Sustainable city illustration for ReNew Canada

Renw-MayJune2014-layout

The cover of the latest issue of ReNew Canada: The Infrastructure Magazine features an illustration that I made.

The assignment was to come up with a vision of a near-future sustainable city. In the words of editor Andre Voshart : “I am looking for a cover illustration around the topic of urban density and growth–and fighting back against the idea of urban sprawl and car-based societies. It looks at the way city planners are going to make cities like Toronto and Vancouver grow in smart ways: more walkability, more mid-rise construction, more mix-use neighborhoods, more urban food/farming, etc.”

It was a really fun picture to make as it allowed me to  explore  eutopian ideas about the future of cities. This process aligned nicely with the ideas that I have for a sci-fi comic that has been simmering in my imagination for a few years. Here is the finished illustration minus the typography. Click the image to see hi-res version.

Image of sustainable city illustration for ReNew Canada

2 thoughts on “Sustainable city illustration for ReNew Canada”

  1. Looks like a bucket full of work to do that cover. Was this done by hand and if so have you posted the prelim sketches and what medium you use to colour this with,water-colour?
    And lastly how long from sketch to finish did it take to do this wonderful expanse of scenery?

  2. Hi Alec, This drawing was made by hand and colored digitally. I’d say it took about 10-12 hours of solid work from start to finish.

    Thanks for your interest in the drawing!

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