The Bruce Lee Issue

 

Rick Baker graciously invited me to create a cover design for his EASTERN HEROES magazine in the UK. It has long profiled Hong Kong action cinema classics and, of course, focuses often on the work of the iconic Bruce Lee.

 

He's the cover star of this issue. I was asked to concentrate on his ENTER THE DRAGON period, arguably his most famous film worldwide. Then, after seeing my art, I was requested to add additional "Bruces" from each of his other HK films, perhaps to broaden the focus and widen the general appeal. These were each rendered in unique color tone. 

Bruce's Chinese stage name translates to "Little Dragon", so it seemed appropriate to add a little colorful phantom Asian serpent flowing around the man.

I had never drawn Lee before so it was a fun exercise for me.

The magazine (and many other cool items) might still be available in the Eastern Heroes online shop. Hurry before they sell out. That particular issue also includes an interview with yours truly and features samples of some of my Blu-ray cover art.

When I draw hands I invariably use my own as reference when I'm drawing. They are just too... "handy" not to. I always have them at "hand". (Ugh, sorry.) But I do make an attempt to alter them anatomically to suit the person I'm drawing. Make the fingers shorter or the palm fatter, whatever. Yet even after all that, when I look at the finished art, I still immediately recognize them as my hands.

(I once placed my hands inside Jackie Chan's hand prints. His fingers are much shorter than mine, but they are spread so far apart it was painfully difficult to make mine even fit inside the print. It's not something you realize when watching a film, but the differences becomes very evident when given the opportunity to do what I did.)        

Well, that's it for ole 2022. I hope to continue this blog in 2023 as I have a ton more stuff to share. I like to spread it out and wait for the products to hit shelves before posting the artwork here. But more goodness is forthcoming.

Since Michelle Yeoh had such a good year in 2022, I'll kick off 2023 with some artwork I've done for her classic films. Stay tuned to this channel (blog? website? whatever.)... 

Happy New Year everyone! 

The Dead Get Deadly

For the 1982 Sammo Hung film THE DEAD AND THE DEADLY, I naturally continued with the same visual style and general color palette I utilized in my previous Hong Kong horror comedy titles. Because of the many scenes set at night, the blue tones dominate. With contrasting orange and a glowy neon green element representing the fantastical spiritual element, the somewhat chaotic composition gives a feeling of the unexpected. The martial arts action element is downplayed in the art as it is in the film itself. 

When I was assigned this title, I knew from the start I wanted to include a visual of this "cheeky" scene where Sammo inspects a supposed eunuch. But I thought maybe it was too rude for the outer cover so I saved it for the booklet. The comedic film is a bit cartoony at times so visually I included a few comic book-style shading techniques to emphasize it's intended fun nature. It's not a truly scary horror film, it's a silly fun horror film.

Lam Ching Ying does an early version of his Taoist priest bit, Fat Chung googles his eyes, Cherie Chung struggles with animated spirits, Sammo holds his breath, Wu Ma directs and co-stars, hilarity and hijinks ensue. 

Next up... there's an issue with Bruce Lee. 

Putting My Best Foot Forward

 
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.

NIGHT of the SHADOW of the WING of the HAWK

Time for another "eco-horror, animals-strike-back" flick. In fact, prepare yourself for a DOUBLE dose of late 1970s (Canadian-made) terror. Well, to be honest, I'm not too sure if either of these films are truly all that fright-inducing. But they have their moments, and are fun and entertaining in their own ways. 

NIGHTWING (1979) stars a young and handsome Nick Mancuso struggling with a swarm of angry vampire bats riled up by greedy oil prospectors. 

While SHADOW OF THE HAWK (1976) stars a young and handsome Jan-Michael Vincent coming face to face with black magic... and an angry bear in a pretty cool scene. (As is the car crash scene.) Both films deal with tribal rituals and beliefs of native peoples, so they do work well as a double bill.

For the Blu-ray cover art I selected a suitable color palette for each film, to visually group those elements, and then did a soft vertical blend giving each movie equal weight.

If I was to do the art again today, I might do it in a more loose painterly (i.e. "rough") style. Doing so might convey that 70s horror vide a bit more. But for what it's worth, I've never been that impressed with my own work. I look at it and think what's the big deal, even I could do THAT. Oh wait, I DID! 

For the cover of the enclosed Blu-ray booklet, I did a simple composite of elements from each film's vintage marketing.

Next time, I put my best foot forward.

Something In The Water

The 1979 eco-horror-thriller PROPHECY has its fair share of fans, as well as detractors. Perhaps the story worked better on paper, than in execution. Sometimes its jump scares elicit more chuckles than gasps. But I feel its heart was in the right place.

A paper mill releases mercury into a river causing horrible animal mutations. Mutated animals go on rampage. Man versus nature. Nature, eventually, always wins. 

The original poster art featured a mutated animal embryo. Possibly more strange than terrifying. So my brief from the client was to amp it up a bit and include the main creature, a mutant 15-foot bear, ferociously attacking. 

