Carl_Gerhards_Thumbnails

These were my first thumbnails. Some of the concepts were ok, but for the most part I was thinking too much along the lines of editorial illustration.
One sketch that I worked out larger. I got a bit attached to the outline of the retro style "Fat Man" nuclear bomb used in World War II. The negative space didn't quite work for me and I wasn't sure how to render the bomb shelter in three spot colors very effectively.
These last couple of sketches ended up being the strongest visuals and concepts. I really enjoy the reflected image of the mushroom cloud and the roots that are the only thing left from nature above the ground. I think that the image would be beautiful and interesting for a poster graphic and I could render it in three colors well. The second concept includes what would happen if one country launched a nuclear weapon and shows outlines of different nuclear powers with arrows pointing at one another. The idea for this one came from the idea of fission, the process that nuclear weapons work on. The last idea was horrid, please ignore.