They're Coming to Get You, Barbara!

I recently worked on a somewhat different project for my hometown publication, Pittsburgh Magazine. I'm a regular contributor, and do a monthly spot for the PittGirl's Last Laugh column.

This time around, I was also able to play with a two-page spread for a Halloween feature, The Ultimate Pittsburgh Zombie Hunt.

(click images for a larger view)

In order to accommodate the text and not have most of the illustrations squeezed into the lower half of the image, we decided to forgo geographical accuracy, and make it look more like a treasure map.

Sean Collier, the writer of the piece, included six must-visit locations for any connoisseur of the undead visiting the area.

 House of the Dead, a store catering to all of your zombie needs.

The Evans City Cemetery (shooting location for George Romero's 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead)

Monroeville Mall (shooting location for Romero's 1978 sequel, Dawn of the Dead)

Kennywood Park, home of many scary thrill rides

 Allegheny Cemetery, the final resting place of Stephen Foster

The Scarehouse, a Halloween attraction featuring a deranged bunny mascot

Any type of illustration involving a map has the potential to turn into a design nightmare, but putting this together turned out to be a lot of fun, thanks to the flexibility of the magazine's Art Director, Chuck Beard.