Phoenix New Times- Arpaio Deathbringer

It is always a pleasure to get a call from Peter at Phoenix New Times as I know I'll be drawing something that might make someone mad.

Peter wanted to do an image of Arizona Sheriff Arpaio standing on a mountain of skulls or skeletons to reflect his disdain of immigrants and how many actually die in his prisons. Arpaio was running for re-election, and the goal was to inform voters of his absurd past. Read the guy's Wiki page; it includes gems such as staging an assassination as a publicity stunt?!?

I usually send Peter some really rough layouts from which we settle on a composition for a tight sketch; this saves a bit of time. Peter asked for versions with just skulls and full skeletons:

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Peter selected a suitable layout and made some adjustments to reflect new cover policies at PNT in regard to covering up the New Times header:

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With Peter's notes in mind, I worked up a tight sketch:

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The sketch didn't go over well with the editor; I think it was just the numerous small elements (skulls and figure) were making for an image without impact. I enjoyed it as an image, but agreed that it wasn't a good cover. Back to the drawing board for a more dramatic "non-portrait:"

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The sketch was well-received with a slight hair adjustment. In the final. I altered the glasses for more drama as well as the fact that depicting Arpaio's typical gold-rimmed glasses. As always, I love a flat black background:

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Thanks for reading!

Enjoy the Day,

Chris