A founder explains the algorithm

For a column about a company that had run out of ways to say the same thing. The hands got bigger with every rough.

All Every head on file Editorial August 2026
Work 3
The sitting
Client
Ledger Weekly
Use
Column illustration, web and newsletter
Medium
Ink and gouache
Size
12 x 15 in
Delivered
February 2026

Ledger Weekly asked for something with a little bite for a piece on a founder mid-pivot. The likeness sat in the jaw and the eyebrows, so I pushed both and left everything else nearly alone. A caricature works better when only one or two things move. The pencil rough and the first ink pass are here beside the final and you can watch the hands grow across them. Nine hours across two days.

The roughs 02 stages
Work 3c
01 First ink pass, before the color went in.
Work 3b
02 Pencil rough. The hands are still honest here.