For my cover design for 1993 Hong Kong martial arts actioner, THE BARE-FOOTED KID, I decided to put my best foot forward. Literally.
I coated the bottom of my foot with India ink and stamped it on Bristol board. Then I painted the characters around it leading the eye back toward the protagonist, the titular "kid" (Kwan Fung-yiu), played by Cantopop superstar Aaron Kwok. (Can't miss him, I have several arrows pointing right at him!)
His bare feet drawing attention, as they alone break the lower frame. Maggie Cheung looking pensive as she does so well. The late Kenneth Tsang adding gravitas, as he did so well. Shaw Brothers veteran, Ti Lung, walks off into the distance. Which is suitable, since this film was a remake of the 1975 Shaw classic DISCIPLE OF SHAOLIN, and was produced as the studio itself sadly faded into the history books. Trapped on all sides, mysterious, unseen, marauders provide a threat to our ragged hero. As his love interest, always left behind, weighs heavy on his shoulders. (I added a tiny tear running down her cheek, but it's so small it's hard to notice.)
Originally I had more paint drips, referencing Kwan' job at the dye factory. But ultimately it was more of a distraction and, at the behest of my client, I removed them.
The film is a fairly beige affair, so I tried to liven up the color palette a bit and settled on orange. It's in the same overall vein as beige, but less drab and more energetic. I then added some "cool blue" tones for Tsang as the antagonist.
Next time... the dead get deadly.