Mark Armstrong Illustration Specializing In Content Marketing Advertising Editorial Infographics Animation Videos and Social Media

Gosh! That last post was pretty exciting. Let’s see– where’d I leave off?

Oh, right– my old iMac had died, and I’d lost Photoshop because my new iMac can’t run Photoshop CS2, which is my obsolete version of the program.

I didn’t want to pay $240/year for Photoshop which now requires a subscription and has to be accessed via “the cloud.” Instead, I paid $30 for Pixelmator, a graphics program developed for the Mac OS X operating system that I could download onto my computer.

I also ordered a new scanner. Why? My old scanner worked with my old iMac, but was incompatible with my new iMac.

I bought Pixelmator and ordered the scanner on Monday, October 12th. Coca-Cola Journey offered me an assignment the same day. They would need the final art by Wednesday, October 21st.

I explained the situation to editor Jay Moye. He asked if I thought it was doable. I said yes. I’d done two previous assignments for Jay. He said: “Let’s do it!”

The post was called 10 Things That Go Better With Coke (Fall Edition!), written by Charles McNair. The new scanner and Pixelmator both came thru for me. Here’s the final art:

You did spot the 10 things, right? Well, let’s review them just in case you missed any:

1. Halloween (“What’s scarier than six McNair children coming up a driveway on Halloween night?”)
2. Tailgating (an elaborate Southern football tradition which might include “a dude at a classical piano playing the college fight song.”)
3. Cornfield mazes (after getting lost, you might encounter “a woman in aviator goggles who looks like Amelia Earhart.”)
   
4. BBQ (“Let a pig get one inkling of why you’re spreading out hickory in that pit and sprinkling on lighter fluid, and you’ll see just how fast and mean a pig can get.”)
5. Carve a pumpkin (“Neurosurgeons get started this way… They draw a line atop the smooth round head. They saw through the skull. They scoop out brains.”)
   
6. Touch football (“Did you know Coca-Cola is medically proven to repair hamstring injuries? (Drink it, and) in 6 to 8 months, your hamstring will feel as good as new.”)
7. Making a pine cone turkey (“Just find one pine cone. Put pipe cleaner legs and other stuff on the pine cone so it looks exactly like a turkey. Voila!”)
8. Bobbing for apples (“Hands behind you, assume a kneeling position. Think: Prisoner. Guillotine.”)
9. Raking leaves (which is implied in my illustration. I mean, somebody must have raked them into that pile, right??)
10. Bonfires (“Coke, vigorously shaken… will forcefully fizz in any direction… and extinguish slowly spreading lawn fires around burning piles of autumn leaves.”)
    

There’s a little inside joke in the illustration, and it centers on the “six McNair children.”

Author Charles McNair is a very funny guy. He’s also a very accomplished writer. Does he really have six kids? I have no idea. But here’s how he described them in the Coca-Cola Journey 10 Fall Things post:

Charlie’s dressed as a werewolf, ketchup drooling out his mouth. Clay’s dressed as a ghost, ketchup drooling out its mouth. Robin comes buck naked, smeared with ketchup from head to toe. (He’s an Indian, stupid!) Melody and Marella share mama’s big skirt and blouse – Siamese twins, ketchup drooling from their mouths. Carole dresses in green and sticks out her tongue a lot. (Iguana!)

I thought the McNair kids should look like their dad. That’s why I gave them all red hair and round glasses. (Clay the Ghost also has red hair– but you’ll have to take my word for it.) That’s Mr. McNair on the left, below.

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Have you ever gone to a Halloween costume party?

Do you have a favorite fall activity that Mr. McNair might have missed?

Editor Jay Moye took a big chance on me. It meant a lot. Nothing could have motivated me more. Have you ever received a similar vote of confidence?

Hope you’ll leave a comment.

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