Baseline BTS: Hakeem Olajuwon

Baseline BTS brings you behind the curtain to see what went into the supporting illustrations for The Baseline Review. Editor and Creative Director JP Boneyard shares his insight into the process. Next up is Hakeem Olajuwon from Kirk Goldsberry's story The Dream was a Premonition, illustrated by Andrew Archer.

The Concept
While researching Olajuwon's childhood in Nigeria, his ascension felt even more remarkable. I was like, “man, Hakeem probably thought he'd have a better chance of walking on the moon than playing in the NBA.” He grew up playing soccer and was a latecomer to hoops. It didn't take long for him to catch on, but even still… making the NBA in the early 80s? Basketball wasn't the global game that it is today. 

So, that daydream is how we landed on Hakeem, doing a dream shake, on the moon. It also makes sense because, you know… Houston Rockets, the moon landing, human ingenuity. Andrew did wonderful work capturing the fluidity of this legendary post move. He also nails the vibe of a hooper in outer space. Hakeem feels so natural in this surreal scene. Also, if you're keeping count, that's now two legendary big men that we've featured in space. Bill Russell was the first. I felt a hint of panic after realizing this unintentional pattern post publication. Then I remembered that Space Jam is a thing. This isn't as weird as I thought. 

Supporting Illustration from our Story The Dream was a Premonition

We wanted prime Olajuwon during his MVP, Finals MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year season (1993–94). I wish we had a way to show the back of his jersey. I love the eccentric typeface used for the player names on the “ketchup and mustard” era uniforms. The typeface is quirky in that the terminals—and serifs—are rounded in a playful way. That kind of vibe isn't usually associated with hard-nosed sports squadrons. Anyway, back to what we did get to include in the supporting illustration… a time-bending alternate universe inside of each silhouette of the dream shake. I know that's not what actually happens when Hakeem pulls out this move but this is what it feels like. Time and space begin to warp. Defenders are left swatting at the silhouette of where Olajuwon just was three steps ago. This is such a cool detail that Andrew thought to work into the scene!

The Inspiration
The dream shake silhouette drew inspiration from NASA's Apollo patches. That cool swoosh behind the A in the flagship Apollo patch was something we wanted to include in the scene. The Apollo 11 patch also felt like a wonderful source of inspiration for the environment. The craters of the moon are a great place for Hakeem to get his dream shake on. Earth is chillin' in the background. 

We also looked at early chronophotography of dancers and athletes. It felt like we could use some of this vibe to capture the different stages of the dream shake. Andrew used these prompts to create something fun and beautifully rendered. In all honesty, I'm surprised he didn't say “You want me to throw these random ideas into a blender and make an illustration of Hakeem on the moon? No. That sounds like a mess.” But that's why Andrew is one of the best. He ran with his interpretation of these prompts and made something awesome. 

The Apollo and Apollo 11 Mission Patches (NASA)

Pole Vaulter Chronophotography (Étienne-Jules Marey)

Color Seperations
Our background is in printmaking. That's why we have run some of our stories as screenprinted zines / standalone issues. In whatever kind of work I am doing I always want the door to be open to collaboration. This goes back to my days in the early 2000's setting up over 100 DIY concerts in my mother's backyard shed. The same is true here: Normally we work with folks who are versed in drawing on separate layers for screenprinting. We don't want to limit our roster of amazing illustrators to just poster folks. That means we often work with creatives who haven't illustrated screenprinted work before.

Color Separations for the Main Supporting Illustration

Printer Danny Askar and color separator Ben Gunter worked their magic on this one. The three of us spent a few weeks turning a mostly flat image into a seven color screenprint. Ben does the bulk of the heavy lifting in this department and his work is phenomenal. Danny and I then share feedback from the printer—and art director—perspective. We make tweaks, adjust values, and end up with something that just feels like magic. How Danny pulls off such clean, crisp prints is also magic. Both Danny and Ben do this work by hand. This is why one story costs $50 (and likely should cost $80 if we wanted to work from a sustainable margin). Every step of creating these stories is a labor of love mixed with impeccable craftsmanship. Shout out to Danny, Ben, Andrew, and Kirk!

The Cover
Oak-like and thoughtful. That's the vibe. Dream is graceful but he's also just a solid person. We wanted to show the strong, contemplative side of Olajuwon. I remember seeing a video of him right after the Rockets won a championship. He's by himself taking it all in on the bench. He's stoic, contemplative. The camera is focused in on him pretty tight. All of a sudden a little kid runs over and starts trying to hype up the big man. Hakeem just sort of glares at the kid like “hey, I didn't come f-up your vibe when you won a championship. Please give me some space to reflect.” So yeah, that's a little of the energy we're going for. Contemplative, handsome, assertive. Andrew rendered those shoulders to look strong AF. The soulfulness of Olajuwon's eyes feels like a perfect contrast. If you look closely you'll see some of the blue worked in from the space scene. Another great call by Andrew!  

Cover from our story The Dream was a Premonition

TL;DR
We took inspiration from chronophotography and NASA mission patches. This leans into the Rockets space theme and the fluidity of the dream shake. Turning flat images into layered screenprints feels like actual magic and the results are phenomenal. The cover shows an oak-like Olajuwon who is also contemplating what greatness could look like. Andrew Archer crushed this one and did the big man justice!

Bring it In
This has been another installment of Baseline BTS with Editor and Creative Director JP Boneyard. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the player, the supporting illustrations, and the creative energy that went into this work. We appreciate you!