I was invited by the Silver Screen Society to design a piece based on Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream. The Silver Screen Society is essentially a gallery of work inspired by films (a new film each month). There’s some incredible talent over there, so it was great to be involved with September’s film.

If you haven’t seen Requiem for a Dream, you absolutely should. It’s by no means a happy film, it’s actually rather stressful, but it’s amazingly well done. The film revolves around four characters and their addictions to drugs, but tackles the genre unlike any other film before it. The editing, score, acting, and story are amazingly brilliant.

My design plays off of the quick cuts in the film, as well as the fact that its timeline is separated into seasons (Summer, Fall, and Winter). I searched my photography hard drive for a bunch of discarded shots, and spliced them together to show the three seasons of the story. The center shows a character in a fetal position, which is actually the closing shot of the film. The colors and composition are intended to be dreamlike, while showing the stress/nightmare of the center character.

The movie predominantly takes place near Coney Island, so I used some old shots I took in Dallas and in Chicago to make it feel urban. It feels good to finally have a use for a bunch of photos that may have never seen the light of day otherwise.

I really dig how this piece turned out, but let me know what you think in the comments! Or hit me up on Twitter @FringeFocus.

Also, check out the Fringe Focus Poster Store for more designs.

MVP

If you’re  familiar with basketball, you’ve probably heard the name Derrick Rose recently. Chicago Bulls’ point guard Derrick Rose was recently named the NBA’s 2011 MVP. He’s like Michael Jordan good.

I met up with a great guy here in Chicago a few weeks ago, who wanted to capture the energy and excitement of Derrick Rose in a t-shirt. These are unofficial shirts, so they’re not available everywhere, nor do they contain any official NBA names/logos. They’re for fans here in Chicago.

Not only does Derrick play for the Bulls, he was born and raised  in Chicago. Now that he’s taken his team to the playoffs, you can see why more than a few people here love him. The shirts say ‘Homegrown’ to recognize his local upbringing (and his floral last name…)

Process Shots

When I started illustrating this t-shirt design, I thought it would be fun to take some process shots. I’ve included everything from sketches, incomplete designs, to the finished shirt.

These sketches were done on my Wacom tablet, to quickly figure out ways to organize the imagery. We knew the shirts would say ‘Homegrown’, and that there would be a bull’s head in the shadow of the rose. The rose busting out of the concrete is actually my reference to a poem by 2pac. (I’m not cool, I just happen to know one poem by him)

Derrick Rose was raised on the south side of Chicago. So not only did the shirt need to show an urban environment, I had to make sure the skyline was accurate, and not showing Chicago from some bizarre angle out in the lake. These pictures are early on in the process, where I usually change colors and arrangements quickly. Ultimately I decided a grey shirt worked much better than a red one.

These shots show how each part of the illustration was pushed and pulled. The skyline needed some contrast, so I gave it a red sunset to draw focus to the rose. Later I dialed down the sunset a bit so it wasn’t too bright.

Here you can the next-to-last phase of the design. The colors are finished and I decided against using a separate color for the rose stem. The arrangement is fine, but the design was still a bit too clean. The rose itself also didn’t scream the fact that is was a rose. ‘Homegrown’ found its proper place in perspective on the ground. The previous sketches had given too much attention to the text. The final design solves this by visually pulling you in towards the rose.

Here is the completed design, with tweaks to most of the lines and the rose. The finished illustration uses only 3 colors, each of which would get their own discharge print on an American Apparel t-shirt.

The printing company even captured some great footage of the shirt being printed! Check it out.

The final shirt looks incredible, and is really soft. Great fit, great colors, and it was fun to work on! All work was done through my design company: Collision Labs

Here’s the Adams Barber Shop crew in Chicago wearing the shirts. Pretty exciting to see an idea/illustration take off like this.

One last thing: Derrick Rose himself actually wears my shirt! Although I don’t have any photos of him wearing it yet. Pretty crazy cool though.

I’m not selling these shirts personally, but you can buy them directly from my cool client right here: ThinkingFanDesign.com

Thoughts on the shirt? Drop me a comment, or hit me up on Twitter: @FringeFocus

Tentacles are fun to draw, so I drew eight of them. And the only logical conclusion when drawing eight of something is to draw eight more of something else. Thus you have what we have here, a sneaky octopus stealing pool balls from a table in a bar.

Octopuses (that’s grammatically correct, shockingly) are well known for their affinity with human table-based games. This poster captures the incredibly dexterity of the thief. Fortunately, if you caught him, he could put all the balls back in the rack simultaneously. The wet stains left on the felt are another story.

I started this design not knowing much about billiards or our tentacled friends, and I finished it about the same way. I did learn that the suction cups on their tentacles are generally just referred to as “suction cups”, which was a bit of a letdown.

This poster is being printed at 11×17″ and will be delivered to all of my Kickstarter backers (who bought another poster) for FREE. That project has ended, so there isn’t a way to order this poster for yourself just yet. If there are extras available, or if I print a larger version in the future, a limited edition series would be made available here on the site in the future.

