Project: Mythological Creature Movie Poster

Objective, to create a movie poster for an upcoming new movie. Sounds easy enough. I have a home filled with books on mythological creatures, Crptozoology, Greek Mythology, you name it, I have it. At one point I had a very large poster of the United States and my oldest son Conner placed with sticky notes, every creature, in every state. I know creatures. We believe in this house! 

I could select from anything, but I wanted to do something else. I wanted to create my own. The timing was perfect, the crossing paths of the Eclipse and the incoming brood of billions of Cicadas descending upon this year, I had my elements for something new. 

Once again, I pull from my own portfolio of photos. The background is a Rural Landscape I tool for my Photography class. You can find it here on Behance. Then I used a photo of my daughter. We had fun doing a shoot themed with a Wednesday attitude, Cobie can do a fabulous stare. She is a fierce redhead with a slightly demented soul, The shot was perfect!

 

Using Photoshop, I layered the various pieces together. Gathering images from mainly Pixabay and using wings, the eclipse photo and the image of the Cicada. Believe it or not it took hours to find just the right Cicada face. I think I would be fine not seeing another one for a bit. 

There are layers of desaturation and using curves to increase the contrast. One of my favorite parts was adding the Cicada skin upon Cobie's face, and darkening out her eyes. I had considered, legs and antennas, however I was going for more of a classic look rather then campy. I wanted it to be eerie. 

When the poster finally came together I think that you get the invitation to a new type of creature, mutated by the Eclipse, and Mother Nature. Make sure you read the credits, another favorite of mine. Seals the deal. The process was fun, and I found it delightful to be in such a creative place I had not gone before,