The slick work here is the result of team collaboration.

James Dennis, owner/manager of Charlotte Design (and an illustrator in his own right) sub-contracted the Corona designs through Maryland Screen printing (and later the Ron Jon designs directly from the Ron Jon buyers). James was called in as a freelance illustrator to help develop the concepts and flesh them out as completed designs.

"In the case of the Corona designs I was given most of the layouts in more or less completed form, but was contracted to make a complete pencil sketch of each of them before proceeding to the actual illustration on computer," said James. "In the case of the Ron Jon pieces I was asked to come to the CDG offices and have a brainstorming session with the whole CDG team. I produced a number of seed sketches and from these the team came up with the verbiage and many of the gags contained in each design. Again I was asked to produce complete pencil sketches for approval by CDG before moving on to the illustration on computer."

Final color tweaks and most typography were handled by CDG and Art Director Joel Merritt. "Each design probably required about 40 to 60 hours of work on my part. Additional time was needed by the art team at CDG to make the designs work for the vendors, as well as prepare the color separations for screen printing."

YOUR KEY TO CORONAVILLE was drawn with color pencil and drafting vellum, then scanned. A "host of effects" were added in Photoshop. Licensed by Procermex Inc. ©2002 CDG, Inc. Corona, Corona Extra are Registered Trademarks. See a larger version here.

CHILLIN' AND GRILLIN'. The iguana is drawn "the old fashioned way, with a pencil," said James. Lots of Photoshop effect layers were later discarded for a cleaner look. Licensed by Procermex Inc. ©2002 CDG, Inc. Corona, Corona Extra are Registered Trademarks. See a larger version here.

TAILGATING CORONA STYLE. When James first began working on Corona assignments, "I figured I'd be doing a bunch of cheesecake art, girls leaning against palm trees and such." Instead, the Corona assignments pushed James' illustrations in different areas. "I had fun making the bottle work. I did not have fun making all the feathers. But I did it." Licensed by Procermex Inc. ©2002 CDG, Inc. Corona, Corona Extra are Registered Trademarks. See a larger version here.

BEER FRAME. Over 25 years ago the first Ron Jon Surf Shop opened and the founder's passion for surfing grew into a world-recognized icon of the surf and beach lifestyle. They also have some of the best T-shirt designs on the planet. ©2003 CGD, Inc. Under license to Ron Jon. Ron Jon is a registered trademark. See a larger version here.

PICK A SPARE. "We do have fun the the T-shirt industry," said James. "Bad puns aside, we had fun making all the little bottles line up." Over the years he has developed a pattern-in-layers technique that make designs look more "hand done." ©2003 CGD, Inc. Under license to Ron Jon. Ron Jon is a registered trademark. See a larger version here.

BIG DIPPERS "I came up with the concept of Manatees in a hot tub," said James. The Big Dippers line and subsequent graphic was cooked up "in committee" at Charlotte Design Group. James is always coming up with more ways to marry hand-drawing and computer illustration. In this case, he figured out a new way to paint wood grain on the boards. ©2003 CGD, Inc. Under license to Ron Jon. Ron Jon is a registered trademark. See a larger version here.