YYC Fan Fair Too Poster
Last December I was asked to create a poster for the Calgary based YYC Fan Fair convention. This is a small show on it’s second year, and in the first year I was invited to have a table as one of the guest artists. It was a fantastic event with a few dozen local illustrators plus several dozen comic and pop culture vendors. You were absolutely at the right place if you were looking for original art, comic books, video games, VHS tapes, retro t-shirts, toys, and to even meet one of the scream queens from the Nightmare on Elmestreet movies!
How I Created the YYC Fan Fair Poster Artwork
Unlike most of the projects I work on, for this one I was told to do whatever I wanted to do provided they can use it for social media and printed posters. Knowing that for social media a square shaped design would work best, I started thinking of what to do within that shape. I brainstormed a bit and settled on doing something that would scream comic book show, pop culture, and Calgary. Trying to be different but still create a peice of artwork that would fit well with the organization that asked for the art.
How to Design for a Client
I’ve been drawing and designing for quite awhile now and perhaps one of the biggest pieces of advice I can offer is to remember “Who you are creating the artwork for”. The client ALWAYS comes first, be it yourself or someone else. I find a lot of young designers will create something with little input from the person they are creating it for and then be defensive about what they created. You always need to ask if what you’re creating works for the project, for example is it appropriate for the age group or other demographic? Then, ask yourself does this fit with the style and tastes of the group or individual that is asking for the design. This is why for this project, half of it has a lot of ME in it because I was given that freedom but the iconography and shape was dictated by their needs that I identified.
Painting a Poster
Once I had a few ideas in mind, plus the shape, I began sketching it out on a 12×12″ Crescent brand illustration board. I had picked up a few of these illustration boards at an art sale and they’re perfect for paints -acrylic and designer gouache. I began pencilling in a few of the iconic downtown Calgary buildings and then started drawing whatever popped into my head. I wanted to keep it Calgary themed so I drew a hockey player but to make it nerdy I drew him pixelated like a retro video game. I then sketched out a flying superhero, a giant monkey with rays shooting out of his eyes, and then brought it back to being Calgary themed with the Rocky Mountains and a dinosaur. To make the design fit better, I added a curved wave of water like the Bow River that intersects the city. The final element was a nod to comics with included a circular panel in the bottom right corner that had a large arrow pointing to it that I figured I could add text inside when editing the painting in Photoshop. Within the circle I added a kid wearing a cowboy hat, another symbol of Calgary, and had him reading a comic book.
Once I was happy with the pencil sketch I went over it with a pencil crayon to strengthen the lines before adding paint. I used designer gouache and as the layers dried I used pencil crayons to add details. On a few spots, like on the curved line of water, I used POSCA paint pens for details and to separate some of the shapes. I’ve started using POSCA paint pens quite a bit in my artwork as they’re easy to use and add a dynamic, hard-edge graphic style to the softer paints and pencil crayons.
Once the painting was finished I scanned it and edited it in Photoshop. I added a half-tone filter to the painting and a few distressed layers to give it an older feel that was reminiscent of an old comic book. I then added the text, the YYC Fan Fair logo, and a block of information below the graphic that would be used for the printed posters.
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