press closed its doors last month so things are a little up in the air right now regarding prints of my work. I'll post here once I figure out a way to begin selling them again.

-p

Drawings Ignoring You

2010-05-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

If things continue like this I'm going to be forever known as "the guy who draws people turned around." I swear that it isn't intentional. I try to send the AD at least one sketch where someone is looking in the general direction of the viewer, but they never get chosen. (single tear)

It was pretty unavoidable for these two since the focus laid elsewhere. The top image is for Wired UK about "weeknotes" which is a weekly update a group of designers set up to keep each other abreast of the miscellaneous project they are working on. The bottom is a cover for the Dallas Observer about a team competing in the X-prize contest for rocket-building.

2010-04-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still alive. I'm coming to the end of the largest scale project I've ever worked on so I haven't been able to update the site much. Stick around and I promise new work and news in the coming months. I still love you internet.

xoxo

-Patrick

Op-Ed

2010-01-05T12:00:00.001-08:00

Today's NYT Op-Ed image about double-sided justice for terrorists. It's been a while since I've done an Op-Ed image and I've become a little too accustomed to the cushy deadlines of days and weeks. Aviva wrangled me out of lethargy long enough for this one though, thanks Aviva!

New Site / New Store

2009-11-24T21:42:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, the new site is up with plenty of new images and with it the addition of the store. Check it out our first four color screen print "After the Heist" which will be followed by new editions of other illustrations in the coming year!

An Expensive Education

2009-09-06T10:24:00.001-07:00

Ugh. I need a vacation.

Here's a new piece for the NYT Book Review of "An Expensive Education" by Nick McDonell. I'll have to check it out, it sounds up my alley: Spies, secret societies, ivy league colleges, etc.

I wanted to illustrate just the opening paragraph of the review which was particularly vivid. Explosions, mercenaries, rubble, .... Harvard mugs.

Book

2009-07-27T16:36:00.000-07:00

It's been brought to my attention that I'm in the new Steven Heller / Marshall Arisman book "Marketing Illustration", so check it out if you want the inside scoop from the professionals. When I got the questionnaire for it I can't say that I was the most experienced person to ask about this sort of thing. A year later though, I'm doing all of the work I dreamed of doing then. So awesome.

More later on a huge project that keeps getting uh, ...huger.

FHM UK

2009-06-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

For the last year or so I have worked on a regular spot at FHM UK for the health Q&A. I just got word from the AD I work with that a new editor has been hired and the section has been caned. Apart from the regular work, I going to miss doing the bizarre assignments every month. It's been great and my thanks to all of the FHM gang: Che, Adam, and Scott!

Here's just a few of the more recent ones, enjoy!

Update

2009-05-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, February? Really?

Sorry people. I've been busy. I promise a massive update when I return.

I'm off to NYC for the rest of the week until next Tuesday. I will be apartment hunting so if anyone has any tips or general warnings, feel free to make advisements.

Here's one of my FHM spots that hopefully encapsulates my lazy disregard for website updates. Enjoy!

2009-02-12T12:52:00.000-08:00

I've been watching a few Jean Luc Godard films recently. "Pierrot Le Fou" is an incredible film for a director's early foray into color cinema. Many scenes look to be carefully constructed with special attention paid to the colors.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe that's just the way everything looked in the 60s.

2009-01-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

They've discovered my formula for illustrating.

Fast Company

2009-01-26T13:19:00.000-08:00

A quick, small thing for Fast Company about large companies that profit from sponsoring charities. The article was titled "Jurassic Park Syndrome."

Patrick McGoohan 1928-2009

2009-01-17T19:13:00.000-08:00

I just found out that Patrick McGoohan died a few days ago. Lately, I've been listening to episodes of "Secret Agent (Danger Man)" while I work. That series and "The Prisoner", which he also wrote and directed many episodes, are two of my favorite tv shows and it's sad to see a great talent like McGoohan pass away.

Once work settles down, I'll have to do a commerative piece.

Site update

2008-12-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

A few new pieces are on the site now. A lot of people have been emailing me about prints lately. If you want a print you can find them at:

Thumbtack Press
Gallery Nucleus

Last month was a pretty exciting month in terms of work and this month is shaping up to be even better. I'm going to try and squeeze in some time for a new personal project, that I'm pretty excited about.

