Headstand Media

Randal created this series of line art drawings for City Furniture, a Chicago furniture retailer, for use in print materials.

Lands’ End contacted Randal Birkey to create an illustration spread for their catalog on “How To Build a Better Sportshirt.” Randal worked from Lands End product references to create a blueprint line drawing, then added the shading and texture with color pencil.

Randal Birkey created this quick felt tip ink line sketch showing the location of a “piston pin” in the layout of an automotive V-8 engine.

I did this technical cutaway illustration of a 4-cylinder automomotive engine back in the early 1980’s. I used Rapidograph pens and black ink on cold press illustration board.

I was watching the Houston Texas LeMans race yesterday afternoon on TV for a bit, and it reminded me of this cutaway drawing I did years ago of a Formula 1 race car… the Renault Elf, sponsored by Michelin. I used this drawing for “self-promotion” in various creative talent sourcebooks, in order to drum up freelance illustration business. These types of “self-promotion” ads usually worked. I would get calls from various design and advertising agencies, with requests for a quote on an illustration project for them. It would usually turn into a real illustration project, for which I would be paid. That was how it was done back in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Today, I would build an “illustration portfolio website“, and advertise my skills that way. I would work hard to make sure my website was “search engine optimized” in order to perform well in the major search engines, and make it real easy for users to contact me for a project estimate.