FINAL FANTASY (1987/1990)

If you know me at all, you know that I love video games (I mean I do have some other stuff in my portfolio dedicated to the medium so, there’s that, and that, you get the point). Sorry, I just do.  I honestly believe they deserve so much more appreciation than they receive, both developmentally, and artistically.  They are literally works of art, especially now.  They’ve also taken the classic clichéd and derivative trope of good versus evil, and invested some actual writing that goes beyond the abstract narrative. This is why whenever I am given the task of illustrating anything related to the genre, I JUMP at the chance. Thankfully the opportunity presented itself in the form of Gallery 1988’s ‘oNE Sheet’, a show they’ve done the last few years dedicated to the games on a broad selection of classic platforms (NES, Super NES, Genesis, & Turbo Grafx) . The only problem?  There are literally too many franchises and personal loves to pull inspiration from.  If I was given free rein to ONLY do video game covers, that would be a dream job, or at least it seems like it could be. I’ve always wanted to work in the video game industry, but sadly I lack the aptitude for programming.

 

I came up with a list which included close to forty titles.  I narrowed that down to fifteen finalists, and eventually a foursome leaving only: ‘Castlevania’ (which I already had a sketch for), ‘Final Fantasy’ (our winner), ‘Kid Icarus’, or ‘Secret of Mana’. I’m not sure what swayed me to towards the 1990 (’87 in Japan), classic ‘Final Fantasy’, but I went with my gut and pursued it which thankfully panned out beautifully.  This is a rare example of a layout/design I had ‘conceptualized’, come to fruition.

 

I started the design by first drawing inspiration from the original game box, and promotional poster.  I recall it vividly, as it’s a game, and franchise very close to my own heart.  I wanted to capture the essence of the old poster but give it a modern twist. I also wanted to keep the design very symbolic without character imagery, primarily because this first installment had no clear lead character.  The game was originally designed with only character classes to choose from with preordained avatars assigned to each one.  They could be named, but that was the extent of their customization, and your options were limited to: ‘Fighter’, ‘Thief’, ‘Black Belt’, ‘Red Mage’, ‘White Mage’, or ‘Black Mage’. You were also limited to only four party members, all available from the beginning. In relation to my design, each of the four warriors in the game, was charged with a dormant crystal corresponding to each of the four basic elements in nature (Earth, Fire, Water, Air).  The goal in the game was to find and defeat the ‘four fiends’ (‘the Lich’, ‘Kary’, ‘the Kraken’, and ‘Tiamat’), in order to bring light back to the crystals, and ultimately defeat Chaos. With that explained (hopefully clearly), since each playable character is variable depending on the gamer, the only constant I had to work with were the fiends themselves.  While I could have simply depicted each fiend, which in retrospect (like literally as I write this), sounds like a really awesome idea (variant?), I do like my works to contain more mystique.  Instead, I opted to use the locations from the game where each of the four fiends reside.  The flying fortress of ‘Tiamat’ is already well represented in the original poster/cover design, so I knew that wouldn’t work as the central figure, which sucks because I drew an amazing floating castle (IMO), rather quickly, and that airship is BEGGING to be seen at a larger scale. I ended up settling for ‘Kary’s’ volcano lair, as it had the most scenery to work with. 

 

I then created my ‘crystals’ in Adobe Illustrator, and eventually settled on a layout that would work with the title I was planning on adding later and the logo’s I’d need to place at the bottom.  I then began sketching in Proceate the different fiend environments based on memory and the research I did on the game.  I quickly settled on both ‘Tiamat’s’ locale, and ‘Kary’s’.  The Earth, and Water fiends, were a bit more allusive.  As I was drawing their settings I began to simply imagine what the area could look like. This was my opportunity to give these areas a redesign I realized so I took a different approach to them.  In the game, the ‘Lich’s’ Earth Cavern is within a swamp area at the base of the mountains. I went through a few variations for the ‘Lich’s’ domain, before finally settling on the current version, and notably, it’s the only fiend lair in the game accessible by foot.  The ‘Kraken’s’ Sunken Shrine was a different story though.  In the game, the temple is accessible from the third floor, and only by the barrel after some other related quests (naturally it’s an RPG).  I think with any of these, this is probably where I strayed the most from the original.  Initially I was going to do a Sunken Shrine using a Greek style structure to keep within the rather (arguably), western design of this game.  I ditched that after some thought, and figured I’d much rather design something that looked like it should be there.  I began looking at underwater images for both lighting reference, and rock/coral formations.  Eventually I settled on the final design we have here, which I think feels more appropriate.

