"Beetlejuice" poster process work

 I've been hired by different groups throughout the years to take on alternative movie posters, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to make them, especially when the printers used by these groups are so good they make the art sing much more than if it just sat in a digital space.  I can't stress enough how wonderful the quality is on these silk-screens, and I can't recommend printers like VG Kids or Ben Ashton enough - and more companies too, that I will look up and credit here. 

I like when risks can be taken in these kinds of posters, and the decision to make Beetlejuice implied rather than seen was one of those chances.  I think it turned out well, thanks to the group for letting me do that.

I gotta say, it looks stellar in black light!

"Beetlejuice" remains one of my all-time favorite films, for a number of reasons.  

1. I have so much respect for writers who go out on a limb and create an original script with unique characters, that takes real creativity.  

2. The art direction and overall style of the film is so brilliant.  

  Every character speaks dialogue that is so suited to them, you couldn't switch the lines and have the scenes work.  The costuming, lighting, makeup is also specifically made to enhance each scene so well you can understand where the story is even without the sound on.  

3. The foundation of the story and what really brings the film together is the idea of family, and in the end, it's better to try to get along than to despise each other.

And the soundtrack! I wish it came with everything, but some of the most atmospheric Danny Elfman tracks aren't included.  Thankfully some nice internet person makes them available with some minor digging.

♪ Here is a link to a-difficult-to-find track: The Afterlife

"Wednesday" (TV show) poster process

Here's a look at the process for another silk-screen completed in 2024.  We actually don't have Netflix, so I had to  work around it and do research via YouTube and Daily Motion.  The results:

The group went with C, and I was happy about it although I thought for sure they would go with the famous dance scene (B.)  The printer also had glow-in-the-dark ink available, so the final has some really fun hidden bits that are revealed in the dark...

the final result, 8 color silk-screen on heavy duty 24"x36" archival paper

the purple giclee color variant

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Jenna Ortega's "The Cramps"/ GooGooMuck dance:

"Hocus Pocus" poster process + Salem talk

The "Hocus Pocus" glow-in-the-dark alternative movie poster I created for the 30th anniversary of the movie.  24"x 36" silk screen on heavy archival paper.

  Early sketches

This piece also has a glow-in-the-dark ink layer, to reveal some cool secret runes.  

The Black Flame candle also glows, the title, the book's eye and snakes.

(You can faintly see it above.)

The print quality on these silk screens is even better in person, the phone doesn't really capture the glow!  The printing people did an absolutely stellar job.

  color variant giclee available

  Hocus Pocus had many filming locations in Salem, and during the wedding we took a group tour by a few of the houses and streets.

  We used to go there a lot about 10 years ago, when the boys were younger, to enjoy the kitch and spookiness.  It's pretty crowded now, definitely not the same, and I miss the days of exploring in the quiet mist. 

  I also remember the fun we had, Andy and I and our friends Brit and Alison, teaching a workshop at the Peabody Essex Museum as well as a program at the Marblehead school, heading into Salem to have some Thai food late at night.

 

Max's house on Ocean Ave.

Pioneer Village

Ropes Mansion

Philip's Elementary School

Town Hall Halloween Party

Old Burial Hill

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Roger Conant, founder of Salem, MA

  I recently found out that one of my ancestors (direct, too, which is pretty cool) was Roger Conant, the settler and governor of Salem, Massachusetts.  

  No, he had nothing to do with the Salem Witch Trials and according to a book I read about the region Conant was an even-handed, cool-headed guy that stood up for people that needed it and got the early families through the toughest winters.  Later, Miles Standish tried to exile a fisherman for gruffness and excess swearing, and Conant went to bat for the guy in court, telling Standish to back off, and wound up being exiled himself to Cape Ann (which he eventually turned into a successful cod fishing village none the less.) 

  Conant was a moderate Protestant, distrusted by the rather unaccommodating Puritans. He was famous for calmly arbitrating feuds.

  When we were in Salem last year for my stepson's wedding, we got to see an early house my family lived in on Chestnut Street, the first "planned" street in America.  In those days it was expensive having windows, and houses were even taxed PER window!  So many families boarded a few up or made them half-size to avoid the excessive fees.

Of course, it's nice to feel these ties to Salem even in my comic book work, like getting to draw Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and illustrating Salem the cat.  

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  It's fall now, and looking out the window each day, seeing the trees slowly turn all bright orangey and red, fills the heart with happiness and maybe a bit of melancholy.  I don't know why, probably because it's easy to imagine the way the dog used to sit out there in the sun, the leaves coming down around him.

Austin and Andy, Oct. 2024

"Grim" cover art process: The End / The Tower

  I've decided to put more effort into keeping up with this blog.  Why?  I don't know!  But here we are.  I had saved in a desktop folder progress shots of many illustrations, and now it's been long enough these have been published for a while.  Nevertheless, it's fun to go back and see how everything went.

  BOOM! Studios asked me to create a series of tarot themed covers for their popular series, "Grim", after one that I had done as a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive turned out well, and they were hoping to continue the theme.

  I had a tarot card deck when I was a teen, most likely inspired by visits to a local magic/spell shop in Connecticut and seeing "The Craft" in theaters.  Here is a take on "The Tower" card, since the theme of this issue was serious chaos and destruction:

The End!

the inspiration

The little sketch.  Did this on some scrap paper found at my grandparent's retirement home.

The finished piece inked on bristol board, 11"x17" with pen and some brush.

  I work digitally so much it's a pleasure to go back to hand-drawn, and yet sometimes not having a consistent set of tools makes inking by hand difficult again.  It's probably smarter to stick with a small set of art tools that are mastered, but that requires a level of focus maybe I just don't have!

"Grim" cover art: The Wheel of Fortune

 

 This is another cover I did for BOOM! Studios a while back, in keeping with the tarot card theme as requested by the art director. This time the Wheel of Fortune card fit the story's arc.

the original digital sketch

This character Annabell, is a roller derby dame, and it's funny how the sport keeps crossing into my life, having done the Boston Derby Dames logos in 2006 and Slam! for Boom ten years later.  Oh! And also designing beer labels for the brew made for the London Roller Derby team!

 and the inked final on 11"x17" paper

Pirates of Mars Volume 2, issue 1 (2015)

 It's wild seeing my art from 10 years ago, wild, and also a bit frightening of course because posting old art isn't for the faint of heart I guess.

Wow, 10 years ago!!

Nevertheless, it's fun to put this issue up and remember how much we loved making this book.  Hope we can do more at some point!

Pirates of Mars, Volume 2 "Gods & Monsters" issue 1

written by JJ Kahrs, art by Veronica Fish