FLORIDA TODAY — July 16, 2017
Why it’s special: I’m always willing to refine a concept based on feedback. Although I’ve had a lot of luck using good relationships to get sites to buy-in on illustration ideas, this was one that was a step too far for Florida Today. The story focused on a House bill that would split Space Command into a new Space Corps branch of the military with its own four-star command. A restructuring of this magnitude would have a large effect on Brevard County, Florida — the Space Coast — where the Air Force presides over all launches from Cape Canaveral and the Eastern Range. Editors at the site didn’t dislike the concept, but they felt that the astronaut in the original version, at left, looked too “scary” and “menacing.” (I took these comments as a compliment, regardless of their intent.) I was able to rework the illustration by using fewer pieces and a more docile astronaut, but I’m still partial to the complexities in the original.