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| CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER. 2014. Gouache, watercolor, and acrylic on illustration board, 16 × 24″. |
Hey, Muddy readers! I haven’t posted here in a while, but I just uploaded a new time lapse video, so I thought it was a good excuse to visit once again. This is a poster that was commissioned by the producers of the movie exclusively for the cast & crew.
The piece is painted with Holbein gouache on Strathmore Wet Media Board. The main brush I used was a Silver Brush Black Velvet Round #8 (but I also use various sizes). The first section is sepia gouache, applied as a thin wash (to lock down all the details). It’s painted over a digital print that I transferred to the board by printing on acetate, then burnishing.
Even though I was essentially “tracing” the likenesses, some of them still got away from me and I had to fix them in Photoshop due to time restraints.
The graphics were painted with Holbein Acryla Gouache (basically an acrylic that dries matte), and the text was done in Photoshop (with some guidance from my graphic designer wife). As you’ll see in the background of the video, I was painting from tons of reference on my computer, including the inspiration for the piece, Robert McGinnis’ classic Man with the Golden Gun poster. They were aiming for a “70s political thriller” and thus wanted a similar feel for the poster.
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| some (of many) digital comps |
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| Detail |
I've always loved this poster…damn shame they didn't use it as the official poster. Loved watching you paint Paolo. Beautiful stuff!
Thanks! Yeah, woulda been cool to be the official poster… but I probably wouldn't have had as much freedom. I'm just glad they brought Struzan back for The Force Awakens!
Truly great! And I love the use of digital tools!
Great to have you back here posting again! Thanks for the video…cool.
Thanks! Even when painting traditionally, I'm never far from my computer.
Thanks!
Loved watching this video! Amazing job, Paolo!
Thanks, Jamie!
Amazing work. I'm fascinated by this transfer technique printing to acetate then burnishing where can I go to learn more about this?
Thanks for sharing
I can't remember where I first got the idea, but it took a bunch of experimentation to get it right for my needs. Just try out a bunch of slick, clear materials to see what works. And don't forget to flip the image! (I wrote a note to myself on the back of the acetate to remind myself.) I use the same piece over and over again — I just wipe it clean after transferring.
Also, it's not perfect, but it's usually enough to get what I need.
Ok thanks I'm going to give it a go. One final question if I may, are you printing using an inkjet or laser printer? Thanks
It's an inkjet. Epson R2000.