CONAN (1982)

I have long been a fan of the original ‘Conan the Barbarian’, starring none other than a fitness figurehead, and former governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. As an avid player of ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ in my adolescence, I was a fan of both installments with the Govern-ator. It didn’t hurt that I was an artist and was also very aware of ‘Conan’s’ comic book lineage based loosely around the original creator Robert E. Howard’s work.

The film’s look could arguably be said to have been influenced by the comics which featured amazing artists like:  Frank Frazetta, Mark Schultz, Barry Windsor Smith, Roy Thomas, and more dating back to the 1930’s.

Regardless, the (first) film is a dramatic masterpiece directed/written by John Milus (and Oliver Stone), which in truth, would be unmarketable by today’s standards as it would be most likely be considered too slow due to the natural pacing. This is rectified in the sequel that Arnold graciously gave us, which is in truth, a major departure from the original, but enjoyable, nevertheless

Since I had such a strong affinity for the film, I selected it for Gallery 1988’s annual ‘Crazy 4 Cult’ show.  The exhibition is a reoccurring one, which features artwork from various artists, reimaging popular classic, and cult films. I’m not sure this fit, but I was a fan, so…there’s that, and that was enough for me! 

 

I initially started this piece in Procreate by sketching out Arnold on my iPad, attempting to capture his likeness enough to where it would be recognizable. My plan, which changed over time, was to depict as many of the events in the film as possible.  With pieces like this one, I like to create narrative vignettes that tell the story visually without giving away any spoilers. I knew I wanted to have Arnold center, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a clichéd back shot, with him looking over his shoulder, or a more imposing front shot. Either way I the plan was to silhouette him, detailing a few parts of his musculature, face, etc., leaving the bulk of his interior a solid base color to house other images in. It took me a while to decide on how ‘Conan’ was going to be displayed, but once that was done, I began work on the accompanying images. Within ‘Conan’ I started with the ‘Eye of the Serpent’, and a Cimmerian style funeral pyre which both lead into the next illustration.  Below the pyre I wanted to depict ‘Thulsa Doom’ (James Earl Jones), and his snake cult, as they play a major role in the film.  I was particularly inspired by a rather Frazetta-esque scene late in the film with ‘Doom’ on a throne-like seat accompanied by the enthralled ‘Princess Yasmina’ (Valérie Quennessen), at his feet. After working on the image, which itself could have been a solid illustration, I opted instead to depict the ‘Princess’ encircled by the snakes from ‘Doom’s’ religious symbol.  At Conan’s base, was the ‘Tree of Woe’, which depicts the crucifixion of our hero. I also wanted to properly narrate ‘Conan’s’ transition from boy-slave to warrior visually. I attempted this, by placing his village on one side of him, and the city of ‘Zamora’ with all its splendors, where his transformation truly begins.

Still of James Earl Jones as 'Thulsa Doom', and Valérie Quennessen as 'Princess Yasmina'.

  

The illustrations mentioned above were, however, only the line work of the images, and I still needed to paint them.  I got experimental and decided to use multiple contrasting colors which worked out with measured success (more on that later). I first took the project into Photoshop, annotated any errors, cleaned those up, and then started with the background at the top containing both his home village, and the city of ‘Zamora’. In the film, ‘Conan’s’ village is shown in a mountainous region with ice and snow, while ‘Zamora’, is in a rather arid desert region, making this transition easy. I created a gradient and placed it behind the illustrations and sent the file back to my iPad to detail in Procreate. I wanted to fade the background a bit and give it more contrast instead of simply colorizing the work I already did. I spent that time instead painting in the minor details like the straw roofs, or stonework.  Satisfied with the outcome, I then proceeded to add clouds to the sky behind ‘Conan’s’ head to create more contrast and dimension. For ‘Conan’s’ face/body I pulled colors from the background, and did some minor detailing to create some contouring. In order to separate the silhouette of his body from the background I knew that I would need to include another creative device. I went with outlining his arms with the raining of blood (of his enemies naturally), to push the negative space and give it a higher contrasting element. The interior colors were dictated by one thing, the ‘Eye of the Serpent’. In the film, the jewel is red which complimented the raining blood outlining his arms. This also created the opportunity to utilize greens and yellows for the ‘Princess’, creating a more ethereal look that alludes to her role in the film. In retrospect, I was reluctant to use these colors but I’m glad I did as they really draw the viewer’s eye. Full disclosure: this portion of the illustration is also the most detailed, and I do love detail, so that might be another reason. I rounded out the image, by contrasting the bottom scene using colors from ‘Zamora’. 

