SCREAM (BINGO)

When I had first received the notice about this show I was elated, but also mystified.  How does one capture the essence of a slasher film series like ‘Scream’? Each film is essentially its own take on the slasher genre, all building upon one another (at least the original four which were the only ones released at the time I was developing this).

I began to sketch some ideas in Procreate, but none of them really resonated with me so I decided to hit the archives/notes and see if there was anything I could salvage for this piece.  I highly encourage this, as it can be a lifesaver when trying to come with a new concept. It was then I came across an old idea for a BINGO game that I first toyed with when I was working on my ‘Mallrats’ piece.  This concept excited me, because it’s challenging to find a functional purpose for my artwork other than hanging on a wall. The idea was simple, yet fun, as I was going to create a BINGO sheet for each installment of the film, using similar icons, but with enough physical differences that they could be distinguished from one another. I felt the idea would work well since the franchise taps into many of the tropes associated with films in this genre (in the most meta way possible).

 

Knowing I could take any color I used and alter it later using the Hue/Saturation options, I picked a strong red value to do all the imagery in. The most challenging aspect of the project was getting the icons I designed to read properly. The images can really be broken down into two categories: Cause of Death or Tropes. I had to do a lot of google searching for iconography in order to get my images to read right, some of which still might be questionable.  I also had to watch the films several times to make sure I had a variety of options, as not all squares would be utilized in each installment. For instance, some of the ‘Cause of Death’ squares occur only in one of the installments, making it impossible to win with that icon unless you are watching that specific film while playing. In case anyone reading this wants clarification on some of the images, here you go.  The ‘Cause of Death’ icons include the: gun, car, fire, knife, fall, hanging, and electrocution. The ‘Tropes’ include: sad/ominous music, killer (gives a) speech, celebrity cameo, phone rings, victim escapes, victim runs, victim hides, someone is knocked out, broken door/window/wall, a car won’t start, there’s a movie reference, phone dies/lost/stolen/broken, the killer asks the clichéd phrase, sex/nudity, drugs/alcohol, and there’s a reference made to a haunted past.

 

Upon completing the main icons for the grid I still had a few original images I needed to include.  For one of the illustrations, I utilized ‘Gale Weathers’ (Courteney Cox), as my ‘Nosey Reporter’.  She appears on three of the four cards, only being replaced by ‘Robbie Mercer’ (Erik Knudsen), who fills her role in the fourth. Centrally ‘Sidney Prescott’ (Neve Campbell), as well as ‘Ghost Face’ get their fifteen minutes here, with our killer appearing on the first card, and our heroine, the remaining three (appearance adjusted accordingly to match said film). These illustrations were fun, but hard because I had to keep them somewhat simple, for them to flow creatively with the rest of the design.

 

 

The next task I had was to  organize the icons for each film installment so that their placement, when used, would not conflict with another player.  I then had to watch each film, multiple times, and tick off the icons chronologically.  Once I was satisfied with their placement, I solidified the layout for each of the four cards and set about finalizing some other details minor details.

 

 

I had my ‘frame’ for the cards well before I even started creating the iconography.  I envisioned a blob of red blood working best (given the content), and quickly designed something that I could use for all four of the sheets. I then flipped it horizontally on two of the cards to create some variety.  The next step was to add a title on the card.  I quickly found a font that looked very similar to the original movie’s treatment (it wasn’t hard as the franchise is quite popular) and used that to create the card title. I also had to manipulate the font in Adobe Illustrator to create the numbers I substituted in place of some of the letters. Having finished the project rather quickly, I wanted to take the extra step of creating a folded header for packaging the sheets together to make it appear more professional.  I wanted the ‘game’ to look more authentic, and I think it was a rather successful presentation. 

 

 

With the design process finished I sent the files off to print (thank you SGX), and due to the simplistic style of this project, it didn’t require any adjustments for once. 

 

I started this piece on August 30^th, 2021 and finished it September 26^th, 2021, spending just shy of thirty (30) hours in Procreate creating all the icons by hand.  The header was made in Adobe Illustrator, with adjustments to both (card and header), done in Adobe Photoshop. It was due October 1^st, with the show opening on October 15^th, 2021 at Gallery1988, and running until October 30^th as part of their ‘25^th Anniversary of Scream’ tribute show. Each pack contains all four 8” x 10” sheets (printed on 14pt paper) and was limited to a set of ten. At this time, the packs 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: (10/15/23)

Guess who made new BINGO sheets?!!

That's right!!! ME!

So for a project such a this you could probably expect an update of one, or maybe more, who knows to tell the truth. While I knew they were developing another, or 'fifith' installment, the release was after this show so if I was going to continue this series, it would have to be afterwards...which is now...sort of.

 

 

After finishing an unrelated project, I found I had some time on my hands to complete lingering things...like not one, but TWO missing BINGO sheets. This meant rewatching 'Scream' films (gasp! oh no!!), and working on a handful of original illustration/icons specific to the last two installments. In terms of layout design, well...I didn't technically have to move any of them which is actually quite eerie to be honest. In fact, all I did was reflect the tiles to the movie installment they were identically copying which a hardcore fan may or may not notice. 

