Watching any pre- or postgame show on location, you'll see fans waving cheer cards behind NBC Sports Bay Area/California broadcasts. On one side "Authentic Fan" is proudly stamped in team colors -- but on the other side is a treat.
And in this case, a very artistic treat. The back of the cards showcase some local artists' renditions of players, past and present. And this time around, it's Giants outfielder Kevin Pillar in a creation by Amanda Mantchev.
Before I show it to you, let me give you some of the deets on how this masterpiece was created.
"What we were going for this year, was since the team has a new name for the ballpark, and they're trying to get a new team -- a young, youthful moving into the future-ish, you know, so we thought maybe a little bit more of a modern approach," Mantchev told NBC Sports Bay Area.
Her use of simple shades, cool palettes and clean lines demonstrate the modern theme.
Are you ready? Here you go ...
Sports
Mantchev looked at a lot of images of Pillar and wanted to showcase how skilled he was as a batter -- and of course, his sleeve tattoo which is beautifully depicted on the card.
As far as making sure his facial features were on point as well, she admitted that was another portion of the project that was important -- but didn't want it to be solely based on what he looked like.
"Instead of just showcasing a headshot -- I think everyone knows what he looks like, you can find those photos anywhere."
"It's funny you mention that because he has a very distinguished nose -- it's true, he has a certain profile. And yeah, of course, he has his beard -- I at least wanted to show that."
Movement was also an important factor for the final product since Pillar is known for his movements on defense as well.
"When I think of Kevin, I don't think of him as a face, I think of his body movements -- I think of him making catches and stuff like that."
Dialing it back to the color scheme, of all colors that could complement the orange color associated with the Giants ... it was blue. But she didn't want to go full-on blue for obvious reasons.
"I didn't want to do straight blue because everybody thinks Dodgers or Padres," she explained. "So then I went lighter and found this kind of teal color -- or more of an aqua."
You can see the circle-shaped sky painted in this color (the circle reminded Mantchev of a baseball -- it was perfect) behind the Pillar animation which also highlighted the San Francisco skyline.
[RELATED: Pillar emotional on return to Toronto following trade]
Working on this final piece of art, Mantchev said she worked closely with the Giants' art department to ensure even the smallest of details were tended to. But most importantly the art department knows well, exactly that -- art.
"This is art and it's supposed to be fun and different and you can do things in art that you can't do in real life, and they understand that."
Amanda is a senior graphic designer at NBC Sports Bay Area/California. You follow her other outstanding work on Instagram, here.
You can get these one-of-a-kind Pillar cheer cards on Say Hey Tuesday when the GIants host the Rockies. You can even be on TV with one of them if you want to stop by the NBC Sports Bay Area's set for Giants Pregame and Giants Postgame Live at Willie Mays Plaza.
We will be showcasing other cheer cards throughout the season -- and if you missed any of it, no problem. You can see it all during the "Battle of the Bay Art Show," -- an A's and Giants-themed art exhbit during the Bay Bridge Sries from AUgust 13-14.
