Drawing Fundamentals:
3D Fundamentals:
2D Fundamentals:
Design Rationale:
I chose the topic ‘culture and religion’ and linked it to my timeless fascination with the concept of people coming together to survive amidst an apocalypse. Its relations to the topic are pop culture and reanimation of the dead in the form of zombies, which is associated with voodoo in Haitian religion.
The causes of zombie apocalypses in franchises usually appear in the form of lethal viruses. However, there are examples like ‘Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare’, where the outbreak resulted from a stolen Aztec mask in Mexico. This proves that there could be both scientific and religious factors when it comes to such scenarios.
I’d decided to base my whole idea of a movie poster on a zombie apocalypse with a historical twist. I have always found history interesting, especially because society used to be so different such that it’s fascinating to see how far we’ve evolved over the decades.
‘The Enemy’ was the first novel series I found riveting enough to invest my time in, and was essentially what shaped my obsession with finding family in the wake of chaos. This notion struck a chord in me and before I knew, I had acquired a unique enthusiasm when it came to apocalyptic scenarios. ‘The walking dead’ only served to strengthen my zeal especially due to their outstanding portrayal of dynamics and relationships amongst the diverse ensemble of characters.
Both of these examples deal with several sizeable groups of colonies separated by location, that come together to defeat the final antagonist. They also distinctly lack plot armour in a thrilling way that keeps fans on the edge of their seat when it comes to killing off their characters. These heart wrenching moments witnessing the story of characters end prove important in the development of the story and serve as a dose of reality amidst their fictional worlds.
The target audience for ‘The Enemy’ was mostly for children around age 12 and up since the characters are aged 16 and below due to its niche content. However, ‘The Walking Dead’s target audience are people aged 18-49 which is a wider range, providing general content that are relatable to more. The demographics that I’m aiming for is closer to ‘The Walking Dead’, meaning I should explore showcasing diversity or dynamics of relationships in the poster.
The timing and location of the story derived from ‘Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate’ which was set in London in 1868 during the Industrial Revolution. Due to the story’s historical setting, research had to be done to ensure the accuracy of its depiction.
The aim of the poster is to promote a movie, so it was necessary for me to include information other movie posters provide. Some of which are, the title, the date or year the movie gets released, what kind of theatre it’s available at, notable cast or crew, rating and the distribution or production company.
The title of the movie was acquired from the poem, ‘If death is kind’ by Sara Teasdale. Since I was more partial to the focus being the interrelations amongst characters and the time period, I chose a font that reminisces those seen in posters during the Victorian period for the movie title instead of a scary, chilling one.
I’ve decided to use muted and cooler colours to depict the setting and mood of the concept. Taking inspiration from posters of similar shows and movies, I realised that these colours evoke a sense of loneliness and provides an eerie feel.
I also realised that many examples of posters with a cooler scene usually use brighter and warmer colours for their titles. This way, the setting recedes into the back while the title is able to take centre stage, making it the first thing audiences notice. It creates this push and pull effect that complements one another.
Using red to paint the title might also be interpreted as a warning sign since the colour is usually associated with danger. Upon finishing the poster, I realised that the amount of blue that covers it camouflages the subject of the poster quite a bit, so I decided to make it look a little more significant by using warmer colours to highlight the figure a little more by following directions of the lighting.
For the production of my poster, I decided that hand drawing the entire setting was important to add onto the raw mood and would make it easier for me to make any changes I deemed fit. First, I washed the whole poster with
light blue watercolour as the base. I proceeded with using acrylic paint to fill in the title, date and the hand holding the gun. I used acrylic for the hand since it’s supposed to be in the foreground of the setting, and closer to the audience compared to everything else.
Following that, I painted the subject using watercolour before finishing the setting, and using a pen to define the subjects. I really like shots from old westerns during showdowns when the camera pans towards the hands of the outlaws, just waiting for the right moment to draw their guns. This inspired me to use this composition for the poster.
The difference in scale of the arm holding a gun and the man on the ground combined with how the subtext implies that the one holding the gun is towering over and in control of the other man’s life really emphasises the display of power between them. This shot informs the audience that in this vicious post-apocalyptic world without rules, people are forced to take one another’s lives and bear the responsibility for it.
The context to this shot is that the man on the ground got bitten and is in the midst of turning. In the walking dead, the moment anyone gets bitten or perishes, a bullet is put through their head to spare them the tragedy of turning, and I have decided to use the same theory as this. The setting implies that these two people know one another
and that the person holding the gun must shoot the one turning.
The man that’s turning is seemingly shifting to warm colours which might insinuate that they are growing distant both in terms of difference of biology and the bond they share.
