Crawdads and Mudpuppies

Hello! This is an album cover for jazz singer/actor Harry Connick Jr. This cover unfolds to reveal a map of New Orleans. The album is a special release that HCJ did as sort of a tribute to the city that he grew up in. The art director was very clear that they wanted to strike a celebratory tone with the listeners...and wanted bright colors along with various landmarks of the city pre- Katrina.

I was initially given 2 weeks to come up with a sketch and final drawing. A considerable amount of research on the city to find points of interest and to figure out a way to fit the "crescent city" into a rectangular shape. I had a lot of fun drawing all sorts of characters and mini scenes to fill the gaps between historical landmarks.

However, I'm a little disappointed in the way this piece came out in the final graphic packaging. This album has gone through so many different edits...consider this the "director's cut" version.