tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post580448634055110465..comments2024-03-19T02:12:41.691-04:00Comments on Today's Inspiration: Storybook Styles and the Enlightened Art Directorleifpenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-45173025499263186462008-07-12T14:40:00.000-04:002008-07-12T14:40:00.000-04:00Thanks leif, for that exhaustive answer. I'm getti...Thanks leif, for that exhaustive answer. I'm getting the whole picture now.<BR/>So my hope is, that all the Spielbergs in this world are capable to understand what you're talking about and that the general public will one day get tired with monotonous photoshop...<BR/>Kind of a Renaissance looming?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-70685782632585327302008-07-12T11:07:00.000-04:002008-07-12T11:07:00.000-04:00Rich;I can recall an illustrator (who's name I'm s...Rich;<BR/><BR/>I can recall an illustrator (who's name I'm sorry to have forgotten) coming to my art school 25 years ago (!) to tell us about his meeting with Drew Struzan, the illustrator of countless Speilberg, Disney and other movie posters.<BR/><BR/>The fellow explained how Struzan had developed a process by which he could sand away part of a painting ( you know how they are usually a collage of scenes and big heads? ) to accommodate the endless changes the studios would request before the art finally went to print. He worked on huge sheets of, I guess, masonatie board, then gessoed them, then drew and finally painted in thin washes of watercolour? Doc Martin's? whatever...<BR/><BR/>The point being, the assembly of many scenes and head shots and the countless changes made life difficult and time consuming for Struzan, or any other movie poster illustrator... but all of this could be accomplished with relative ease in Photoshop!<BR/><BR/>In the space of a few short years, almost no illustration was being used for movie posters. Plus, with a photo collage, there's no worry about the *stars* complaining about their likeness on the poster... always a contentious issue illustrators had to deal with.<BR/><BR/>I'm sorry to see things have gone this way. I understand those posters were extrememly lucrative for illustrators and frankly, Struzan's work had a wonderful energy and flare that photography can't hope to match. He used a lot of subtle linear art in his paintings... chalk pastel? pencil crayon? maybe both... but they were a joy to scrutinize... masterful work, beautifully composed.<BR/><BR/>And going back further, the caricatured comedy movie posters of the 60's, like Jack Davis' "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" blow modern comedy movie posters out of the water. <BR/><BR/>We have lost a fantatsic pop art niche market with the demise of the illustrated movie poster - and the general public, which has not nearly enough exposure to artwork of any kind, is poorer for no longer being able to enjoy these wonderful high-profile illustrations.leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-8493219094304490772008-07-12T10:47:00.000-04:002008-07-12T10:47:00.000-04:00Thanks for letting me know - and thanks for linkin...Thanks for letting me know - and thanks for linking back here to the blog, p-e :-)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-26086919340941621822008-07-10T19:13:00.000-04:002008-07-10T19:13:00.000-04:00Thanks, Leif! I loved the elephant and I hope you ...Thanks, Leif! I loved the elephant and I hope you don't mind me stealing it.Martin Klaschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12674967689346214956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-73101593521464332342008-07-10T14:06:00.000-04:002008-07-10T14:06:00.000-04:00Yeah, leif, an enlightened art director in combina...Yeah, leif, an enlightened art director in combination with a daring client...that looks quite promising.<BR/>Just as an example of everyday experience: Passing by the local cinema, there's the usual look at those poster ADs. Don't know the exact percentage, but photographic and digital stuff must be accounting for at least 98% nowadays. <BR/> Haven't seen the new edition of the Indiana Jones movie, but the poster at the cinema was one hand-made, with paint and brushes. As they used to be. It just struck me as a rare exception. So there may be a particular story behind client and art director in this case. I venture to say, Mr. Spielberg would like your blog too...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-18947322383692470012008-07-10T13:32:00.000-04:002008-07-10T13:32:00.000-04:00Heya - I couldn't find an email address. I'm sure...Heya - I couldn't find an email address. I'm sure you know about this but just in case not, here is a link:<BR/>http://www.cmom.org/exhibits/exupcoming.html<BR/><BR/>The Children's Museum of Manhattan has an exhibit called the Golden Legacy: Original Art from 65 Years of Golden Books. The exhibit runs from July 4 to August 28.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13999926264825691643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-5034796167255228132008-07-10T09:10:00.000-04:002008-07-10T09:10:00.000-04:00That's an excellent question, Rick - one I'd love ...That's an excellent question, Rick - one I'd love to hear answered by some of the art directors (and designers) who frequent this blog! From my perspective as an illustrator, I would say that many ADs are enthusiastic even today at the prospect of using illustration of any type - but one thing that hasn't changed in all these decades is the client's reistance to anything that doesn't present their product in crystal-clear realism.<BR/><BR/>It takes not only an enlightened art director but a daring client to do what seems obvious to stand out from the crowd: something that looks *different* from the competition! Illustration, in all it mutitudinal variations of style, is the natural solution, imo.leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-38698624800846869292008-07-10T04:39:00.000-04:002008-07-10T04:39:00.000-04:00I find this quite enlightening reading. Also that ...I find this quite enlightening reading. <BR/>Also that "unscientific survey" is interesting to compare. Things in that field are very dynamic to the day. I wonder how such a survey would look nowadays in 2008.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com