2008-11-05T16:20:00.000-08:00

Ugh. I think I've been working non stop for a solid month now. My apartment looks like its been torn apart by angry monkeys and I've forgotten what my floor looks like under the plies of sketches and drawings. Of course I'm not complaining. Expect new work on the site from such esteemed publications as Business Week, the New Yorker, and Entertainment Weekly soon.

I have 5 new prints for sale at the Thumbtack Press site, as well as one at Gallery Nucleus. Just in time for the holidays!

Figure Ground

2008-09-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be taking part in the Figures & Grounds show at Gallery Nucleus. If you live in the LA area and are into either figures or grounds or any combination of the two, you should check it out. There are a lot of talented painters involved so its sure to be all kinds of awesome.

Taekwondo

2008-08-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Afghanistan, on your first ever Olympic medal

2008-08-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

Another bizarre image for FHM UK's "Hospital" section. The way the AD described what he wanted the image to look like sounded so cartoony that I had to do a ton of sketches just to figure out how to pull it off. It's kind of silly, but there are a lot of new things I tried out that turned out really well.

2008-07-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

I regularly do the "Hospital" section for FHM UK which is a little different from my normal work since the illustrations are more on the funny side and the ADs pretty much lay out what they want the image to look like. Most of the time they are pretty strange. I usually take the opportunity to try and experiment a little with my working process and try approaching the composition in a new way. Thanks to Scott for this one.

Rebuilding America

2008-07-02T11:17:00.001-07:00

I did a little image for today's NYT about the mounting problems in the US (gas, mortgage crisis, etc.)

I was recently listening to an episode of "This American Life" where they interviewed various people involved in the buying and selling of mortgages before the collapse. It was pretty fascinating how it all went down. Check out the streaming episode here.

Week In Review

2008-06-08T19:34:00.001-07:00

I did today's Week In Review for the Times. The article focused on two authors who were in conflict over whether terrorists were being controlled by Al Qaeda or strikes were the result of independent actions. It ends by saying that which ever is right (maybe both) terrorists still succeed in attacks. Thanks to Aviva for this one!

NYC Trip & 1 Year Anniversary

2008-05-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

As soon as I returned from my NYC trip I was bombarded with assignments, so I'm just now announcing my return. Thanks to Sam, Josh, and Alex for letting me drop by their studios to see what big city illustrating was like (they wear top hats and monocles while they draw).

Caught a few shows while I was there. Los Campesinos (pictured above) and Andrew WK, of the musical variety, and the Cai-Guo Qiang retrospective at the Guggenheim.

I also met up with Brian at the NY Times which strangely enough coincided with the one year anniversary of my illustration career which started with the NYT Op-Ed section. Thanks Brian!

Vacation

2008-05-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

I'm off to NYC next week. If anyone needs to get in touch with me, I'll be checking my email daily. If you live in the city and see a guy aimlessly walking around, that's me. I'll be wearing a red shirt.

2008-05-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick spot I did for Seattle Metro about the rejected names for the new soccer team owned by Microsoft's Paul Allen and "The Price is Right" host Drew Carey. The AD had the idea of a tattooed player and I thought immediately of the 70s fonts from the show. Surprisingly, I found a website that is actually committed to reproducing all 30 years worth of typefaces used on "The Price is Right."

2008-05-03T15:50:00.001-07:00

Some quick experiment sketches in red ink.

Update

2008-04-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

How about an update?

First up is my first illustration for ESPN about the inequity of the point system applied to the NFL Draft (exciting!). This was a pretty tough assignment considering it was the first time I've done a full page for a magazine and it had to go from sketch to finish in four days. Luckily the ADs Jason and Lou were there to keep it together.

Next , I did a piece for The Atlantic about Obama and his tech-savvy campaign and how that would continue if he were to be elected. Great working with Jason Treat and hooray for my first presidential candidate illustration!

This one was for FHM UK which is pretty self explanatory. Working for people over seas is always a challenge because I have to wake up earlier. There's nothing worse than staring at a computer monitor in a dark room at 7 AM. I got to try out a few new things on this one and I liked how the colors came out. Thanks to Ché and Adam.

