Everybody it's a BEARFIGHT!

BEARFIGHT!  is an art anthology book released April 2010 from Portland’s own Banner Year Press. Minneapolis native by-way-of-Portland illustrator BT Livermore put out an open call to artist to create a composition with only one rule: it must involve a bear fighting something. It is a short run handmade book, with only 500 copies being made to sell, plus a small amount that were a made available to contributing artist. 

This was my submission to BEARFIGHT!

I took a Digital-Analog-Digal approach to it, which I was unsure would work in a book that ended up being majority illustrations.  My submission graces page 46, along with 76 other other artist.

"You're a clever man, Cleverman."

"23 year old and perpetual slacker CLEVERMAN has had enough, gets it together and finally decides to attend college. With fall two months away and tuition due in a a two weeks, the money that was to become his tuition payments is lost over night in a stock market fiasco. Now faced with the stark reality the he might not ever be able to attend college, resulting being stuck in his suburban surroundings, CLEVERMAN falls into a state of melancholy. What will happen to CLEVERMAN?"

(I look nothing like what Cleverman would look like, but lets go with it)

Thoughts on Cleverman Posters: 

My main goal in creating these posters was to create a believe piece. In doing this I thought it would be a challenge to bring the same theme and tone over three design. Cleverman is not a movie aimed at the popcorn munching transformer-iron man crowd. I aimed the poster towards the more indie-movie crowd, and my aesthetic choices reflect so. I decide to do my best to create a silk-screen printed feel. I achieved this effect by using halftone, threshold and keeping elements restricted to black and white.  

Updated!

Eventually growing unhappy with my first quote-poster-text exercise, I decided to update the ideas and structure of the first poster.

"Please do not be cynical ... It's doesn't lead anywhere. No one in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."  

Conan O'Brien on the final episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

What's updated you ask? Here's the rundown!

• Background to distinguish poster elements!
• New hair done with pen tool! Vector layer!
• New Orange!
• Better leading! (Look it up)
• Better kerning! (Look it up)

Another question probably to come up is: 

Q: Dugan isn't that quote a little too verbose for a typical quote poster? 

A: Probably, but I feel the whole quote shows the man's class in that predicament. If the world had half the class he does, we would be better off. 

"I do not regret one second"

"Please do not be cynical ... It's doesn't lead anywhere. No one in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."  

Conan O'Brien on the final episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

Introduction to Film

There’s a lot to tackle when discussing movie poster aesthetics: Foreign films are a lot more likely to have poster design that might not appeal to an American audience; older posters might be considered boring by today’s standards; teaser posters might not have all the information that a person might want to know; smaller budget/less well known films might not be all that exciting to all people. All of this and more are things to consider when judging a poster.  

Classic

Vertigo (1958)

In the past technology was limited in the creation of movie posters. Offset printing presses were limited compared to their modern day counterparts. So designers had to choose and pick colors and how they work together carefully in order to create the maximum visual appeal. Hitchcock’s Vertigo is often chosen as one of the best movie posters of the past, as it takes all the challenges of design of the time and creates a compelling presentation.

Modern (Good)

The Dark Knight (2008) Teaser and Theatrical

One of the most recognizable movie franchises of the last two decades, Batman doesn’t need too much to identity itself. Numerous teaser posters were made for the film involving the main characters. This one is, in my opinion, the most visually appealing. Vertical lines, calming blue colors, and the silhouette draw the viewer into an unsuspecting calm in a movie that would be anything but. The theatrical poster is a great example and being visually interesting, but getting in all the necessary info a theatrical posters require. The biggest difference between all the teasers and the final poster is the adding of a new color: orange. It adds a new dynamic sense of urgency to the poster, one that the teaser posters purposely lacked.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) Teaser

This is probably one of the most interesting posters I’ve seen in recent memory. It has the right balance of colors, compelling action and movement. The biggest thing though: font. The font is the biggest draw; it’s different and stands out in a world of sans-serif fixed width titles.

Modern (Bad)

Thank You For Smoking (2005) Teaser

A valiant attempt to use common iconography used ironically to draw the viewer. It is forgettable in the world of movie posters and comes off as propaganda for a smoking/anti smoking campaign and not a movie.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) Theatrical

All Twilight films suffer from the same graphic design pitfalls: High Contrast, desaturated colors, and fog. It might have been appealing the first film, but to continue the same ideas over the 3 films released blurs all the posters together, and makes none of them memorable.

Speed Racer (2008) Teaser

A forgettable movie with an ad campaign that turned bright colors on overload and was an assault on the senses.  Less is more.

Nothing Nice To Say

Mitch Clem

Mitch Clem is an artist/illustrator who has lent his talents to many pop-punk/punk heavyweights. He also has draw illustrations for magazine Razorcake. He has drawn and maintained a series of webcomics for many years.

The boards, they bounce up and down in an abandoned house.

I've spent a lot of time in crowded basements the last few years.

I’ve played in quite a few projects over the 6 years I’ve been playing. I started in garage rock, moved to indie rock, dabbled in sludge metal, and now I’ve found my happy home in pop-punk with my band duncecapkids (sic). We’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to play the last of the few all-ages venues in Minneapolis, and the numerous basement-venues that have been formed due to necessity.  We’ve recorded, played shows, traveled the city. They are times I wouldn’t trade for the world. This photo is a small peak into my world: fun, community, and the spirit to endure. These are values I strive for. (I'm the one pointing)

I've taken a sabbatical from music in order to put college into overdrive. Music and art have always been hand in hand for me, though. Being one of the visually artistic ones in my music scene meant I have had opportunity to work with many different people from all over. Working with all these different parties has given me insight to the world of branding, image development, and working injunction with a group to create their visual identity.

They’re not very different, music and art. They’re both a procedural process, with the same outcome. They’re a snapshot into the time, feelings, events, and experiences of a person. How they manifest themselves though is the key factor.