Inside the Huddle: Magic Johnson

Inside the Huddle 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 Magic Johnson from Dalton Reid's story Magic the Alchemist, illustrated by Jonathan Bartlett.

The Concept
We wanted to lean into the spirit of alchemy but not depict a literal laboratory. An abstract background gives the sense that something mystical is happening. It does so without overtly using a bunch of glitter and symbols found in ancient alchemy. Jonathan nailed the enchanting, yet mystical atmosphere in this one!

Supporting Illustration from our story Magic the Alchemist

The Inspiration
The main illustration was inspired by an 18th century painting by Joseph Wright of Derby. The painting is entitled The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus. We see an ancient practitioner in his lab engrossed in a moment of transcendent discovery. His vile is emitting an intense glow and his expression shows a sense of gratitude, awe, and rapture. That sounds an awful lot like watching Magic play in the 80s!

The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1771

In an early sketch we mirrored this scene more literally. We had Magic in place of the alchemist. We opted instead for more of an intimate shot of Magic. We catch him a moment before he initiates a spellbinding play. Sometimes inspiration can be super literal. Other times it can give you a nudge into the right direction without feeling overtly connected. This is one of those instances for sure. 

Happy Accident
We knew we wanted the ball to mirror the glowing beaker from the painting we referenced. Jonathan had illustrated the ball so it was glowing but still retained its iconic stitching. I made some value adjustments to the scene that unintentionally made the ball pure white. Now it had an even more intense glow. We all liked how that looked and decided to lean into this happy accident. 

Not Everything Needs to be Planned Out. Follow the Vibe, Bruh!

Color Palette
Purple, gold, black, white, and brown were a given, right? There's a metallic quality to the gold used in the full page illustration. We love that connection to the ancient alchemists—many of whom saw gold not as the goal but a metaphor. It represented the gold of spiritual fulfillment and realization. That's a perfect tie-in with our story. Jonathan is a master when it comes to shading and painting skin tones. The work he did on Magic just feels so alive. It’s absolutely gorgeous! Especially with a fairly limited color palette.

The Cover
Jonathan had a great idea to show magic in his warmup jacket. It works so well! Magic was a big locker room guy, someone who was always trying to lift the spirits of his teammates. It feels like the warmups lean into that vibe. Plus they just look cool as hell. 

Cover from our Story Magic the Alchemist

Those Collars Command Respect! (Image via Orange County Reporter)

TL;DR
We took inspiration from an 18th century painting called The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus. It's not super literal inspiration but it was a jumping off point. Jonathan had a great idea to show Magic in a warmup jacket on the cover. We love that the Magic and Bird stories share some intentional / unintentional overlap: Both players are depicted wearing warmup jackets and both are shown with a pure white ball. Jonathan painted the heck out of both supporting illustrations!

Huddle Up
This has been another installment of Inside the Huddle 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!