GI Supply - Polar Wand Ad Series

This acrobatic bear was used in ads by Neiman Group to launch a new GI Supply product dubbed the Polar Wand. Working from rough pencil layouts, I sourced stock photography and combined multiple shots of the bears together to create the gymnastic effects. Areas of bear and fur that were not available in stock were drawn in using photorealistic illustration techniques.

This shot has been my "elevator pitch" for 20 years ... until AI

When people would ask what I do for a living, it was always difficult explaining things without boring them to death; until I started using this as the perfect 10 second “elevator pitch” example. “Do you you need an image of a polar bear doing a back-back bend in the snow in front of a glacier?” Then I’m your man! 

These days, the promise of AI makes it as easy as typing that descriptive text into a prompt. For now, results are usually sub-par and the finer details are difficult to art-direct, but these tools are starting to replace the needs of many fellow “pixel-pushers” who have made this craft their living. 

Stock Elements