With the image done, I had a new problem.  I needed to locate a new printer, as the one I had been using for years abruptly closed back in February (2021), leaving me with few (locally convenient) options. Eventually I turned to SGX, a local printer that often attends conventions and other various mutual haunts of mine. They were very helpful in walking me through their process for how they print and fulfill orders in addition to offering me some different paper options than I normally work with. For this project I selected their White Pearl Linen as suggested, and it turned out beautifully.  The paper has a shimmery quality to it with slightly visible fibers that give the work a more traditional look, or as if it were printed on canvas. Unfortunately, my piece was set to 16” x 20”, and I had to eventually resize it to 11” x 14” in order to fit within the paper’s parameters of 13” x 19”. Poor planning on my part, but that’s part of the learning process, and there was no image quality loss in the size reduction.

I started the image on June 16^th, 2021 and finished it July 29^th, 2021, spending just shy of one hundred and twenty (120) hours in Procreate.  Of that time, I spent forty five (45) hours drawing the images, fifteen (15) hours determining the color, fifty four (54) hours painting/detailing, and an additional five (5) hours cleaning the image up to print. It was due July 24^th, with the show opening on August 6^th, 2021 at Gallery1988, and running until the 28^th, as part of their ‘Crazy 4 Cult XV’ group show. Each 11” x 14” image was printed on White Pearl Linen, and was 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

Threadless: mistiles

LinkedIN: Michael Stiles

IG:  stiles1978

TikTok: stiles1978

Pinterest: Michael Stiles

Tumblr:  stiles1978

Twitter: stiles_of_art

 

Aladdin's Castle

The inspiration for this project came about when I was invited to participate in Gallery 1988’s, “Shopping Malls” group show, dedicated to the shops of both past, and present. Thankfully, I was born on the cusp of the digital age, so I was still fortunate enough to have experienced the analog days of yore. My memory as a preteen consisted of weekends, and summers spent in the local shopping mall, either reading books on the floor (in B Dalton, Crown Books, or Waldenbooks), or sneaking into Rated R movies at the adjacent theater (which was easier than it should have been). I am very thankful for those days, and I think they were what kept me grounded among all those neon lights, retro carpeting, smoke, and the artificially flavored aromas coming from the food court.

 

Originally I decided early on I was going to illustrate a poster depicting one of the many bookstores I would squat in, while reading fantasy novels among the stacks. During the development of the image, I had a conversation with a friend of mine, in which the topic of an old arcade chain came up, ‘Aladdin’s Castle’. It was then I recalled how many countless hours, and quarters, I would spend in the locale at my neighborhood mall. I determined then, ‘Aladdin’s Castle’ was a much better subject to pay homage to than the previous one.

 

After choosing the new focus to center my project around, I set about brain storming how I could properly pay my respects to the long departed chain. The only image that came to mind was the ‘tokens’ you could acquire as a patron at the arcade with the company’s logo on it. I determined the best method to replicate this look was to create an enamel pin that looked like a ‘token’. It was a simple design that I quickly produced in Adobe Illustrator, using the now defunct company’s one time logo, and font as inspiration.

 

Once completed, I contacted my supplier Alchemy Merch who fabricated the ‘Wonka Bar’ pin I designed for Gallery 1988’s “50^th Anniversary of Wonka” group show. Through my correspondence with Alchemy, I determined (with their aid), that antique gold was the most logical choice to replicate the same material and look I had in mind for the arcade ‘tokens’.

 

 

Having finished the ‘token’ in a manner of days (if not actual hours), I realized that I had the time to design a backer to accent it. For this, I drew inspiration from my memories of the location I would visit locally. I recall the atmosphere vividly; the smoky neon lights, and long mirrored hallway that created an almost looking celestial looking entrance. The sirens call of the various machines that echoed down the entryway was always too much to resist. It kind of reminded me of the beginning of ‘Space Mountain’ at Disneyland for some reason. At the end of this canal, was an almost cavernous looking brightly lit space filled with arcade games, and change machines. I would enter in anticipation that whatever new machine they had wasn’t taken by ‘campers’ or out of order. I wanted to keep the color scheme within a spectrum that spoke most to me as both nostalgic, and era specific. I also included a cabinet arcade machine centrally, like the beacon I recall. As a final touch I then added a little bit of background information about the business, who honestly had a fascinating run, along with my own shameless self promotional information.

 

 

In retrospect I should have proofed the backers, as the colors came out really dark when I received the final product. Even with that in mind, I was still really happy with how the pin, and backers turned out.

 

 

The main piece was developed primarily in Adobe Illustrator, where I vectored out the shapes of the font, and body of the coin. The backer was designed primarily in Procreate on my iPad, with some minor edits done in Adobe Photoshop, before sending both files off to my supplier Alchemy Merchandise.

 

A couple of weeks later I received the final product in the mail after getting a series of confirmations from Alchemy detailing the multiple steps involved in it’s manufacturing. Limited to a run of 50, the enamel pin is antique gold and measures roughly 1” x 1”, each with it’s own illustrated backer.

