A full page editorial illustration spec brief for a Wine Spectator article on discerning luxe wines from places like Chile, Italy, and France, without the price tag of traveling there.
Passport to Value
Sketches
I drew inspiration from vintage travel posters, wine trains, and the ever-alluring first class life, being sure to keep wine and travel symbolism front and center.
Iteration and Refinement
The brief recommended a sophisticated tone, which I felt I could achieve best by further developing the wine train concept. I replaced the girlfriends and solo traveler for a couple enjoying a wine train date.
After some color iterations, I didn’t feel like the style of the characters was fitting the tone, so I redrew them a bit less stylized. From there, a romantic sunsetting horizon was the finishing touch.
