Tintin goes to Japan- Private Commission Poster

I just finished a new commission for a client that continues a series that we started in 2011. This is the third Tintin book cover inspired poster I've created starring my client, his wife, their dog and their new baby.

Not many Tintin books (by Hergé- real name Georges Prosper Remi) took place in Japan so it took a bit of imagining to work out how Hergé would have drawn and colored Mt. Fuji, a samurai and the clothes necessary for this scene based on my client's recent trip to Japan.

The poster/book cover has been framed and is hanging in their home.

Here are some work in progress images:

Using reference to keep the style as close as possible to Hergé's. 

Samurai outlined. Calm gardener in the background.

Almost finished. We did a bit of back and forth deciding on the colors of her yukata. Finally ended up in the blues. Also, my Mt. Fuji needed flattening.

Check out the other posters in this series.

Tintin Boat Chase Book Cover/Poster

A client asked me to do a new commission for him to give to his wife for her birthday. Last year I created a Tintin cover for him to give her for Christmas (she was his fiancée then) which took place on Safari in Africa.

This year it was a boat chase off the coast of Italy. They provided me with a few photos from their recent trip and I took it from there. Here's the final art:

It was interesting to me to try to emulate someone as talented as Hergé (Tintin's creator). His draftsmanship is incredible and the amount of detail in every panel is astonishing. What I found surprising was the lack of color shadows. Buildings, for example, seem to be the same color from all sides and yet, through skillful drawing, Hergé was able to make them seem dimensional. Certainly a challenge for an illustrator who adores shades and shadows!

The final art was printed poster-sized and framed for the wall of their home. I also gave him a small image saved for the web so he could share the art with his friends on Facebook.

I tracked my progression from sketch to final and uploaded the work in progress to Behance. Have a look and leave a comment please.

A few images from along the way to pique your interest:

And here's the poster I created for this client last year.

Tintin Poster Commission Hot Air Balloon over Africa

In November, I was hired to create a custom Tintin poster as a surprise Christmas gift by a man for his fiancée. He came to me with what he wanted represented in the image (which is meant to look like the cover of a Tintin book) along with some photos and I put together a few sketches.

It's important to give your client what they ask for but to find the right spin on it. Originally, he requested that the balloon (and fiancée) be on the ground but I found that the composition wasn't going to be dynamic enough and it would be hard for a viewer to know what to focus on. So I brought the balloon to the foreground.

He wanted zebras, an elephant, a giraffe, a leopard, a Great Dane, a bird and a Vervet monkey.

I poured through Tintin books at the library (and at my parents' house) to really understand how Hergé would have done these characters and the background. His style is so simple and each line is perfect and intentional; it can be a little daunting but I was able to work it out.

Below are some screenshots I took while I worked:

The progression for the balloon and basket. Although very little of the balloon shows in the final piece, I drew it in its entirety.

The various characters start coming together.

Mostly done. The photo at the bottom right is a portion of a shot I took in Africa in 2007 and I was using it to try to get the tall grass right. In the final piece you'll note that the zebras have been switched around (which meant thickening or thinning the line weights accordingly) and a few elements were moved to improve the flow.

My client's fiancée loved the gift and the poster/book cover is framed and hanging in their home.