 

It was made specifically for Gallery 1988’s “Shopping Malls” group show, which ran from June 4^th-18^th, featuring my work, from this post, along with the rest of the show’s collaborative pieces.  My work as well as that of my peer is available for viewing or purchase, on the gallery’s website.

 

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

.

Etsy: Stiles of Art

Threadless: mistiles

LinkedIN: Michael Stiles

IG:  stiles1978

Pinterest: Michael Stiles

Tumblr:  stiles1978

Twitter:  paragonofpuns

WandaVision

The inspiration for this project was nothing less than the spectacular Disney+, and MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) mini-series WandaVision.  I have long been a fan of Marvel Comics since I was teen reading them in the early 90’s, and while I never really got into one specific (major) franchise, I did enjoy reading about the characters and their profiles through a little known series called (literally) ‘Marvel Universe’.  I collected the entire series, including the issues dedicated to the ‘dead and inactive’, and while the information is a bit dated since the characters continue to evolve, it still retains some value.

 

 

For this piece in particular, I knew I wanted to utilize the hexagon theme that was so prevalent in the series to house imagery, and fill the negative space with the light patterns seen in the credits. Those were the most immediate pieces of the illustration I knew I wanted to use immediately.  I also planned on having the titular characters of ‘Wanda Maximoff’ (Elizabeth Olsen), and ‘Vision’ (Paul Bettany), placed centrally in the design. The remaining images would come much later.

 

 

In terms of design, I knew I also wanted to depict both ‘Wanda’, and ‘Vision’, in their original costumes from the comics while doing my best to replicate the likeness of both Olsen & Bettany. The most time consuming aspect of this design was the sketching process of the central figures, and the clean up process. I wanted to capture the tenderness of the lovers that evoked the passion they share, but also the sadness that constantly haunts them. 

 

 

Initially I created several hexagon shapes that would house my illustration vignettes, and placed them like satellites orbiting the central image. Once I was satisfied with their placements, I then set to work on designing what scenes or imagery I was going to place within. By the time I got to the sixth episode, I had all the reference imagery I needed, and I set to work on painting them on my iPad in Procreate. I also determined at this point in order to keep the flow of the work I wanted to break the borders of these hexagonal spaces, similar to how ‘Wanda’ exercises her abilities throughout this series.

 

  

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

 

As I progress through my illustration selections, I decided it would be best to depict each ‘era’ that the show progresses through respectively. While the parodies offered little to the actual overall plot, they were a delightful way to present the story memorably. I settled on a few key images from the radio in episode two where we discover something we already knew, that this ‘reality’ isn’t quite right, but how is still unclear.  I also included the ‘intruder’ who shows up at the end of (I believe) episode two as well.  I was going to include the toy helicopter that ‘Wanda’ intercepts, but seeing as I chose to already use the necklace ‘Monica Rambo’ (Teyonah Parris) wears in the show to represent S.W.O.R.D., it seemed redundant.  I then wanted to portray one of the more shocking plot points, without truly spoiling it in the image itself, the children. To show, and not tell, I settled on the nursery sequence with the butterflies, as well as the comical scene with the stork.

 

MAJOR SPOILERS:

 

For my final image (and one I did not initially plan for), I added the surprise guest star and cameo of long lost twin brother ‘Pietro Maximoff’, who literally shows up at ‘Wanda’s’ doorstep.

 

 

In true ‘me’ fashion, there were still a few more final touches the piece needed before I could call it done.  Even though I did mention earlier that the last few episodes contained less content, there were still some elements to draw from.  I wanted to include some imagery to allude to our main antagonist, without providing too much evidence and spoiling it for those who may not be familiar with ‘Wanda’s’ history, or the Marvel Universe.  Personally, I knew the ‘who’ right away, just not the ‘why’, and I’d be upset if someone ruined that for me.  Anyhow, I chose some rather benign imagery to dot the landscape of the piece, and make them as subtle as possible.  First I included the pet of our nosy neighbor ‘Senor Scratchy’, who’s true nature we never really learn, but know, is not natural.  I then offset our furry familiar with the controversial fly whose fate is worse than speculated.  Finally, I added a handful of other ‘Easter eggs’ that pertain to the conclusion of our tale.

After finalizing the actual artwork, I needed to proof the image, which proved to be rather troublesome as my print supplier had changed their business model. This resulted in a slower than desired process of adjusting the image until I could adequately color calibrate the piece.  Thankfully, the work was a personal piece, so there was no deadline I needed to meet.

 

The image is originally formatted 8” x 10”, and was developed almost exclusively in Procreate on my iPad with any editing or calibration done in Adobe Photoshop.  I also used a program called Graphic to create the hexagonal shapes housing all the imagery.

 

To purchase this image, 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

.

Etsy: Stiles of Art

Threadless: mistiles

LinkedIN: Michael Stiles

IG:  stiles1978

Pinterest: Michael Stiles

Tumblr:  stiles1978

Twitter:  paragonofpuns