Chris Gash

  1. conceptual
    2.
  2. bio
    3.
  3. work process

Chris Gash’s work has been featured across various markets around the globe since 2000. His illustrations have appeared in newspapers and on magazine covers, in annual reports, book covers and on postage stamps for the United Nations. Chris has done live illustration videos for the New York Times and NYU and he created art for dinner plates produced by Fred & Friends. Chris had two of his illustrations included in The Illustrated Letter show at the New York Times and had the honor of being in the NY Times Best of Illustration in 2014 and 2019. Chris lives and works happily in New Jersey.

Awards

Society of Illustrators
American Illustration
Communication Arts
3×3
Creative Quarterly
Society of Illustrators Los Angeles

Client List

The New Yorker
Mastercard
The New York Times
United Nations
Scientific American
Politico
Time Magazine
Forbes
Rolling Stone
Golf Digest
Fortune
Bloomberg
Little, Brown & Co.
McSweeney’s
Harvard University
Nickelodeon
Wells Fargo
BBC
Pentagram

The start of the process is that I have to, have to, have to start jotting down words and rough ideas on the piece of paper the assignment is printed on. It’s become a superstitious must. I then spend time looking at images and writing down any related thoughts, circling things, drawing lines and arrows to remind myself of certain visual overlaps or similarities. Then I do a quick sketch of the image I have in mind. 

From this I create quick compositions in color. These are worked out in a couple of tries in Photoshop. I draw everything out – even if I don’t think it’s great because many times when I stop trying so hard the right idea will pop into my head. I do a little editing, making sure I don’t send anything I wouldn’t want to make into a final and off it goes.

Once the art director selects a colored sketch idea and gives me their critiques, I finalize the piece on Photoshop and submit it.

back to top