Occasionally I get a very specific invite for a show that’s dedicated to a particular actor, director, movie, series, or even production company. I always enjoy these tributes, because the interpretation by each artist is so dramatically different. It’s truly like seeing a crime scene from multiple angles, which brings me to the focus of our entry today: 1985’s ‘Clue’.
While this movie was not a major box office success, it has earned a cult following that few other films can rival. Personally, my parents took me to see this movie, so I have some very fond memories of it, and I thought it was very funny if not a little odd in the most charming way possible.
The film for those unaware (not sure who that would be), is based on the Parker Brothers version of ‘Clue’, a version of ‘Cluedo’, invented by Anthony E. Pratt. The games rights have exchanged hands many, many times, (it’s been around for 75 years), and is currently held by Hasbro (I believe).
The game is a basic who dunnit, in which players attempt to solve the murder of the ‘victim’. The potential suspect list includes all six playable characters, who assume the role of detective in scouring the mansion for ‘clues’ as to the identity of the assailant.
The film (directed by Jonathan Lynn), follows a similar precedent, and primarily stars: Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, Colleen Camp, and Lee Ving.
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| Rough layout and placement as done in Adobe Illustrator. |
Initially I had no idea what or how I was going to depict this movie.
My first step was to watch the film, as it had been ages since I’d seen it.
Afterwards I contemplated what I could do as I was still a bit lost, and eventually thought about making the piece more interactive, like perhaps revisiting the BINGO card concept. I really didn’t want to reuse the same idea for another project, so I did some research on simple games.
It was then I came across an idea for creating a paper fortuneteller.
I used to make these as a child, and then write all sorts of random weird fortunes on the inside to make it fun.
I took the concept and quickly made a prototype out of paper.
Much to my surprise all the ‘information’ for these devices exists on the same side of the paper.
It blew my mind, as I was concerned I might have to do some double sided printing which was not worth the effort in my opinion. The main reason was it would take too long trouble shooting how to line the image up properly, and time was not something I had in abundance, but thankfully it was not a concern.
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| Flattened final image. |
I spent the days after designing the ‘fortuneteller’ in Adobe Illustrator. Initially I was tracking the time I spent working on it, but it was a lot harder to track than when I work on my iPad which records the data for me.
Once I had a good idea of how to lay out the format, the project took shape quickly.
I primarily used the fonts Neue Kabel and Gallia for the typography.
The border design was inspired by the film, as was the mansion.
I outlined the mansion in Adobe Illustrator, then moved it into Procreate where I detailed the image on my iPad.
I then returned to my desktop, and in Adobe Photoshop I added the mansion onto the header, in addition to adding the description on the backside.
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| Prototype of fortuneteller with header in the background. |
I originally debated adding a header for this piece but decided that asking a potential customer to cut and fold all of this was unreasonable. That meant I was going to need to package it as already ‘made’, so I would need the header for the sake of presentation.
I then sent the piece off to the printers for a proof. The first proof unfortunately was printed on 100lb Cover, and proved to be too difficult to fabricate the fortuneteller out of. The second proof was printed on 80lb Cover, and it was also very rigid but workable. Unfortunately, I had no more time to troubleshoot so I took some photos of the best prototype I had and sent it off to the gallery. While the paper isn’t ideal, it would work, and depending on sales, it may not even be an issue.
I started the image on July 21st , 2024, and finished it July 30th, 2024. I spent approximately seven (7) hours, and seven (7) minutes working on the piece in Procreate, with an additional eight (8) hours, and fifty-one (51) minutes in Adobe Illustrator. I also spent some time editing the layout in Adobe Photoshop, but exactly how much I am unsure of. In total, the image took about sixteen (16) hours to complete.
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| The final product bagged with header. |
The fortuneteller is approximately
8.5” x 8.5” (completely flattened), and is printed on 80lb Cover (thank you SGX). The piece was made for Galler1988’s ‘Clue’, a
group show dedicated to the beloved film ‘Clue’ from 1985. The show opened August
30th, 2024. At this time
the fortunetellers 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.
*UPDATE: 9/16//24
It turns out the piece was more of a success than I anticipated, and it sold out!
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