Drop me your thoughts about this octopus in the comments, or find me on Twitter: @FringeFocus

“I don’t think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.”

“What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn’t he?”

Okay, that quote doesn’t really have anything to do with the Shire. But hobbits said it, and I find it awesome. We should all have second breakfasts more often.

This poster is the third and final design in my Lord of the Rings series. I started with Mordor, and have worked my way backwards to start of the tale. Each poster showcases a different setting that is integral to the story. The hobbits have the Shire, the humans have Helm’s Deep, and the orcs have Mordor. There are plenty of other important environments and cities, but I tried to pick areas that somewhat reflected each book/film.

While these aren’t explicitly posters for the films or the books, they are meant to be chronological. The Fellowship of the Ring begins in the Shire with Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo and the other hobbits. The second poster shows Helm’s Deep, the site of an important battle in The Two Towers. Finally, the series concludes where the Ring’s journey ultimately ends: Mordor.

More than anything, these posters reflect how the movies feel to me. Fellowship of the Ring is green, warm, and inviting. Two Towers is tough, brutal, and dark (also quite blue). Return of the King is black, firey, and chaotic.

Prints of the Mordor poster are still up for grabs on my Kickstarter Poster Project! I’m getting a number of my other designs printed, so getting all three of this series onto paper will have to wait a while. Let me know if you’re interested in these though, if enough LotR fans want posters we’ll make some prints happen. For Frodo! (I’m a nerd…)

Let me know what you think the comments!

Or check me out on Twitter: @FringeFocus

“This night the land will be stained with the blood of Rohan. March to Helm’s Deep. Leave none alive. To war!”

I really dug the feeling of the Mordor Poster I designed last week. Showing a well-known epic environment using simple geometric shapes, with tons of sexy cinematic color on top. If Return of the King was represented by Mordor, then Two Towers would surely showcase Helm’s Deep.

Helm’s Deep is home to the Hornburg, essentially a huge fortress set in the side of the mountains. Human civilians took refuge there, as the fortress was believed to be invulnerable. Ultimately a ridiculously badass war between the Uruk-Hai and humans took place. The movie battle was in a rainstorm with tons of catapults, fire, battering rams, and explosions.

Because this poster is capturing what’s memorable from the movie, the actual design of the fortress here is borrowed from the film. This isn’t any specific scene from the movie, but I tried to capture the dark, wet, desperate look of the surrounding area.

Will there be another Lord of the Rings poster to round this out to an even three? Perhaps. More work ahead!

This poster is not YET printed or for sale. You can, however, support my Kickstarter Poster Project to help print my other posters! If that goes successfully, designs like this one might end up being printed later in the year. So check it out!

Let me know what you think of this design in the comments! Or talk to me on Twitter: @fringefocus

“One does not simply walk into Mordor.”

I’ve always been a huge fan of the epic environments of Middle-earth. The areas in Tolkien’s books, as well as in the newer The Lord of the Rings movies are some of the most awe inspiring settings imaginable. The Mines of Moria, Helm’s Deep, and especially Mordor are some of the few places in film and literature that are truly worthy of the word epic.

There’s tons of insanely badass imagery to draw from in The Lord of the Rings, and I decided to start at the top: Mount Doom. Also known as Orodruin, this is the volcano where the One Ring was forged, and the only place it can be destroyed.

I wanted to capture the evil of Mordor, the cragged rocks, the soot, the fire, and the despair. Even without showing the armies of orcs or any weaponry the area is incredibly wicked and dangerous. This poster is meant to tie the Ring imagery with its journey (the path Sam and Frodo must take to destroy the Ring). Mordor represents the end of that journey.

This poster is not strictly for The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King book or film. I wanted to draw how badass I felt Mordor felt, and this is the result. I have a ton of ideas related to The Lord of the Rings, so it remains to be seen whether this poster will be part of a trilogy for the books, or a smaller piece of something larger. More posters are coming, but I can’t say what or when just yet.

Get this poster now!

Want to buy this poster? You can buy this poster right now on my Kickstarter Project! You’ve all helped me so much, so I said if we broke our goal and raised $3,000, I could afford to print a sixth poster. This is that sixth design. With your help, we’ll be able to get 24″ prints of this Mordor poster, and you can have it hanging on your wall pretty soon.

I also said that if we raise $4,000, I’ll be giving a FREE extra poster to anybody who’s purchased one from me on Kickstarter. Check out my goals update on Kickstarter. Thank you all so so much for your support! You’re the best!

Let me know what you think of this design in the comments! Or hit me up on Twitter: @FringeFocus

My Kickstarter Poster Project (To raise funds to print six of my poster designs)

The past couple months, I’ve spent a lot of time designing posters. The overwhelming response from you, the internet, has been that I should print them. I couldn’t agree more, this could be awesome. Let’s do it.

I started a Kickstarter project, so that we can make these prints happen! If you’re not familiar with Kickstarter, it’s essentially a website where creative projects of all shapes and sizes can be funded. There are tons of talented artists, filmmakers, photographers, writers, and musicians raising funds for all types of endeavors. I don’t think there’s any better way to get a project like this started.