I did this little spot for Melissa over at Seattle Metropolitan about a girl that enters a rowing competition. I've recently started to experiment with doing monoprints at home without a press using sheets of plastic and oil paint. Messy.

This is another spot I did for Billboard Magazine. The sketching process was pretty rigorous on this one and I ended up having to do this one in a very short time frame. I have sort of a weird feeling when it comes to drawing cars, they always come out cartoony looking to me. I'll have to work on that in the future. Oh, and the article was about tour buses that have switched to biofuels over diesel. Thanks to Greg for his help on this one.

This is my most recent piece for Entertainment Weekly for a book review of "Careless Red" a thriller about a down-and-out police detective who comes out of the mountains after hiking for a month, finds a dead body, and is blamed for the crime. There was going to be blood and gratuitous smoking in the piece originally, but the editors cut that out. Thanks to Micheal for this one.

Okami

2008-04-04T09:39:00.001-07:00

One of my all-time favorite games is "Okami." In their infinite wisdom, Capcom has made a site dedicated to all of the production artwork used for the game. If you're into brushwork or Japanese mythology, check out the site and definitely buy the game (it just got released for the Wii and has been out for a while on the PS2).

See the awesomeness here.

Subliminal

2008-03-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

I've been watching Band of Brothers a lot lately... so I decided to do some drawings to ease the post traumatic stress I've developed from sitting too close to the TV. Yay, healing through art!

On the shelves

2008-03-22T14:11:00.001-07:00

I just got this month's Wired in the mail, in which I had two illustrations in the "posts" section. It was originally three so I guess one of the articles got canned. All three articles involve crimes so the AD, Victor Krummenacher, wanted the images to be particularly "gritty."

This issue had a ton of illustration in it! Brian Rea, Nick Dewar, Nate Williams, Zohar Lazar, Jacob Magraw, Chris Niemann, and the list goes on! Wired is always an excellent display of contemporary illustration and features a lot of the artists and designers that I respect and follow, and every now and then they give some kid (me) a shot at the big leagues.

2008-03-20T20:16:00.001-07:00

I saw this on FFFFOUND! today. My last name is a french word, so it comes up every now and again. I can only wonder what it was for...

Lotte Reiniger

2008-03-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

I was recently watching "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" and thought I post a few scenes from the movie. It was made in 1926 and is one of the earliest animated movies. It's all done with paper cutouts so that everything looks silhouetted over these really excellent backgrounds. It's really interesting to see the complex designs of the characters and their intricate movements. The movie is silent except for the score so the animation has to emote all of the dialog. Check it out if you can find a copy.

Jumper

2008-02-12T07:34:00.001-08:00

I had an image in last week's New Yorker for a listing about the movie "Jumper." I couldn't really tell what the movie is actually about from the trailer but there does seem to be a gratuitous amount of "jumping" in the film and Samuel L. Jackson seems to think that everyone should be jumping less.

I've been pretty busy lately, so there will no doubt be a site update soon. Mark your calendars.

Canteen Issue #2

2008-02-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

I have three illustrations in the literary magazine Canteen. All three have their own pages and look very simplistic. It was nice doing just line drawings and not having to worry about color down the line. When I did them back in October, the art director really liked the Halloween theme, which probably appears a little strange now that it's February.

Face sketches

2008-02-02T08:58:00.001-08:00

I've been busy with assignments for the last few weeks but I've been sketching a little. I was playing around with some prismacolor markers on this one until I blacked out from the vapors.

Toumani Diabate

2008-01-29T06:48:00.000-08:00

This week's issue of the New Yorker features an illustration I did of the Malian kora musician, Toumani Diabate. It was great working with the AD, Max Bode, who gave me a lot of helpful hints along the way. Pretty quick turnaround, but I think I'm getting more accustomed to doing color in a hurry.

These are two of the four preliminary sketches I did for the project. All of the sketches were basically the same but from different angles. Since he's completely stationary when he plays, the easiest way to spice up the composition is to have some interesting perspective.