My next task was to ink everything in, which took some time. Upon finishing, I began the color process, which for once, I had a clear plan for.  I knew I wanted to represent each crystal with a specified palette that stayed closely within a set of values (like the reds and oranges for the central volcano image).  I also planned on using their complimentary hues in order to get the images to contrast.  I had planned for this earlier, by also making sure that those scenarios, and their complimentary colored ones were distanced a bit in order to keep the eye continuously moving. There’s always a point, or aspect on an illustration will give me challenges in any given piece ranging from:  layout, design, a pose, lighting, value, contrast, even a combination of all of them, but the typical culprit is color.  Especially if I am using multiples and not just a set of values (monochromatic).  I have improved in this area greatly but I still struggle sometimes, so I was very thankful that this piece came together so vividly.

 

With the interiors filled, I still needed to address the title treatment, and logos at the base.  I went back to my desktop, and began designing my icons, and font in Illustrator.  I decided earlier when I began the color process to eliminate as much yellow as possible from my choices, as I had simply envisioned the title in this value.  I also didn’t want the title to compete with the rest of image, and it proved to be a good choice.  I also decided to add some subtle design elements to the crystals as they weren’t reading as glass or reflective to me. 

 

Having completed the image, it was still lacking something.  I took the image back into Procreate one last time and did some experimenting with the different textured brushes available on the application.  Eventually with enough tweaking, I managed to come up with what we have now.  I think it adds a bit of implied ‘magic’, that the overall illustration lacked. 

 

Satisfied with the work, I sent it over to SGX in order to get a proof of the image before I ordered my finals.  Thankfully, the image didn’t even need the proofing which was also just an amazing feeling.  Unfortunately, this show had some image size guidelines, or really preferences, by the gallery.  Thankfully I was able to locate an alternative printer (Costco), that could print the images ‘affordably’ at the size requested (16” x 20”). The gallery was willing to accommodate a smaller size, but I had already planned for a larger format, so it just worked out that way.  I also wasn’t planning on using any type of special material for these, as the gallery had also requested a larger number for this (very popular) show. 

 

The (“16 x 20”) piece is printed on high quality photo paper and was originally featured at Gallery 1988’s “oNE Sheet”, which ran from May 21^st, 2022, until June 4^th, 2022.  Please check the gallery’s website for all available works related to show, including mine.

For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here. You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting, crafting and painting.

 

Website: www.michaelstiles.com

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COLOMBIA HAUS

This piece went through a lot of metamorphoses.  I was tasked with creating a piece that represented the 1990’s, for Gallery 1988’s show ‘The 90’s’.  These broadly themed shows are always SO much fun, but the problem is…there are just too many options.  When you combine that with the fact I admittedly came of age during this decade, it would have to be something special.  When I began this project, it was originally going to just be an illustration based on a popular movie from the 90’s. 

 

A typical advert of the music giant found in many popular publications during the 1990's

