Raiders In Casablanca

"Casablanca" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" are two of my favorite movies and when I was given an assignment that involved mixing two movies together to make a poster, these two immediately leaped to mind. The two films have so many similarities. Indy was heavy influnced by Humphrey Bogart's various "tough guy" roles, while the weasely Arnold Toht was based on Peter Lorre's more villainous parts. Both involved running into an old flame in a bar as well as combating Nazis.

I tried to set this up as sort of a "what if" Raiders of the Lost Ark was shot during its setting in the 1930s.

Humphrey Bogart as Dr. Henry Jones Junior

Ingrid Bergman as Marion Ravenwood

Claude Rains as Rene Belloq

Sydney Greenstreet as Sallah

Peter Lorre as Arnold Toht

Conrad Veidt as Colenel Dietrich

Pen and Brush with Ink mixed with graphite to create a unique grayscale feel.

Frankenstein's Monster

I'm fan of the Universal studios monster movies, particularly the Frankenstein franchise. I had the chance to rewatch these movies over the Christmas break and while looking for an opportunity to test out my new brushes, I decided to create my own version of the monster. While I was inspired by Karolff's portray, I made an effort to looking at his picture while drawing. Although I did reference his sheepskin jacket from "Son of Frankenstein", just because it was such unique texture. I went on apply some flat colors in Photoshop. I think it adds a considerable pop.

Secret Agent Man

Based of the Johnny Rivers song of the same name. I tried to play up the "Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow" line which this Film Noir scenario with a Bogie-style hero cornered in a dark alley by his pursuer .

Done with a brush and a bottle of ink, with a little bit of graphite for the foggy streets.

Little Daylight

This project was a labor of love that I started back in October. It is a proposed page for the children's book "Little Daylight" by George McDonald, who was a mentor to C.S. Lewis. The story involves a princess named Daylight, who cursed by a witch to sleep during the day, awaking only at night. But not only that, but her health waxes and wanes with the phases of the moon. She is healthy and energetic at the full moon, but sickly and in immense pain when the sky is black. In true fairy tale fashion, only true love's first kiss can break the spell.

The Prince, escaping from his own war-torn country into the enchanted forest where the Princess dances in the light of the full moon. The prince has heard stories of the forest being inhabited by all manner of creatures that lure men to their deaths, and believes that the princess may be some sort of sprite, and draws his sword in caution.

Done in Pen and Ink, looking at Franklin Booth and Arthur Rackham for inspiration. Russian Ballet was particular helpful for composing the Princess and her drapery dance. While it is quite an accomplishment for me in terms of detail and scale, it is rather busy, I'm planning on adding some color with Photoshop this summer.

Arthur and The Ravens

This was an illustration I did back in September for a series of trading cards based on folklore and mythology. It based off the story that when King Arthur died he was reborn as a raven, and as long as their of ravens in the Tower of London, Britain can never be defeated, which is why it is considered bad luck to any who harms a raven.

The image itself with done in pen and ink, with a bit of grayscale markers to help with value. This is also the first time I've experimented with Photoshop colors. As for the composition I looked at a lot of works by Howard Pyle ,who illustrated much of King Arthur's epics as well as Arthur Rackham, who has a whimsical style that lends itself well to fairy tales.