Winter & Military Apparel

2008-01-20T17:34:00.001-08:00

Brian Ralph Tutorial

2008-01-15T16:00:00.001-08:00

The awesome Brian Ralph put up a great tutorial on drawing, emphasized by hilarity. Check it out here.

And if you like what you see, be sure to check out Brian's Daybreak. It's a really excellent take on comic storytelling.

2008-01-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Postcards!

2008-01-05T09:03:00.001-08:00

Yay, my first promotional postcard! A vast number of these have already been mailed out to unsuspecting art directors. The image was suppose to encapsulate some of the work I did over the last 8 months: The lion shirt for Gallery Nucleus, the bird mask for Canteen Magazine, the horse for the NYT letters piece about Carl Rove, and I think the polar bear just came from me seeing "The Golden Compass" ads everywhere for the last two months.

Big thanks to Melissa from The Little Friends of Printmaking, who wised me up on where to get them printed.

Viva, Napoleon

2008-01-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

Part of my new year's resolution is to draw more in my spare time. So from now on I'm going to try and post semi-daily sketches here along with news.

Ah, memories

2007-12-31T15:58:00.000-08:00

I came across this old article from 2005 about this toy show that my friends from grad school and I did.

Hilarious.

Gymnasts

2007-12-31T15:32:00.001-08:00

End of the Year

2007-12-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

I got my advanced copy of the new Mother Jones magazine today which included the first illustration I've done for a major magazine. Big thanks to the AD, Tim Luddy, who saw fit to include me among the issues' other more notable illustrators like Yuko Shimizu, Marc Rosenthal, Nick Dewar, and (ironically) an article with illustrator Marjane Satrapi about "Persepolis", which I wrote about in my last post.

It's been a great first year (actually only 8 months) for me as a professional illustrator. I've had an opportunity to work with a lot of different people on a variety of assignments. I wanted to thank all of the art directors I've worked with this year and hope that I am fortunate enough to work with them again in the year to come.

Merry Christmas!

-Patrick Leger

Persepolis

2007-12-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

I'm looking forward to the new animated film "Persepolis", it really seems to combine a sharp graphic style with the appearance of traditional hand done illustration. I'm not familiar with the graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi that the movie is based on, but if they are anything like the movie's trailer I might have to check them out.

Be sure and check out the trailer too.

Art Show

2007-12-06T07:56:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be participating in the "Nature of Water" show at Gallery Nucleus. Here's the synopsis they have for it:

In his short lifetime, Bruce Lee has been an inspiration to to many people through his profound teachings, films, and philosophy. This art show will pay homage and draw inspiration from his legacy.

Gallery Nucleus has teamed up with friends from the new Justin Lin film, 'Finishing the Game', The Bruce Lee Foundation, and Kaching Brands to bring you this fun event.

I tried to do something that resembled part of an old movie poster from the 70s. Big thanks to my friend Chi-Kit Kwong for writing out the text! I hope it's legible.

Here's the initial sketch:

And the final painted piece (acrylic, ink on Rives BFK):

The show goes up in early January, so if you're in the area check it out or watch a Bruce Lee movie in it's honor.

LCA #2

2007-12-01T20:56:00.001-08:00

This is the cover I did for the comic zine, Lucky Creature Attacks. I have part of it posted on the site but this is the full wrap-around cover. I've always been interested in doing my own comic. It's one of the many projects that is always in the back of my mind.

NYT Book Review

2007-11-30T09:16:00.000-08:00

Here's the first image (and the first color image) I've done for the Book Review with AD Nicholas Blechman. Unfortunately the printing was slightly askew in my area so the image came out pretty blurry. I'll have the un-blurred version on my site soon.

In other NYT news, the dynamic duo of Brian Rea (Op-Ed Art Director) and Sam Weber (Assistant Op-Ed Art Director) comes to an end today as Sam firmly plants both feet into the black, uncertain pool of freelance illustration. But, if you're familiar with Sam's work you'll know it's not exactly new territory.

NY Times Op-Ed

2007-11-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

Here's an older image I did for the NY Times Op-Ed section. It covered several editorials that addressed the unrest in Pakistan. Particularly, the arresting of individuals in opposition of the new regime. This was another illustration where I went with pencil instead of ink because of time.