CTHULHU CALLING: the poster process

I have a few blog posts coming down the pipeline about our upcoming show Cthulhu Calling : A night of Art inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.  (psst... TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE HERE!) So first things first... the event poster I just recently posted, I'd like to share a few of the steps involved in creating this piece. Now let it be known, I'm a huge fan of the amazing Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha, so in his honor I wanted to do a poster that would maybe resemble something that would have been around when he was making art. (note: I did not say "a piece that would look like something HE would make... cause let's be honest, there is only one Mucha!)

It all starts with a few rough thumbnail sketches in the ol sketchbook. Here you can see the one I thought was the most interesting.





Once I find a rough design I like I jump to a little larger sized paper and go to town by sketching out the design and making sure the composition will still work on a larger scale. notice the face and feet.. they are terrible, I know, I'll fix that stuff next!









OKAY! we got us a good design going, lots of things to fix here so this is where I normally do one of two things.... either scan the sketch in and enlarge it to the final drawing size, print out and basically re-draw it agin, with much cleaner lines. OR take it into photoshop and digitally start drawing the final layout.  With this particular case I had just acquired a super duper sweet Wacom Cintiq so naturally, I wanted to test this bad boy out!  So to photoshop we go!











Below are the final inks for the poster. Not bad for the very first thing to come out of using a cintq.

As you can see here, I fixed my anatomy issues and drew a new face. Another great plus doing this digitally, I drew about 10 faces before settling on one that I liked, believe it or not, it's pretty tricky to get a subject as this to teeter on the verge of beautiful and creepy at the same time.

So, now that the hard part is finished we get to the fun stuff!! COLORS! Keeping with the art nouveau theme I chose to go with colors that were a standard i printing back at the turn of the century, with a few rule benders in there for the tentacles of course. :)

That about wraps this post up! Again, be sure to grab your tickets for the show here! It's August 18th at Logue's Black Raven Emporium in East Nashville. We have about a dozen artists all representing different aspects of Lovecraft. We will have original art as well as limited runs of prints, woodblock prints, sculptures, original independent films and many other fun things as well!  Not to mention we will be giving away art and have fun Lovcraftian trivia! So bring your Lovcraftian knowledge A-game as well as your wallets! Most of the art will be for sell ranging from "super cheap" to "totally worth it!" Cash bar and food too! See you there! :)

ALSO!! If you pre-order your tickets before the night of the show, you will be automatically entered for a chance to win a very special treat from me! (It has paint involved, FYI)

BUY TICKETS HERE!

FOLLOW THE OTHER ARTIST'S PROGRESS ON OUR FB PAGE!


********* UP NEXT********

HE IS CALLING. - Join me as we step into the world of madness as we journey through the steps of my latest piece for the show!