In an effort to explain properly point A to B, or in this case, A to like G, we need to admit that there was/were steps B though F, right? I’ll try to do this quickly because these are all just unrealized projects that also were a HUGE drain of time, BUT now, are in the ol’ toolbelt/arsenal for later, yagetme? (negative<positive ;) So A was a collage piece, with a cutesy lil’ old school computer and nostalgic stuff floating in the background. It was more like a wallpaper, and if you’ve seen the (gallery) show, it was ‘done’. B, was an illustration for the 1994 gothic fantasy ‘The Crow’, and not a bad one at that. C, was an illustration that I just could not nail down for 1994’s ‘Reality Bites’, a tale close to my own heart starring 90’s waif Winona Ryder as the clueless college graduate and Gen X Icon ‘Lelaina Pierce’. I love this movie, and one day I will get something made in its likeness, what that is, remains to be seen.  D, was another illustration, this time for the 1995 NC-17 bomb-shell…‘Showgirls’. Words cannot describe this movie. It’s so awful, yet there is just something completely magically about how campy it is. It’s 90’s opulence at its finest, and even attempts to dispense some wisdom itself. E, was a departure back into the realm of enamel pins. A place I haven’t returned to in some time. I thought about maybe instead of celebrating a film, to try to find something that was immediately recognizable as belonging to this generation. Ambitious? Yes, but also do-able. Here I designed my first of three pins.  This one was a cassette tape that my own focus group was split down the middle over.  I may still have this made, not sure, we’ll see. It was an easy design and I had so much fun making it. F, was another enamel pin design, which celebrated the ‘Blockbuster Video’ franchise, and the waning days of the VHS. G, was the design I settled on primarily because I felt it did something that my focus group might have unintentionally brought to my attention. During this time period so much changed in technology as it shifted from analog to the dawning of the digital age.  That shift caused a rapid movement through media conduits which makes it hard to pin down a physical representation like a record, cassette, CD, or what not. Eventually my sketching and internet searches led me to either recall, or perhaps come across an image for the music club Columbia House. The two words caused a fire to burn within me.

 

A typical insert for the franchises' 'club' recruitment

For those who never fell into the rather complicated web of ‘Columbia House’, allow me to explain (from memory) how it worked. They were a company that had leaflets or ads inside of popular magazines pandering to teens and young adults during this decade before the digital age completely decimated print media. You could almost always find a ‘Columbia House’ ad in any Rolling Stone, Spin, or other popular teen periodical. Columbia House’s approach was a slick devil’s bargain in disguise.  Here’s how the soul selling deal went: For the price of a penny ($.01), they would send you several CD’s (Compact Discs), or Cassettes, of your choosing. The problem was as part of ‘membership’ fulfillment, you were obligated to purchase at least three CD’s/Cassettes at the full retail price. Sounds easy enough, until you realize that Compact Discs while only taking a few cents to make, were selling standardly at around $20-25 each. They were ridiculous expensive at the time before music had gone digital, which is why ‘mixed tapes’, or CD’s were so popular. The other issue was Columbia House would send you a mailer with a bunch of information, one piece being a notice that you were required to send back or you’d receive, and be billed for, their ‘Selection of the Month’.  You could send the package back, but it was a hassle, and contacting the organization took an act of Congress (I should note here, that I did indeed speak with someone residing in Barbados, which outsourcing at the time was unusual, and not as much of a mainstream practice as it is today). Even if you completed your obligations, it was extremely difficult to leave their cult-like retailing. Keeping this in mind I took inspiration from the now mostly defunct company’s logo (I hear they still exist, but not in the same capacity. If you are interested about their untimely demise, their rise and fall is quite a fascinating read). The design process was simple and straightforward once I decided upon using the logo as my base for the piece.  I located a good reference, vectored my image in Adobe Illustrator, and selected my Pantone colors for the manufacturer (Alchemy Merch would I have used for another gallery project). Considering I may be skirting copyright infringement territory with the design, I wanted to make sure to alter it.  I went with the traditional 90’s defacement of things complete with red anarchist symbol that was so popular during those times. I deliberately ‘scratched off’ the ‘E’, leaving only the ‘H’, ‘U’, and ‘S’ visible. Along with the large ‘A’, it now read ‘HAUS’, and therefore gave the intended cynicism directed towards any language with lingering communist ties at the time. I added the extra words ‘sucks’, as it felt like the right thing to do for this piece, and the given era. During this timeframe it wasn’t uncommon to see logo’s, decals, pictures, communal books (text/library), all defaced with this type of ‘graffiti’ or vandalism. While it wasn’t harmless, it was also done on a much smaller, and lowkey scale, with an intent at levity. Satisfied with the design (and focus group passed), I sent the design off to the manufacturer, and began working on a backer that would properly showcase the pins. Unfortunately, the only design I could come up with was one based on the mailers from the magazines.  Taking that as my template, I made a few adjustments in Adobe Illustrator with the verbiage and had them printed with MOO on 3.5” x 2.25” backers.

