Full Poster
After several years of part-time freelancing and working odd jobs, I wanted a change of pace, and I looked to find a full-time design job. In order to bolster my portfolio (and my self-confidence), I decided to promote myself with an original design piece.
I designed and illustrated a poster about the process of being a graphic designer, utilizing the aesthetic of classic pulp covers. I wanted to engage designers and non-designers alike by utilizing humor and satire, all while also demonstrating my design expertise.
Completing the intial paintings was an experiment, meant to develop a flexible working process which emphasized refinement through iteration and aggressive quality control. While I was proficient enough to finish up to two paintings a day, the necessary cycles of research and iteration meant that the entire project took over 9 months to complete.
If you want one of the prints, let me know, I'd love to send you one! Send me an email at kevin@formthehead.com
Detail: Creativity (Quality needs Quantity)
Detail: Feedback (He was exactly what the client wanted!) and Technical Support
Detail: Criticism (It's hard not to take it personally)
Detail: Adobe Photoshop (Was he a man, or was he a wizard?)
Detail: Spec Work (He thought it would help his portfolio...)
Detail: The Client
Detail: Competition (Everyone brings their best)
Detail: Make Money, Make Friends, Make the World a Better Place
The poster consists of about 30 paintings, all produced through the same process. First, I would brainstorm a concept from the available source material, which I then composed into a reference image in Photoshop. Using that reference, I would paint a watercolor painting, with the goal of producing a cohesive image and a consistent space. Some paintings required several attempts and other paintings were abandoned completely, but the process was designed to allow for the necessary amount of iteration and experimentation.
Eventually, I scanned the paintings and arranged them into a poster, and then painted watercolor washes to connect them into a single composition. Finally, I added type and graphics with Illustrator, and then masked them in Photoshop.
Step 1: Outlining a composition in Photoshop using reference material.
Step 2: Making a watercolor painting from the reference.
Step 3: Assembling the finished paintings into a single Photoshop file, and then making watercolor washes that can connect them into a unified composition
Step 4: Add type and graphics in Illustrator, and then export it back into Photoshop for masking onto the illustrated poster.
These two photos show attempts at the same painting, but done over 6 months apart. This project helped me understand the importance of exploration, and the cumulative effects of practice. To make truly worthwhile work I needed to leave room for experimentation, and failure.
The Widow, revision 1, February 2015.
The Widow, revision 4, September 2015.
Thanks for reading!
-Kevin
