Adventure Cyclist Cover Illustration

An extremely detailed cover illustration for Adventure Cyclist Magazine. It features a variety of cyclists biking around in city and nature, and blocky, dimensional letters reading "Cyclists Travel Guide."
A black and white illustration of cyclists doing various activities.

Goal

Illustrate an award-winning cover for the Cyclists Travel Guide edition of Adventure Cyclist Magazine. Capture the diversity of people, bicycles, and locations in an extensively detailed slice of the bike traveling world.

Role

Illustration

More Info & Credits

This piece won two awards for cover design: an Ozzie award, and a Merit award. The Cyclists Travel Guide edition of Adventure Cyclist magazine focuses on the bike touring tech that gets cyclists from place to place without leaving them stranded. Adventure Cyclist is a magazine produced by Adventure Cycling Association.

Credits

Art Direction: Ally Mabry

Illustration: Levi Boughn

A Tiny World of Bicycle Travel

I wanted the level of detail in this cover to inspire a response similar to an I Spy or Where’s Waldo; a tiny living world, with something new to discover upon each viewing.

Illustrated Adventure Cyclist magazine cover, cyclists riding around in city and nature.Detail crop of magazine cover showing cyclists biking on paths and ducks in pond.An enlarged crop of magazine cover with person rafting with bike and someone fishing off a dock.Detail crop of magazine cover showing cyclists biking by person at picnic table reviewing map.Detail crop of two cyclists biking on dirt path, one carrying a stack of firewood.

Process

The approval sketch for this piece really emphasizes the level of trust the Adventure Cyclist team had in the concept. From that first sketch, I built a perspective grid to serve as the foundation for every object in the scene.

Illustrated concept sketch for magazine cover.An in-process screenshot of a digital illustration for a magazine cover.A group of small illustrations of cyclists doing various activities such as tanning, fishing, and carrying camping gear.