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ALTERNATIVE MOVIE POSTERS: OFTEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING

September 26, 2017

One of the great frustrations for illustrators is the difficulty in developing paid assignments into great portfolio images. Clients generally have specific requirements for projects (particularly in advertising and design) that the artists need to adhere to in order to please the client. Illustrators understand they are being paid to solve a creative problem but often the piece isn’t the best showcase for the artist. 

The same issue exists in the creation of movie poster art. Movie posters are created to highlight movie stars and sell tickets. But movie “fan” art posters often far exceed the real thing as works of art and as portfolio pieces. In a recent New York Times article on non-commissioned movie posters, Theispot artists Martin Ansin and Tracie Ching are featured among several artists whose self-initiated illustrations have garnered praise and attention, sometimes from the film makers themselves. 

Tracie Ching's approach to her version of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 satirical comedy, Dr.Strangelove, is clearly inspired by the original artist’s use of black, white and red. Ching replaces the airplanes and globe with a giant Peter Sellers as Dr. Strangelove, presiding over a table of decision-makers. The poster was commissioned by the historic Castro Theatre in San Francisco to promote a sanctioned 35mm screening of the film in 2013. The Times article also featured an amazing rendition of Kubrick’s The Shining poster. Tracie Ching is represented by Debut Art.

Martin Ansin’s limited-edition poster for the 1976 neo-noir classic, Taxi Driver, re-imagines the scene depicted on the original poster by widening the scope of the street and having Robert De Niro stare directly at the viewer, uncapping a flask – a small, subtle difference that slyly welcomes the darkness and mayhem to come. Created for two special screenings of the 4k digital restoration of the film at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz in Austin, Texas, Ansin obtained permission from both DeNiro and director Martin Scorsese to produce the work. 

A master of the heroic image, be the heroes barbaric (“Conan the Barbarian”), metallic (“Iron Man,” “RoboCop”) or long dead (“The Mummy”), Martin Ansin is represented by RappArt.

Tags: Martin Ansin, Editorial, Illustration, Poster

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