“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)

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