Scott DuBar Illustration

Tag: ski

  • Meadow Skipper | Ascent

    Meadow Skipper | Ascent

    Mock magazine cover for Meadow Skipper show a middle-aged man skiing gentle slopes meant for kids.
    An avid ski enthusiast imagines a magazine for middle-aged skiers.

    Latest editorial illustration for Ascent Backcountry Snow Journal. For an article imagining what a magazine (called Meadow Skipper) aimed at middle-aged skiers would be like, even suggesting various article topics like “How to make your beacon harness fit around your belly.” (My personal favorite!) Not being a skier myself, I had to do some research on what exactly a meadow skipper is. Turns out it refers to skiing gentle slopes and is something that many ski resorts offer for families with kids learning how to ski.

  • Ski The Sahara | T-shirt Design

    Ski The Sahara | T-shirt Design

    T-shirt illustration depicting a man wearing a headscarf and Berber robe skiing Saharan sand dunes under the Moroccan flag, and "Ski the Sahara" written in Arabic.
    Skiing Saharan sand dunes in Morocco.

    I’ve done a lot of skiing illustrations for outdoor magazines like Utah Adventure Journal and Ascent Backcountry Snow Journal, but this is the first time I did an illustration of someday skiing down a sand dune in the Sahara desert! Ascent publisher Paul Oelerich asked me to do a t-shirt design for him after his recent trip to Morocco. He had originally planned on the more traditional mountain skiing, but due to a lack of snow, he decided to improvise and ski the Sahara instead.

    Turns out sand dune skiing is really a thing. And, yes, people really do ski while wearing headscarves and Berber robes while their camels lazily gaze into the distance. I couldn’t be happier to get to illustrate a ski scene that takes place somewhere other than a field of white snow.

  • Look Up | Client: Utah Adventure Journal

    Look Up | Client: Utah Adventure Journal

    Look Up! Skier taking an avalanche rescue course has trouble finding where the instructor hid the avalanche beacon as a squirrel looks on. Editorial illustration by Scott DuBar.

    Editorial illustration for a Utah Adventure Journal article called Look Up about the lessons learned while taking an avalanche rescue course. The instructor hid the rescue beacon up in a tree, but the student is so fixed on staring at his beacon that he fails to notice it.

    This was my very first 100% digital illustration done using Clip Studio Paint, my new favorite drawing program. Better than Photoshop in every way! And much more affordable. I was able to get the EX version for 50% off, so for $100 I now have streamlined my whole working process and get to forever avoid Adobe’s ridiculous subscription scheme.

  • I Ski Because … | Client: UAJ

    I Ski Because … | Client: UAJ

    "I Ski Because" Skier making a heart shape while laying in the snow. Illustration by Scott DuBar.
    I Ski Because …

    Happy Valentine’s Day! This illustration, I Ski Because, was for an article on one man’s lifelong love for skiing, but I think it also works nicely for Valentine’s Day. Here’s hoping your Valentine’s Day is filled with the people, places, and things that you love most.

  • Alpine Mediocrity | Ascent

    Alpine Mediocrity | Ascent

    Alpine Mediocrity. Skiing enthusiast relaxes in a custom La-Z-Boy with skis. Illustration by Scott DuBar.
    Avid skiing enthusiast relaxes in the pleasant bliss of his average skiing skills.

    Recent editorial illustration for Ascent Backcountry Snow Journal. The article, Alpine Mediocrity, is about an avid skier accepting that he will never become the world-famous professional athlete he once dreamed of becoming. A bathrobe and La-Z-Boy recliner seemed a nice way to communicate that idea quickly.

  • The Vicious Gear Cycle | Ascent

    The Vicious Gear Cycle | Ascent

    Editorial illustration by Scott DuBar.
    “New gear always leads to more new gear.” How buying new ski gear can spiral out of control.

    Editorial illustration for Ascent Backcountry Snow Journal for an article titled “The Vicious Gear Cycle.” I had a lot of fun going for a more retro look and adding the hypnotic spiral in the background.

    Pencil drawing for Vicious Gear Cycle by Scott DuBar.
    Work in progress.
    Inking my illustration.
    Inking with my Pentel brush pen.
  • An Unhelpful Saint Bernard | Ascent

    An Unhelpful Saint Bernard | Ascent

    Latest work for Ascent Backcountry Snow Journal: An Unhelpful Saint Bernard. The story is about a skier who finds that he is no more helpful in a ski emergency than the mythical Saint Bernard with a keg of whiskey around his neck. I really enjoyed this one as I can remember watching Saturday morning cartoons where the Saint Bernard would come to revive Elmer Fudd or Porky Pig but everybody just ends up drunk.

  • Socially Awkward Skier | Ascent

    Socially Awkward Skier | Ascent

    Socially Awkward Skier illustration by Scott DuBar

    Some people only put their foot in their mouth…

    Socially Awkward Skier illustration by Scott DuBar
  • Burning Sean | Client: Utah Adventure Journal

    Burning Sean | Client: Utah Adventure Journal

    Burning Sean by illustrator Scott DuBar

    My latest illustration fro UAJ, Burning Sean, required a bit of extra care. It’s for an article about a perfectly innocent yearly pre-ski season ritual/party gone wrong. It also involves a bunch of drunken white dudes with tiki torches burning an effigy of their soon-to-be-married friend, Sean. As a long-time resident of Charlottesville, Virginia, I have to say I had some apprehension about depicting white guys with tiki torches burning something that could easily be mistaken for a cross (Which is where all of the humor of the article come from). Part of my solution was to make sure the effigy clearly had a pair of legs. This would ensure that it had more of a star-shape. The next was to give the effigy some ski poles. The last was to make sure the white dudes looked as drunkenly cheerful as possible. In the end, I think it all worked out pretty well.

    Burning Sean | Client: Utah Adventure Journal