 

The soft enamel pin, (made from black nickel) itself is approximately 3/4" (H) x 1.35" (W), each one is bagged and mounted on a backer. The pin was designed entirely in Adobe Illustrator, with the pantone color selection process done in Adobe Photoshop. The backers were designed in Adobe Illustrator as well and printed by MOO. Alchemy Merch fabricated the mold, and their overseas affiliate fulfilled the final production requirements.  

 

This piece was made specifically for Gallery1988’s ‘The 90’s’ which ran from April 30^th - May 8^th, 2022, but it’s inspiration should be obvious to anyone who came of age during that era.  Hopefully it doesn’t provoke too many memories of unsolicited deliveries, and collections notices. Please check the gallery’s website for all available works related to show, including mine. 

 

For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here. You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting, crafting, and painting.

 

Website: www.michaelstiles.com

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SLEEPWALKERS

This image was inspired by Gallery1988’s ‘30 Years Later:  Movies from 1992’. Now based on the title of this blog entry I think the ‘cat’ is out of the bag on which film I chose during this year. With that in mind, I did toy with the idea of doing a piece on some other favorites of mine from this era, like: Basic Instinct, Poison Ivy, Death Becomes Her, Raising Cain, or perhaps even Candyman. I love all those films, so they made my short list but when it came down to envisioning what I was going to be creating, Stephen King’s ‘Sleepwalkers’, spoke to me the loudest.

originally the centerpiece also featured the barn-like adjacent garage.

I set about locating the film (which I had to purchase, it came with Children of the Corn btw a steal IMO), and procuring reference for what I already had in mind. Thankfully this one came together instantly, and I was able to produce exactly what I had intended, which can be a real challenge. The piece is basically a narrative of the film which isn’t very complicated for a King story (the first of which was not based on an existing novel).

 

This was my original concept for the background behind the 'mist'.

Whenever I do works that are based on existing work, I try to find at least a few elements from the original, to connect it to the piece I’m working on.  In this case I knew that my imagery selection would differ enough from the original poster and cover design, that it would be easier to relate the works by sharing a color palette. Procreate has this awesome feature which allows you to take a photo or image and create a color palette from it.  Utilizing this feature, I began to select my main colors as I wanted this piece to stay rather monochromatic, or within the same color family.  I chose colors that I thought would contrast the most and set about working.  Initially I had a background that was more of a gradient, with a very hot pink at the top, and an indigo at the bottom.  Eventually I went for a solid look, and I even had some imagery I was planning on placing in the background subtly, but ultimately, it all competed too much with the main illustration.

For the layout of this piece I knew I wanted to have our female lead, ‘Tanya Robertson’ (played delicately by ‘Twin Peaks’ alumni Mädchen Amick), at the base of this dreamy nightmare.  Without giving away too much about the story, the ‘Sleepwalkers’ feed on the life essences of their target and draw it out of them through their mouths in the form of a purple-like light that looks like a mix between a beam and vapor.  I took some liberties with its portrayal here as it comes pouring from ‘Tanya’s’ beguiled lips.  I used this as a framing device, something I love to do with my work. It can be challenging, but my greatest feat in any work like this is the transformative nature, and fluidity of a story’s narrative. As I continued to form the image I had some space to work with, and determined that the house of dotting ‘Charles Brady’ (the dashing Brian Krause pre-Charmed), and his mother ‘Mary Brady’ (as played by the multi-talented Alice Krige). I originally drew the garage as well but I chose to edit it out so that I could increase the house’s size for legibility.  I also knew I needed to include the ‘Brady’s’ somewhere for context, as they do appear in the film quite frequently. Once I completed rendering the ‘Brady’s’, I set about including ‘Charles’’ sweet ride(s), and of course ‘Clovis’ to cap the piece.  There are also a few other elements, but I would recommend you watch the film, as explaining the nature would ruin some of the fun, but... 