 

 

These much like the previous four, are completely playable, and all developed in Procreate on my iPad Pro.

 

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

 

 

THE OUTSIDER (2020)

I watch A LOT of television, so it’s no wonder that Gallery1988’s annual ‘Idiot Box’, is one of my favorite shows to participate in.  I knew this show was scheduled for later in the year, so I made notes, gathered reference material, and created a sketch as soon as I came across anything that truly inspired me.

 

Thankfully inspiration struck quick and early when  I discovered HBO’s adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘The Outsider’. A (sadly), one season mini-series wrapped loosely around several urban legends and myths that were cleverly used to create our antagonist in the show. The series stars several familiar faces such as: Jason Bateman, Bill Camp, Jeremy Bobb, Mare Winningham, Paddy Considine, Yul Vazquez, Ben Mendelson, Julianne Nicholson, Marc Menchaca, Cynthia Errivo, Derek Cecil, Hettienne Park, Scarlett Blum, and Summer Fontanna, among many others. The performances are nothing less than award worthy, as the cast navigatea the aftermath of a series of tragic events. 

 

The story itself is difficult to explain without giving away too many details, however, there are several abductions (of children), all of which are linked to a being that feasts on the misery and death. Upon learning of its intentions our cast seeks to destroy this creature, who they believe may the source behind many other legendary creatures (El Coco/The Boogeyman/Doppleganger/etc), and eventually dub the entity, ‘Tear-Drinker’.

 

I was inspired by the show early on, so I already had a layout for a potential illustration, I simply needed to see if my concept would work.  Satisfied with the sketch, I began collecting reference material for the image.  I wanted to create a narrative piece that told the story of this creature and how it had infected so many lives. The plan was to centrally place the entity and surround it with various vignettes related to its transgressions. Each locale was picked specifically for its contribution to the overall plot with a small scene depicting Blum, Nicholson, and Fontanna, our antagonist’s current victims. The van, and the (snake) blood trail also play an important role in the show, balancing the piece with a strip of contrasting red. 

 

I went with a monochromatic scheme for this image to reflect the hues used in the series.  I also wanted to try implementing a strong contrasting element (the red), in order to push the image and keep the eye moving. Whenever I am developing a piece that has a lot of detail or imagery, I try to simplify the color to offset how cluttered it can become. This usually works out successfully, and I would like to think it does here as well.  My only other concern for this piece, beyond the transformative natures of blending from one scene to the next, was to create the illusion in some parts of reversing the foliage. My goal was to make the leaves feel like they could be either black or a shade of green depending on how they are perceived to create a lattice effect.

 

Upon completing the work I sent it to my pals at SGX, and went through the process of proofing the image. Unfortunately, the process took at least three passes before I could get the colors correct on it which is truly maddening.  Eventually, I got it sorted out and sent it to the gallery, but it was very time consuming.

 

Typically, that’s where the story ends, but the Post Office had other plans for my work…namely destruction. That’s right! A few days after shipping the framed image, and accompanying prints I received a rather startling email from the curator at the gallery.  Apparently the (glass) frame was in like a million pieces, and the prints while salvageable, were also slightly damaged.

I made two mistakes here that I would like to take responsibility for instead just simply outright blaming the Post Office for blatant carelessness (which is obvious). 

The first was that I mailed my work on September 4^th, which was a Saturday.

The gallery is closed on Monday, and Tuesday, therefore I KNEW my work was going to arrive on a day in which someone would not be present. This means it will likely be re-delivered, increasing the likelihood it could be mishandled.

The second being I did NOT package the work very well and was concerned it was going to be a problem when I mailed it. It was tightly bound, but it was also very awkwardly shaped.  I did write the words ‘Fragile’, ‘Handle with Care’, and ‘Contains Glass’, but I’m assuming that was largely ignored.

Thirdly (consider it a bonus), I did NOT insure the package. Thankfully it did have a complimentary $50 insurance which I ended up eventually collecting (which wasn’t easy, but that’s a different story).

Seeing my work ruined was devastating. Not because it was irreplaceable, but because I would need to procure more images, another frame, and somehow get the piece to the gallery before the show. This is anxiety inducing for literally anyone, BUT, thankfully I was able to pull if off with the help of SGX. They quickly produced more prints for me, and I was able to get the work to the gallery before the show.

 

I started this piece on January 22^nd, 2020* and finished it September 1^st, 2021, spending seventy one and half (71.5) hours in Procreate with some editing done in Adobe Photoshop before printing.  The work was originally due September 11^th, 2021 with the show opening on September 24^th, 2021 at Gallery1988, and running until October 9^th as part of their ‘Idiot Box’ exhibit (dedicated to television series from 2001 and up). Each print is 12” x 18” and is printed on white pearl linen.  At this time, the piece is 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.

 

 

*The show aired in 2020, and I developed the sketch at the time it was airing. I already had another piece lined up for the show that year which was ironically another HBO miniseries that I had started but never completed.

I didn’t get back to this illustration until sometime in either July or August of 2021.

 

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

 

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