Whether or not any of my work gets printed is entirely up to you guys. Readers, followers, friends, colleagues, random strangers that like the color yellow, I’m grateful to anybody that is interested.

The Rewards

Oh, I forgot to mention the best part? We all get stuff!

• Hand-wrriten thank you notes.
• Thank you in an upcoming special blog post about this project.
• 6″ signed prints of my photography.
• 24″ signed posters (FIVE different designs available).
• 24″ wood-mounted posters.
• Custom poster design on a subject of your choice.

Every penny helps bring my work closer to being printed, and I can’t thank everybody enough for how awesome you’re being by pitching in your hard earned dollars. I hope these rewards are a sufficient thank you.

Check out my Kickstarter page to grab a poster!

And here’s a video!

One more thing…

We have to raise $2,000 by March 16th (at 6pm), otherwise nothing gets printed at all. That’s the nature of Kickstarter. An all or nothing model that protects artists and fans alike. Don’t worry, you won’t be charged anything unless we hit our goal. There’s no maximum limit though. So my additional proposal is that if we hit $4,000, I will print a sixth poster (the design of which is currently unreleased).

Printing five posters at once, with extra photo prints, shipping tubes, and free shipping anywhere in the US adds up really quickly. Without all of you guys, and the Kickstarter platform, I’d never have this opportunity. So again, thanks so much, rock on!

Donate to my Kickstarter Poster Project!

In case you were wondering, yes, the red guys are zombies. I wanted to design something where a person faced certain death from a horde of zack.

I’m a huge fan of The Walking Dead comic book series, as well as zombie lore in general. If you haven’t read Max Brooks’ World War Z, do yourself a favor and read it immediately.

I wanted to capture the big picture of a zombie uprising. Sure one zombie in a dark corner is scary, but showing the potential extinction of the human race is scarier. And much more badass. The hero character in the center has two machine guns laying on the ground, although I suppose it’s up to the viewer whether or not you believe they have any bullets in them. Not that it would matter with this many undead.

Want a print of this poster? You’re in luck I have a Kickstarter Project to get my posters printed up right now! Check out my Kickstarter Poster Project.

Additionally, here’s some close up shots. These will be printed at 24″, so there will be plenty of detail.

Let me know what you think the comments. Or buy a print!

It’s been said before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly.

There isn’t much of a deeper meaning here, I wanted to draw hotness. I was inspired by a lot of things, researching a bunch of James Bond title sequences and ’70s pinup & porn artwork. The James Bond titles are famous for iconic Bond girl silhouettes, and I definitely had that in mind when drawing this girl. This isn’t meant to be exploitative or pornographic, just hot for hotness’ sake.

The title within the design is borrowed from humanity’s greatest masterpiece: Bootylicious. I think we all need to use this word more often. The photo in the background is one that I took last summer on Mackinac Island. So while this may look a sexy Brazilian beach, it started as freezing cold lake water in Michigan. Let’s ignore that.

I’m in the process this month of getting some poster designs printed. Let me know if you’re interested in this one as well. Plenty more designs in my brain, if I can only find the time!

Let me know what you think of this poster in the comments! Or catch me on Twitter: @FringeFocus

Update: This 24″ poster is now available for purchase on my Kickstarter Poster Project!

My newest poster design is an idea I’ve been wanting to tackle for a while.  I wanted to create a design that’s self-referential, that describes its own creation to the viewer. I had a lot of fun making this one. It’s really dry humor.

The main focal point of the image describes itself as “This is the focus”, while one of the bright lines creating the shapes says “Contrast attracts your eyes, you like it.” There are a dozen other little pieces that describe how the poster was made, and what role each part of the design plays. Negative space, lines, texture, radial symmetry, the rule of thirds, it’s all in there.

This is absolutely meant be a sort-of inside joke for creatives and designers. It pulls from the principles and elements of design, Photoshop functions, and even the exact fonts used to create the piece. It’s almost like a blueprint for making itself. The background is actually a photo I took myself of a random cornfield in Illinois.

This poster is inspired by a Deadmau5 song, “This Is the Hook” from his At Play album. It’s an absolutely killer dance track, with a robotic voice that says things like “I like the bass”, “This is the hook, it’s catchy, you like it”, and “The open high hat creates the counter syncopation, making you want to dance.” Dance music is and always will be cooler than poster design, but I wanted my design to capture the same self-referential silliness of his song.

I’m sure the poster text is a little to small to read on the blog, but the design is intended to be printed at ~ 15.5 x 24″. Here’s some more closeup shots!

I’m still working on getting my poster store up and running. I will definitely be getting prints done of my previous “Predators” series, and I have a lot of interest in getting this one printed as well. I absolutely want this hanging on the wall in my office. You can also this poster on my Flickr.

As always, here’s iPhone / iPad / Android Wallpapers:

• “This Is the Focus” iPhone Wallpaper
• “This Is the Focus” iPad & Android Wallpaper

If you’re interested in a print, or have any thoughts, leave a comment!

Or hit me up on Twitter: @FringeFocus