Evan Mar
Evan Mar's Fall Arts Preview cover illustration.
A recent graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Evan Mar grew up in Madison, appreciating the city’s “vibrant and accessible” art scene. Their design for this month’s Fall Arts Preview cover was, appropriately, inspired by the different kinds of art they got to experience living here, “from stage productions to live music and Art Fair on the Square.
Mar enjoys using both digital and traditional media. “With my history in fine arts, I try to maintain that feeling of authenticity you get from physical media through my digital work. I want my pieces to remain alive and engaging for the viewer by using texture to convey a hand-drawn feel. I always begin my process with really loose sketches, building on these to create a piece that tries to preserve that kinetic energy. For color, I draw a lot of inspiration from children's book illustrations. I do a lot of trial and error experimenting for each piece to find a palette that is well balanced without sacrificing variety.”
Evan Mar
Rough drafts from Evan Mar's Fall Arts Preview cover.
Evan's cover illustration went through a number of changes, but stayed focused on a medieval-style, cut paper aesthetic.
Mar also likes to bring a sense of playfulness to their designs, including for the Fall Arts Preview. “I thought it would be fun to do a paper theater scene with a medieval twist, that could represent multiple forms of art.”
“Our Fall Arts Preview issue is always one of our larger issues, with a hefty special section that is a little more design-intensive than we normally do,” says Tommy Washbush, Isthmus’ art director. “Evan’s cover illustration really helped me out in that regard, creating a fun medieval aesthetic with some well-done organic lettering and ornamentation that gave me a lot of components to use for the inside layout.”
See more of Evan’s work on their website at evan-mar.com.
