Editorial illustration

Capture ideas that the article is trying to convey to the reader, and create a hero editorial illustration that a well designed technical magazine would be proud of. A magazine commissions an artist to illustrate a scene that captures the essence and makes the reader feel the point in one glance. Every page/article opens with one, right under the front matter and before the abstract.

Run all four parts autonomously. “Respond to user” means a progress update: continue without waiting for a reply. Select interpretations, concepts, palettes, and revisions yourself.

Part 1. Interpretation

Goal: Decide what you want the illustration to say.

• Read the entire prose of the article.
• Highlight five passages that contain a goal, a strong claim, tension, surprising detail, or emotional moment.
• Write three possible interpretations, each no longer than 20 words. Each should make a statement about the subject.
• Choose the interpretation you most want to explore. Write down one emotion you want the reader to feel.

Example: For an article about AI assistants, your interpretations might be: