(Syrup's) Magic Shop

This piece took some time, not in execution, but in planning. Particularly in choosing a relevant subject for Gallery 1988’s ‘Product Placement’ show. Typically, when I get a prompt from the gallery, I will immediately begin to narrow down what I am going to do for the event. This one was a bit more difficult as the theme was centered on creating a poster print for a fictional product from a series or film. My usual methods are that if nothing immediately strikes me, my next option is to check in on what’s trending. When that fails, I then do some soul searching. This involves me taking in my own environment, going through old unfinished projects, or crowd sourcing ideas. All useful strategies.

Thankfully I had a few (very few) ideas on deck, and what you see was the winner. Initially, I was reluctant to pursue the subject matter of this piece  to be honest, as I had already done work inspired by the franchise ‘The Legend of Zelda’. My concept, while not entirely original, was a simple one, create a poster for the Magic Shop/Apothecary in the franchise. While my previous ‘Zelda’ inspired work drew upon the franchise ‘Breath of the Wild’, this piece harkens back to ‘A Link to the Past’ from ye olden Super Nintendo days. In that particular edition the ‘Witches Hut’ (or House), is located in a withered tree where the proprietor can usually be found stirring her cauldron. After some research, I discovered the Witch’s name is ‘Syrup’, which I ultimately included in the shop’s title. The player’s first interaction with ‘Syrup’ is in acquiring a powder (made from a mushroom), in order to continue with the main questline. This eventually opens the option of purchasing elixirs from her for healing or magic replenishing.

 

I started by sketching my concept pretty quickly in Procreate­, knowing that I wanted it simplistic, as I had plans to distress it and/or add texture afterwards in Adobe Illustrator. I also kept it very graphic so I could vector the design in AI (Adobe Illustrator NOT Artificial Intelligence, and I’m sorry I have to add this), as well. Keeping with the aforementioned details about the shop, I included the title (handwritten original font design by me), along with some Easter eggs connecting back to the game.  I wanted my design reflect ‘Syrup’s’ environment in the game, which was very swamp-like from what I recall. With this in mind, I utilized reeds for the border, a set of mushrooms (or a fairy ring if you will) to offset them centrally and included some ‘Fairies’ as well. I then placed a cauldron bottom left to offset the advert’s services, followed by a spontaneous decision to add ‘RUPEES ONLY’ on the bottom (Hyrule’s customary currency).

Initial sketch of the design for the 11" x 17" poster.

 

Upon finishing the vector work in Illustrator, it was still missing something. I then took the image back into Procreate and began playing with adding texture manually over my image using different brushes, or opacities. After several hours, I concluded that the image needed a background, as the white contrast was just too much. I went with a somewhat monochromatic scheme and selected a hue that was lighter than the font. I then roughed up the edged using different brushes. At some point I became exhausted with manipulating the image, and decided to simply have it printed as I was happy with the design regardless of what it was missing at this point. This design, along with my ‘Groundhog Day’ piece, were both due on the same day, making for a hectic dash to the finish line.  I also needed to proof both images before it got any later in the process.

 

I sent (both) images off to SGX, and the outcome was very positive. After collecting the samples, I determine that this piece is still incomplete, and took it back into Illustrator to attempt adding a texture again. I went onto the internet to see if I could find some helpful tips or tutorials on making the added filter look less plastered on. Hours later, I found a (linen) texture that worked well with the design, as the previous wood, and weathered paint textures that I had tried weren’t cutting it. With that settled I contacted the printer for another proof of the altered image.

 

The concept execution took me approximately three (3) hours sketching in Procreate on my iPad, and several more in Adobe Illustrator for iPad. The: border, cauldron, and top piece (mushrooms), were done rather quickly. I’d estimate two to three (2-3) hours vectoring.  The font was done by hand based on my own handwriting. That unfortunately took a lot longer than expected. How long exactly, I’m not sure, but I’d estimate it was at least another four (4) hours manipulating and adjusting it. Finally, I took the file onto my desktop and spent another two (2) hours making sure everything was lined up properly and even. It was at this juncture I was also attempting to add texture the first time. Upon getting my first proof I would then spend another hour after the first proof adding texture, before finalizing the image. I started the image on November 15^th, 2022, and finished it November 22^nd, 2022 working primarily in Illustrator, and Procreate, with some editing done in Adobe Photoshop. Overall I would estimate I spent about fifteen to twenty (15-20) hours working on this piece, with the dearth being font based.

 

 

Final 11" x 17" image poster.

 

11” x 17” image (printed on 100lb Cover, thank you SGX), was made for Gallery1988’s ‘Product Placement’, a group show dedicated to fictional merchandise showcased in some of our favorite shows or films.  The tribute was originally scheduled to run from January 28^th, 2023, through February 11^th, 2023 with all remaining works available the following day at noon. At this time the prints are exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the 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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Groundhog Day

 

When I received the prompt from Gallery1988 for their 30^th Anniversary ‘Groundhog Day’ show I almost groaned. I had an issue, as I had already done an illustration inspired by the film, almost a decade ago that has really never seen the light of day outside this blog. My quandary was this: I could simply reuse this image, afterall it was clever, and captured the film for me precisely, OR I could create something new.

 

If you haven’t seen the movie, the concept is what obviously inspired such knock-offs as ‘Happy Death Day’ (which was fantastic, as was the sequel, I’m just saying, know your history kids). With that out of the way, I didn’t want to repeat myself (HA), I set about rewatching the film which I honestly haven’t seen in ages. I collected some reference materials from the viewing, and the internet but nothing was really speaking to me. I then attempted to highlight the actual holiday (which takes a back seat to the plot), but after several sketches, and at least a pot of coffee, I decided to take a different approach.

 

Original broken record concept for the movie based on the prompt 'Repeat'.

I went back to my original design from several years ago I mentioned above, and thought about how I could possibly salvage, or repurpose it. It did feel a little bit like cheating considering this piece was already ‘finished’. I thought about how I could use the surface of the record as a mirror to reflect the images of characters from the film. While this concept was extremely tempting, I knew it would ultimately turn a simplistic image into a jarring cacophony of characters. The plan would be to take the record, and crack it into pieces, using each shard to depict a different actor in the film. I would have place them in accordance with how important they are to our lead man ‘Phil’ (Bill Murray), and his story (which the film centers on).

 

Instead, I took a different approach that was less bold. I decided to use an older file of the illustration I had from a backup. In this version, the record had yet to have been broken apart. This gave me more surface area to work with, and I decided that I could still get my ‘broken record’ message across with a smaller area of damage.  With the extra room, instead of depicting multiple characters from the film, I went with just one, ‘Phil’.

 

Sketch of 'Phil' (Bill Murray) from 'Groundhog Day'.

Now my only obstacle was to find an image of Murray where he really sold me on the character. In the final illustration, Murray’s expression is omitted (due to design, I did draw it), but it was fantastic.  I picked a still from the film in which he had just woken up…again, disheveled and confused, it was perfect.

 

Upon selecting my image, I got working on it at a scale that would fit the record’s surface.  It took me almost seven hours to complete the initial sketch, followed by another thirteen hours digitally inking the image, and ambivalently picking a layout. I had a very challenging time determining how to best place ‘Phil’s’ reflection on the record. Eventually I settled on the fact that his face or expression didn’t matter as both the record’s title, and defects, are enough to relay my intentions.

 

The entire (re)design took me a little over twenty (20) hours, in addition to how ever much time I spent on the original record illustration. The record was made entirely in Corel Painter, with the image of Murray added in Procreate on the iPad. The piece was then taken into Adobe Photoshop before going to print.

 

Final image (10" x 10")

The 10” x 10” image (printed on 100lb Cover, thank you SGX), was (re)made for Gallery1988’s ‘Groundhog Day’, a group show dedicated to the beloved film’s 30^th Anniversary.  The show was originally scheduled to run from January 28^th, 2023 through February 11^th, 2023 with all remaining works available the following day at noon. At this time the prints are exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the 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

IG:  stiles1978

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SPAM (LIKELY)

This piece was pulled from the archives of my pun ideas, and while I swear I had a sketch for it I just could not for the life of me find it (UPDATE: the sketch was found so I posted it below for comparison, I’ll spare telling you it was literally sitting in a sketch book next to my computer the entire time I just never bothered to look in it, because I didn’t realize the book was there…behind all of that stuff…the lesson? Clean your workspace often). Anyhow, I redrew the image from memory on my iPad, which took me around five (5) hours in Procreate. 

 

 

Original concept which looks a bit Spongebob-ish

With the initial sketch and layout fully realized, I took the drawing into Adobe Illustrator to vector all the linework. Upon completing that process (untimed, but potentially five [5] hours), I took the outlined piece into Adobe Photoshop to literally stitch it back together. I then painted the image in Procreate for about seventeen (17) hours. Once I was finished with the illustration, I sent it out to SGX for proofing.

 

 

Unfortunately, due the name (SPAM), the image file was misplaced, and I was never able to get an actual proof.  I had to ask the printers to produce the final images sight unseen as my deadline* was rapidly approaching. Thankfully, the delay, and mix-up were not too problematic (other than just being simply stressful), as the image did not need any correcting.

 

The illustration is associated to a series of pun-based images I have done over the course of several years. Hopefully the ‘joke’ reads, but if not, I shall elaborate.  These days those of us who have cellular phones get a lot of calls from telemarketers trying to solicit sales.  Most phones these days have a feature that identifies the caller, allowing them to determine whether the interaction will be worth their time. The calls are typically referred to as SPAM (or spamming), and will show up with that title on the phone’s caller identification. Hence, the joke.  I also added some of other mirth making ‘Easter Eggs’ into the image as well.

 

I started the 8” x 10” image (printed on 100lb Cover), on September 11^th, 2022 and finished it on the 22^nd, spending roughly thirty (30) hours on the image. The piece was due on October 7^th, 2022*, at Gallery1988 for ‘Jerrod Maruyama’s SMORGASBORD’, a group show put on by the social media maven and artist dedicated to food. The show debuted on October 22^nd, 2022, and closed November 5^th, 2022 featuring works of myself and many other talented artists. At this time the prints are exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the show including mine.

(*sidenote I thought it was due October 1^st, so I literally rushed to get this piece done.  This is also what happens when you have too much going on all at the same time)

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

Threadless: mistiles

LinkedIN: Michael Stiles

IG:  stiles1978

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Pinterest: Michael Stiles

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Twitter: stiles_of_art

 

LEGEND (1985)

I started the concept for this piece back in January completely by mistake. I was working on some ideas for an upcoming show when I tapped into some inspirational spark and began sketching multiple layouts for different films I loved. I had several by the time I was done, and thankfully I’ve had the opportunity to utilize some of them. Long story short, this was one of those images, albeit a bit more fleshed out than the others, but that’s likely due to my obsession with this childhood favorite. 

 

Even to this day, Sir Ridley Scott’s ‘Legend’ manages to enchant new viewers under its spell, I think, because of its timeless appeal and rather overly simplistic story structure that draws inspiration from ‘the fall of Man’. It’s a classic tale of good versus evil beautifully presented, with amazingly talented performers.  The film stars Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennet, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert, Peter O’Farrell, Kiran Shah, Annabelle Lanyon, Robert Picardo, and more. Most people will recognize Curry’s portrayal of ‘Lord Darkness’, even if they have never seen the movie nor even know who Curry is (blasphemy in opinion). Not with controversy, the film has two versions, and two soundtracks. The original is the one most have seen, but the director’s cut contains almost a half an hour of extra footage which does flesh out the story with improved pacing/character development. Musically, the film has a theatrical release with a slightly modernized score done by Tangerine Dream, while Scott’s cut contains the original by John Bettis, and Jerry Goldsmith.

 

As a fan, I have long loved this film, but as an artist, I have an extreme aversion to producing work dedicated to it. Why? There is an abundance of it, and most of them are really good. I don’t really want to compete with other artists in a saturated market, BUT, this was a really great concept so…I went with it. I also had some encouragement from others to choose the film, and that helped.

My first piece dedicated to the film for Creature Features 'Tim Curry Tribute Show' (2018)

As for the piece itself, I started the sketch back in January (31^st, 2022), but didn’t return to it until August (24^th. 2022). Thankfully I had a clear idea of how this piece was going to look, so making decisions about placement and design came quickly. I really wanted to include all the major players, so first and foremost was Curry’s ‘Darkness’.  I have seen the antagonist portrayed so many ways, but I was always partial to one of the original poster designs in which ‘Darkness’ is blended rather subtly into the background. In the film ‘Darkness’, depending on which cut you watch, is not fully revealed until much later yet we are given an indication early on about his chthonic appearance. I chose to depict him thusly and then placed him centrally in the layout. On my list of must haves for this piece, I knew I wanted to depict ‘Lili’ (Sara), ‘Jack’ (Cruise), and the Faerie Folk accompanying him.  I also wanted to include ‘Darkness’’ lair, the Great Tree as the design was always so fascinating to me.  It was imperative I include a nod to the unicorns in the film (as they are major players), and as I progressed through the piece I determined having them central was best.  It would also help to contrast against some of the darker elements of the image. Primarily due to spatial constraints, I ran out of room to include all the images I wanted so a few of the more interestingly designed characters did not get represented and I had to eliminate one of the unicorns as well from the composition. Since the film takes place primarily in the forest with enormous trees, I decided to use them as a framing device to duplicate the atmosphere.

 

I determined that most of the characters would have to be silhouetted in order to provide the contrast I was visioning.  I originally planned on going back to each one and adding a bit of a highlight here or there to give them more dimension, but quickly abandoned that plan when it became apparent that the details would most likely not be legible in the final piece. I was also reluctant to place ‘Lili’ where she is in this composition, as it echoed a piece (SLEEPWALKERS) from earlier this year. It was however the best place for her and actually worked really well from a design concept as her ‘hair’ leads us into the swamp scenario and blends into the twisted roots of the trees. I chose the color palette based on the movie’s own visuals and from a previous piece I did inspired by the film (above), for Creature Features and their ‘Tim Curry Tribute Show’. I started with the background colors first, determining that the transition was the best way to contribute to telling the film’s story (without spoiling it).  It also helped with contrasting elements, although the right side suffers a bit I think due to the darker colors used, but it also forces the viewer to the left which is where the story begins anyways so...there’s that.  The unicorn, and ‘Lili’ were then painted next, followed by ‘Darkness’ on the original background layer (which I never do, and was VERY anxious about). Thankfully the image did not require additional proofing beyond the initial one, and the whole process took me roughly sixty (60) hours in Procreate on my iPad, in addition to a few hours in Adobe Photoshop editing.  In all, this piece really did not take me as long as I thought it would and I was incredibly concerned I would not make the gallery’s due date of September 17^th (2022).  While I did resume the piece on August 24^th (2022) I didn’t complete it until September 7^th (2022) as I was juggling this piece at the same time, in addition to life events. For the time spent, I can say I am very happy with how this piece turned out. I have long wanted to develop something inspired by the film, but I just couldn’t realize what that was.  The first piece I did for Creature Features was a very difficult piece for me to realize, and even after completion, it just did not seem to fulfill the void. This is a prime example of not having the skills at the time to execute a vision, and how returning to a concept, or even developing a new one later is worth exploring.

 

The 12” x 18” image (printed on 100lb Cover, thank you SGX), was made for Gallery1988’s ‘Crazy 4 Cult XVI’, a group show dedicated to many classic and modern films with a (cult-like) following.  The show was originally scheduled to run from October 1^st, 2022, through October 15^th, 2022 with all remaining works available the following day at noon. At this time the prints are exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the 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

IG:  stiles1978

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MRS. DOUBTFIRE

There are certain themes for (gallery) shows that simply allude me, or are really challenging for me to come up with concepts for.  Gallery1988’s ‘Fake Gigs’ is one of them. The concept is simple enough, create a poster for a fictitious band, product, show, movie, etc., that is from a film or television series. The issue I always have is picking something that will resonate with an audience and not just me.

I started originally brainstorming of what I could do for this show, and even had a few ideas, many of which pertained to films I have already done work on. I had over twenty concepts a few of which were pretty strong (and may be developed in the future), but ultimately I went with my favorite Robin Williams film, ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’. Truth be told the choice was made last minute, and I can’t even remember what made me think of the movie to begin with. I think (from what I recall), I was having a conversation with a friend and the film came up somehow providing me with the inspiration (and motivation), I needed.

In the 1993 film, Williams plays a talented voice actor whose marriage ends in divorce.  Separated from his wife, and three children, ‘Daniel’ (Williams), concocts a scheme to get back into their lives full-time (see the pun…oh wait maybe not if you haven’t seen the movie).  With the help of an all-star cast featuring:  Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, Polly Holliday, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, and Mara Wilson, Williams turns in one of his best performances. The film also contains such a great message overall, even if the material itself is a bit risqué by today’s standards.

 

An image reference I came across on Amazon while looking for inspiration

My concept was simple enough as I was going to create a poster for the children’s show from the film. In order to get started, I needed some inspiration.  I began googling several different children’s shows like ‘Sesame Street’, trying to find any television or magazine ads for their telecast.  It could provide me with a template of sorts that I could draw from. Eventually I came across a beautiful design that graced the cover of a book based on ‘Mr. Rogers’, the infamous children’s television host. The layout was very simplistic, with Roger’s trademark sweater, and a few accoutrements that were altered cleverly to connect back to the show. Utilizing this design scheme, I created a rough sketch in Procreate for my ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ layout. Next, I needed to watch the film as it had been many years since I had seen it, and my memory was fuzzy in terms of what I could use for the piece. I collected reference as I watched the movie, and then set to work cleaning up my layout. I decided mimicking the sweater vest from the Mr. Rogers image would make for a good background. ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ often wore a sweater over her blouse, along with a broach or string of pearls.  The cup also made for a great device as the stereotypically ‘British’ persona drinks a lot of tea. I went with colors for her blouse and sweater directly from the film and settled on a contrasting color for the cup.  I also wanted to make sure that this piece was simple, and the color palette was limited.  The focal point needed to remain the cup, and the text I was going to be adding later.  I achieved this through the contrast, but also by ‘framing’ the cup within the sweater. I did a lot of experimenting with this piece in Procreate using different brushes than I normally do to create the ‘fibers’ in the sweater, and pattern in her blouse. Due to time constraints, I did have to eliminate some of my concept. I had planned on created ‘Kovacs’, ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’s’ cheeky co-host as a miniaturized doll or puppet of sorts that was going to rest on the right side of the mug to balance out the composition. I wasn’t entirely sold on adding him the further I went along with the illustration, primarily because I wasn’t sure how I wanted to depict him, and I realized that he would need a different color palette which would honestly attract too much attention. Instead of agonizing over the design, I simply discarded it. I originally wanted to create a vintage style poster, but much like my ‘Big Fun’ poster for last years ‘Fake Gigs’, I ran out of time, and it’s probably better I didn’t.  I’ve only successfully managed to distress a poster for the gallery once with my ‘Life of Brian’ pieces for their  (licensed) ‘Monty Python’ tribute show. It’s a technique I’d like to utilize again perhaps on a different piece (or maybe a variant if I have time).

 

The next step was to take the image back into Adobe Illustrator as a flattened image to overlay the text on. I wanted to mimic the font from the film, but finding the official version was a bust.  I then took a screen capture of the movie title into Illustrator and went through the fonts I had until I could find one that was close enough to the desired. I settled on a font I used for my ‘Scream’ project to replicate the title (‘Mrs. Doubtfire’), and Comic Kings for ‘Kovacs’ name. For the standard text (weekday afternoons/disclaimer), I used Abadi MT Condensed Extra Bold. The last bit of text I used a custom font I had made a while back from my own handwriting (Stiles Font). The trickiest parts were adjusting the cast shadows I added on parts of the letters and coming up with a slogan that made sense. In the film ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ only repeats a few words or phrases throughout the film that could be utilized, none of which would work for this image.  I instead, opted for my own tagline of which I’m moderately satisfied with after playing around with some different phrases. I used colors that were already present within the piece for the typography in order to maintain cohesiveness.

With all the lettering completed I needed to piece the image together in Adobe Photoshop and make some adjustments before sending it off to the printers at SGX.  Most of the edits I made were to the color of the blouse, and sweater as they were competing entirely too much.  The blouse was too dark, and the sweater was the same color as the vapor & pearls washing out the piece. I ended up desaturating the sweater and lightening her blouse to a paler lavender hue. I also kept the pearls the same color as the vapor in order to bring back in some of the color I had just eliminated. Satisfied with the adjustments I sent the image off to proof and thankfully it didn’t need any adjustments.

 

I started this piece on July 31^st, 2022, and finished it August 20^th, 2022 spending about twenty six (26) hours in Procreate, and an additional seventeen and a half (17.5) hours in Adobe Illustrator. The base for this image was all designed in Illustrator, brought into Procreate, and then back into Illustrator before briefly receiving its final touches in Adobe Photoshop. The piece was due August 26^th 2022, with the show opening on September 10^th, 2022 at Gallery1988, and running until September 24^th, 2022 as part of their ‘Fake Gigs(3)’ group show. The poster is 11” x 17” and is printed on 14pt paper. The piece is currently only available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the 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

Etsy: Stiles of Art

Threadless: mistiles

LinkedIN: Michael Stiles

IG:  stiles1978

TikTok: stiles1978

Pinterest: Michael Stiles

Tumblr:  stiles1978

Twitter: stiles_of_art