Final images, 2nd phase.

The final images of the project.

All these images were taken into Adobe Illustrator, in the above image, the ruins, trireme, and text were all created using the pencil tool. All images were then taken through Photoshop for a quick airbrush with the clone tool. The hero, Theseus, takes centre stage in the first two images.

This image took the longest, with the labyrinth being the most time consuming. The title was inspired by the Hammer Horror posters of the 1950's to the mid 1970's.

This image was inspired mainly from the classic Godzilla posters, as you can see, the areas of colour have also been polished up and filled in on Illustrator, then bones and skull have also been reworked. 

Final images, 1st phase

These are my final collages that have not yet been put through Photoshop.

The text I used in the images was inspired from various sources, such as Godzilla, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. 

The bulls head featured at the top of the image was a stencil and a brief preview of the antagonist.

This original collage had a few bones spread on it cut from paper, however, in comparison to other monster movie posters, the Minotaur did not seem very threatening. By adding a human skull, it creates a sense of danger that the viewer can relate to. 

Greek vase styles.

These were drawn up in pencil in a small layout pad and then redrawn up in pen, on a larger A3 scale of poster. Space had also been left to work in the text.

 

The ruins were based off of the ruins of Cretan labyrinths, the setting of the tale.

The figures from the previous images were blown up large.

Columns were left at the side to allow room for the title also, inspired by the poster for Jason and the Argonauts 1963.

These images were then inverted to better represent the effect of the ancient Greek vases.

This image was inverted then scanned into Illustrator, an then drawn up using the pen tool, a different variation of a final image, unfinished, without text though.

Collages

These are a selection of collages, similar to my previous project, created by hand rather than digital, as its a quicker process. I designed the composition with the text in mind and how it will all sit together. Put together in the early stages of project, I would eventually revisit several of these later, which would then become the beginning of my final images.

  

I felt as though the creature would also work well as a hulking black shape, with the hero striking it from behind.

Once again, the Minotaur is only implied.

                                                 

Box areas were left for various styles of text.

edited concepts

These are just a few of the same images that were edited using photoshop.

This image was given a sepia tone to give it a more bronze, statue like appearance.

An even darker tone for the image, for a grittier appearance.

The same effect was applied to this image, a slight tint, to bring in a bit of colour.

This image was even darker to fit in with a darker shade of poster.

aA much more colourful version, I chose yellow because its featured a lot in most vases.

The Minotaur also slightly edited to match the hoplites.

Early concepts part 2

A pen drawing of a bireme, greek naval vessel featured in the premise and climax of the story.

Pencil drawing of a trireme.

THE MINOTAUR

The main antagonist of the story, the Minotaur was a terrifying beast half man-half bull, with an everlasting hunger.

This first image was pencil drawn and I followed the description faithfully, also looking at the famous Greek vases, however I felt this drawing didn't quite work out, due to the creatures overall posture.

This image on the other hand I was much more pleased with, the beast, in constant discomfort, hunched over, perhaps picking at bones, or awakening from its slumber to hunt its prisoners through the labyrinth.

Early concepts

The narrative that I went with for my project was the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, as it is a favourite of mine, but also as far as I know it was never approached with stop motion in mind. These were my first concepts for Theseus the hero, instead of the more subtle appearance he takes throughout the story, I instead chose to portray him in his more heroic image, adding a bit more excitement to the final poster.

When drawing this sketch I not only looked at Greek pots for reference but also stills from historical based computer games.

This image I spent considerably less time on, a quick 5-10 drawing with a biro, always intended to be taken in illustrator for further development.

                         

                                

On this image I spent a bit more time, the hoplites appearance was based off a Spartan themed video game, with some changes on my part with the weapons and attire.  

Action and adventure titles.

A few more of my inspirations, mainly from the sword and sandals genre. Ever since I was a child I have had such a passion for these style of films, the main attractions being the imaginative narratives and excellent special effects, for the time. There is something about stop motion that gives it a real gritty realism, something that gets overlooked these days in favour of unrealistic big budget digital effects.

I looked into several variations of poster design from Jason and the Argonauts as it was my biggest inspiration.

Science fiction references

A few examples of some famous science fiction posters I looked into for inspiration regarding the compositions of the images.

Negotiated Project

Negotiated Project Brief

The main focus of this project is pure experimentation, as my main source of inspiration covers both this project and the next. My inspiration for both the projects is the theme of the monster movie genre, the golden age of Hollywood that span from the 1930s to the 1960s, as I have always had a great love for the stop motion films of Ray Harryhausen in particular. For this first project though I have also chosen to look at the posters from the sword and sandal genre that spanned roughly the same time period, but was eventually replaced with the spaghetti western genre. I will also choose from one of the famous Greek poems to work from in this way, most likely the Labors of Heracles or Theseus and the Minotaur. I will also be looking at ways to recreate the effects the ancient Greek vases and pots, as these are amongst the most famous of story telling methods in Greece.

The aim of the project is to experiment in this way of working with text and to come up with some prototype designs of my own, three or four final designs on A4, as brief designs which could I go further with in the future. I will be working with pens and pencils, collage, stencil work, Photoshop and Illustrator.

I will also be researching many posters of the genre and trying out with texts and compositions of my own, also practicing with different titles, designs and slogans for the advertising of such posters. Designing the characters, environments and other items effectively will be key to achieving the overall mood of the images, which are to be scary, but also slightly humorous and entertaining at the same time, a trait that all the originals have.

A few examples of the many famous posters I used in my references.