WARNING: it features a lot of cats, and some violence against them, so if that’s not your thing, skip it.

With the illustration done, I needed to get it printed, and unfortunately, I did not have time to properly proof them.  I sent them off to my correspondent at SGX, and picked them up shortly after, as my deadline was quickly approaching. I’m still not entirely sure if the image is too dark or not, but I had to move on and overall I was pleased with it.

 

The 12” x 18” image was limited to a run of 11, on white pearl linen paper and featured as part of Gallery 1988’s ’30 Years Later: Movies from1992’. The show originally ran from March 19^th, 2022- April 2^nd, 2022. Please check the gallery’s website for all available works related to show, including mine.

 

For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here. You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting, crafting or painting.

 

Website: www.michaelstiles.com

Etsy: Stiles of Art

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LinkedIN: Michael Stiles

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SKETCH CARDS 4 (5x5)

Anyone who knows me, knows that I rarely if ever work traditionally anymore, but occasionally I make exceptions. In this case, that exception was Hero Complex Gallery’s ‘Sketch Cards 4’. The theme from the gallery was simple enough, and asked that we focus on pop culture related content.

 

          'Spider-Man', 5"x 5" Sketch Card

The gallery provided me the cards along with all the packing materials to return them, of course that was after I requested them (my bad). This would naturally put me behind schedule, as the cards arrived a few days later, and I was juggling multiple projects plus an upcoming convention.  With no shortage of work I had plenty to do while waiting for the cards to arrive. I received several of the standard 2.5” x 3.5” cards, and some of the larger 5” x 5”. I was immediately intimidated by the smaller cards so I put those away as I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to ever use them. I do like to work small, but I think the possibility of making a mistake weighed on me…not sure. I gathered the larger cards and began sketching some ideas on my iPad. For each image I provided a scene along with the character I chose.  I also selected the content with extreme personal prejudice, as these are still some of my favorite television characters. I felt that I was only doing fan service with the Spider-Man piece, the rest were all passion-projects for me.

 

'Milhouse Wigs-Out', 5" x 5" Sketch Card

Thankfully the sketches I did earlier helped me figure out most of the structure ahead of time, and I was able to quickly produce the images using tonal markers in lieu of color. I would have liked to use color but due to time constraints, it just wasn’t feasible. The cards were due on the 31^st of December, and I somehow managed to get them out to the gallery on Christmas Eve (in a very empty Post Office), which was cutting it close. A theme of this month and several projects.

 

'Ralph Wiggum's Big Day', 5" x 5" Sketch Card

This was my first time working on sketch cards, and I enjoyed it overall.  Even if I didn’t follow directions. Apparently, if I would have read the email detailing the show, I would have known that the standard cards were for the show, not the 5” x 5” cards. Those were for  ‘5” x 5” Fridays’, a feature the gallery was looking to highlight. I was deeply embarrassed, and the gallery was very gracious about it. Thankfully I would have another opportunity, as the cards came with an insert detailing the next show which in August of 2022.

 

'Zim fails to remember Phase 2', 5" x 5" Sketch Card

I started these sketch cards sometime in the middle of December 2021, and completed them on December 24^th, 2021, spending varying amounts of time on each illustration. Overall, I’d say each card took me anywhere between two, to three hours, with perhaps one or more taking me a bit longer (like that damned leprechaun on Ralph’s shoulder). The cards were due on December 31^st, 2021, with the show opening on February 26^th, 2021. All the sketch cards measure in at 5” x 5”, and are all one of a kind, exclusively available at Hero Complex Gallery. Please check the gallery’s website for availability, and any other remaining works related to the show including mine.

 

'Taco Tuesday's with G.I.R.', 5" x 5" Sketch Card

For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here. You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting, crafting or painting. 

UPDATE: Much to my surprise, most of the cards sold rather quickly, so you’ll simply have to bask in their glory here virtually.

Website: www.michaelstiles.com

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