The Wall Street Bailout... a 'how to' guide

This 3D Illustration I did for the Wall Street Journal was so much fun I thought I'd share a little of the process!
I began with a sketch which was approved by my favorite art directors and editors at The Journal (with a few tiny changes which were to be made in the sculpting phase).

Then I started the figures with a wire armature, packed tinfoil on top to build up mass and rendered their likenesses in Super Sculpey using clay shapers.

I constructed the sinking boat out of Insulation foam and used the same material for the base. I used blue reflective paper for the water rising in the boat and layered globs of joint compound outside the boat to make the choppy waves. Once dried I painted the waves with acrylics.


I baked the figures in a toaster oven for about 15 minutes and painted them with oil paint after they had cooled.

Once painted, I placed the figures back into the scene and photographed them digitally. I shot a few of them separately and then manipulated the final image in Photoshop.