Cities by Chris Auman is the companion book to my earlier publication Maps. Like that small art book this 28-page effort features the skylines of the largest, most beautiful cities in the world, but not of this world. Some other one.
I refer to this book, and Maps, as art books as opposed to comics because they don’t really tell a story. They’re just collections of drawings of things like maps and cities. If you’d like to explore this book further, order Cities from the RoosterCow Store. You can also buy Maps and Cities as a set and save some cash.
Excerpts from Cities by Chris Auman
Introduction to Cities
Cities are living, breathing things. They expand and contract. Some cities are modern and new. Some are ancient and lie buried under layers of soil waiting to be discovered.
Cities start as settlements and grow into villages then into towns, and then into cities. Some grow into even larger metropolitan areas with dozens of suburbs. Neighborhoods and communities are all connected by complex systems of roads and railways. Within cities, other systems distribute energy and water, eliminate waste, provide food and medicine, and enforce laws. Cities are managed by mayors, councils, boards, and trustees.
Cities can sprout up anywhere. They’re often established near lakes and rivers. They are built on valley floors and atop mountain peaks. Getting the many tons of building materials up mountains and into valleys and gorges takes great feats of engineering. There are even cities built in trees and on the edges of cliffs.
It’s hard to tell from a skyline view what goes on within a city. Knowing that requires exploration. Only then could you more accurately gauge a city’s health, its vibrancy or decay, and its attitude toward the rest of the world.
The cities in this book will be unfamiliar to most. They exist in worlds we don’t know much about. We can’t go there yet, so we have to imagine what they’re like.
Imagine walking down the streets of the cities depicted on these pages. What kind of people will you meet? What types of businesses will you visit? Where are the good bars and restaurants? Or the book and record stores? What neighborhoods should you explore? Which should you avoid?
What problems plague the city’s population?
Is it pollution, crime, and income inequality?
Rotting infrastructure and homelessness?
Bad drivers and losing sports teams?
If you find out, let me know.
Find Yourself a City to Live In
Enjoy a city view while drinking your favorite hot beverage. This glossy ceramic mug features artwork from my book Cities. Whether you’re drinking your morning coffee, afternoon tea, or evening grog—this mug’s for you! Order your Cities mug from the RoosterCow Store!
Drawing Tiny Buildings
I went through a phase of drawing these tiny buildings on large sheets of drawing paper. I penciled them first then went over those hundreds of tiny lines with a felt-tip drawing pen. It took many hours but it was a good activity to get lost in. It’s easy to create a flow state when drawing cities. I think it also satisfies some part of my brain that may be a little OCD. I have never been diagnosed with OCD and I don’t want to make light of it, but there is something compulsive about this sort of repetitive activity. Anyway, I don’t think about it too deeply. It is what it is, as they say.
In the 90s I did a series of this black and white cityscape. I framed one and gave it to my parents as a Christmas gift. It still hangs in their house, although the sun has faded it quite a bit. I want to grab it down off the wall and retrace the lines in something more permanent. Maybe I will someday.
I used One of these cityscapes as the cover for Reglar Wiglar #8. (See below)