Sometimes life happens when you are working, and an important personal event becomes forever linked to what you were doing at the time. I was still working on this piece when I got the call with the news that my father had passed away. So when I look at this, that's what I remember most. It was a difficult time.

Many films have a key scene that audiences remember above all others. Ridley Scott's ALIEN has the chest bursting scene. And John Frankenheimer's PROPHECY has the sleeping bag bursting scene. If you've seen the film, you likely remember this "highlight". So I illustrated the moment before that event for the booklet cover. So no spoilers, but fans should get that "oh yeah" feeling when seeing the cover.

For the Blu-ray disc art I drew a bear's paw print made of mercury.

Why don't we continue the 1970s eco-horror theme with a double feature.

That's next time. 

When the Devil Calls

In celebration of "spooky month", I look back at some cover art I did for a 1988 horror film entitled 976-EVIL. 

The film, directed by Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund, features a Twilight Zone-esque concept where a bullied introvert discovers a fantastical connection (a phone line in this case) to a higher power (Satan himself) enabling him to turn the tables and get revenge on his tormentors. But, of course, there's a catch. There always is.

Perhaps inspired by the epic play Faust, our protagonist descends deeper into madness as his soul becomes more and more consumed by Satan until in the final reel... well, you'll just have to witness it yourself.

The piece is fairly straightforward in concept. 

Our protagonist-turned-antagonist looms threateningly large over the cast. Enticing the viewer with his red hot phone, receiver in hand. Satan's fire reflecting in his eyes (the windows to his soul). He wears his sunglasses at night because he's a Corey Hart fan. But who isn't?

His overtly religious, domineering mother sits nervously on the plastic covered couch with her multitude of cat companions. That never ends well. 

His "bad-boy, cool-guy" cousin, whom he idolizes, tries to reach him but, "his line is busy". Always is these days. 

And his therapist, (or something, it's been so long I can't remember who she is) looks on cautiously. "Was that a strange noise? I absolutely must go, alone, unarmed, into that dark room to find out what horrible creature made such a sound. Oh, an unlocked trap door in the floor I've never noticed before. Well, I'm not exactly dressed properly for exploring mysterious, labyrinthian passageways, but what could possibly happen to me? Hello. Anyone there? Helllooo?"

See you next time as the horror continues and things get messy when someone feeds a bear a little too much mercury. 

They're Both Super Cops

For the third entry in the popular POLICE STORY series, Jackie Chan turned the directorial duties over to a young stuntman-turned-director, Stanley Tong. Tong suggested Chan partner with action actress Michelle Yeoh, who was looking for a suitable project for her return to cinema screens after her brief retirement (and marriage). This was a first for Jackie, as usually his female co-stars were primarily there for him to rescue in the third act. Not so with Michelle. Their on-screen chemistry, along with Tong’s talent for staging jaw-dropping stunts, gave the film a freshness, humor and was a recipe for both commercial and critical success. I was pleased to be offered the opportunity to do package design for this Hong Kong action classic. I didn’t have much time to complete the project, but I wasn’t gonna pass it up either.

Every month I like to drive up to the mountains for a few days rest. It’s a four hour drive and I’ve taken that road so many times I basically drive on auto-pilot. Not literally. (It’s not a self-driving car.)  But when I have a design project I often pass the time by doing the creative design work on the road. Choosing fonts, colors and building the composition mentally on the inside of the windshield. In my head I’m talking to myself. “How about these colors? No wait. Move the leads to the top and position the car crash at the bottom. Or how about down the side? Run the text vertical or better yet on an angle. Oh so now the whole thing flows this way. And that leaves me room for… “

By the time I arrive, the design is done and all I have to do now is to physically render it. Not an insignificant task, but at least the drive is fruitful and I can sit at my desk with some deliberate direction instead of my typical blank thousand-yard stare. 

That was the process with POLICE STORY III: SUPER COP.

I placed the visual emphasis on a desperate and nearly beaten Jackie and Michelle being "in over their heads" and out-numbered. Only by working side-by-side with fists and firepower could they overcome seemingly unsurmountable odds. Add in some bold explosive colors, dynamic text, representations of the famous stunts by both leads, and a Kuala Lumpur skyline. Stir until it boils. And if you look closely at the top Michelle's expression. She has already pulled the grenade's pin. No going back now.

For the interior inlay card I played it a bit more safe. This design is a more typical "action movie" composition.

For the booklet cover I designed a passing train silhouette instead of a skyline silhouette. Since all the characters come together on top of the train at the end of the film it seemed a natural choice. I set it against a wash of yellow with a collage of watermarked production photos. (Cinemart, Milky Way and Japanese photo mooks to the rescue!) 

 

Each of the three times I drew Michelle Yeoh I think I got a little better at capturing her likeness. I think that will serve me well with my upcoming projects.

SUPER COP was SUPER FUN.

 Next month is Halloween... things are gonna get spooky.