Here is something that started as a personal project, kind of. A couple of weeks ago I was sitting at the computer reading some tweets and doing some surfing when my favorite metal act, The Sword posted a tweet in search of an artist. That was essentially as specific as it was so, needless to say I had a message with portfolio link back to them in seconds.
When approaching a new client, or more specifically another group of artists, I always find it awkward simply sending my portfolio as I know the work I do for them will be much more specific. That was the case with The Sword as nothing in my portfolio fit the theme of sci-fi metal, at least not as much as I’d like. So I decided to go that extra step and create a “test” poster to show something in the theme of the band. Heck, I’ve been listening to these guys for 6 years or something, this is a long time coming.
Well, the test poster took on a life of it’s own and I pushed the design through to the finish. Heavily influenced by the likes of Roger Dean and Moebius, I wanted this one to have a very painterly and textured feel and something that call backs to sci-fi novel covers from the 70s with a bit of Heavy Metal magazine in there. A couple of ’80s cartoon references were thrown into the mix as well, Lion-O’s sword from Thundercats was the basis of the style and I wanted the landscape to look like Eternia from Masters of the Universe. All of this influence makes sense if you’ve listened to The Sword’s newest album, Warp Riders.
The concept came together rather quickly, and I moved from the sketchbook to Illustrator to Photoshop within a day. I started just last Thursday. After that it was a matter of adding all the textures, shading and atmosphere you see in the final. The poster has already been sent and seen by the guys and got some very positive feedback. Kind of a dream job. Rock n’ roll!
The overall concept behind this poster: What being was wielding that sword?!
I’ll hopefully be sending this poster to proof this week sometime before getting a full run printed off, with the permission of the boys since it sports their logo of course.
Leave a Reply