Wikipedia

Drew Struzan

Drew Struzan(/ˈstruːzən/;born March 18, 1947[1]) is an American artist, illustrator and cover designer. He is known for his more than 150movie posters,which includeThe Shawshank Redemption,Blade Runner,E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,as well as films in theIndiana Jones,Back to the Future,Harry Potter,andStar Warsfilm series.[2]He has also painted album covers, collectibles, and book covers.

Drew Struzan
Struzan at the 2012San Diego Comic-Con
Born(1947-03-18)March 18, 1947(age 77)
Oregon City, Oregon,U.S.
EducationArtCenter College of Design
Known forPoster art,illustration
SpouseDylan Struzan
Children1
AwardsSaturn Award,2002
Inkpot Award,2010
Saul BassAward, 2014
Sergio Award,2016
Society of IllustratorsHall of Fame, 2020
Websitedrewstruzan.com
Signature

Early life

edit

Struzan was born on March 18, 1947, inOregon City, Oregon.[3]In 1965, at age 18, he enrolled at theArtCenter College of Design,then in West Los Angeles.[citation needed]

Career

edit

Early career

edit

A counselor asked Struzan about his interests and told him he had a choice between fine art or illustration. The counselor described the two careers, telling Struzan that as a fine artist he could paint whatever he wanted, but as an illustrator he could paint for money. Struzan chose to be an illustrator, saying, "I need to eat."[4]In his first year, he married and became a father.[5]Struzan worked his way through school by selling his artwork and accepting small commissions. He graduated in five years, earning aBachelor of Artsdegree with honors. He also completed two years of graduate studies,[6]and eventually returned to the school in later years, after the campus relocated toPasadena, California,to teach for a short time.

About his career, Struzan has said: "I was poor and hungry, and illustration was the shortest path to a slice of bread, as compared to a gallery showing. I had nothing as a child. I drew on toilet paper with pencils – that was the only paper around. Probably why I love drawing so much today is because it was just all I had at the time."[7]

After graduating from college, Struzan remained in Los Angeles, and a trip to an employment agency found him a job as a staff artist forPacific Eye & Ear,a design studio. There he began designing album covers under the direction ofErnie Cefalu,relishing the creative aspects the 12x12 "size the record packaging afforded him. Over the next 5 years, he would create album cover artwork for a long line of musical artists, includingTony Orlando and Dawn,The Beach Boys,Bee Gees,Roy Orbison,Black Sabbath,Glenn Miller,Iron Butterfly,Bach,Earth, Wind & Fire,andLiberace.He also illustrated the t-shirt thatGeorge Carlinwears on the front and back cover of his albumToledo Window Box.[8]

Among these, Struzan illustrated the album cover artwork forAlice Cooper'sWelcome to My Nightmare,whichRolling Stonewould go on to vote one of the Top 100 Album Covers Of All Time.[9][deprecated source]Despite the burgeoning demand for his talents, however, Struzan was still only earning $150 to $250 per album cover.[10]

Airbrushed one-sheets

edit

Along with a friend with a background in the movie industry, Struzan started a small company, Pencil Pushers, in a collaboration that would last eight years. It was during this time that he honed his distinctive one-sheet style and first became proficient in the use of the airbrush, which would later define him as a master of the tool. His first film poster works started appearing in 1975, although in those early days Struzan mainly did artwork forB-movies,such asEmpire of the Ants,Food of the Gods,andSquirm.While his talent steadily grew in demand, it was his work done for a major science-fiction movie that would establish Struzan and his work in the public eye forever.

Star Wars1978 re-release style D "circus" poster. Art by Charles White III and Drew Struzan.

In 1977 fellow artist Charles White III, well known for his own airbrush prowess, had been hired by David Weitzner, Vice President of advertising at 20th Century Fox, to create a poster design for the 1978 re-release ofStar Wars.White, uncomfortable with portraiture, asked Struzan for his help on the project. As such, Struzan painted the human characters in oil paints and White focused on the ships,Darth Vader,C-3PO,and all the mechanical details of the poster art.[11]

The unique poster design, popularly called the "Circus" poster, depicts what appears to be a torn posted bill on a plywood construction site wall. "It was necessity that invented that," Struzan explains. "They found out there wasn't enough room for the typography and the billing block they had left in the design. What can we do to make more space on a poster that's already been printed? Let's pretend it's posted, then they can put the type below the actual poster. We paintedObi-Wandown the side and stuff across the bottom to make it wider and deeper. "[12]

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Struzan produced poster work for such films asThe Seven-Per-Cent Solution,Blade Runner,The Thing,The Cannonball Run,thePolice Academyseries,Back to the Future,Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,The Muppet Movie,Coming to America,First Blood,Risky Business,D.C. Cab,Stroker Ace,Batteries Not Included,An American Tail,andThe Goonies.By the 1980s, Struzan was producing approximately ten poster designs a year.[citation needed]

During this period, Struzan continued his association with Lucas by designing the originalIndustrial Light & Magiclogo, and creating the associated one-sheet artwork for both the continuingStar Warssaga and theIndiana Jones series of films.In the process, Struzan's work became, in the public mind, the defining visual images representing those series. As such, he was also sought after to create new artwork for re-releases and reissues on video and DVD, book covers, theme-park rides and video game titles for those properties.[citation needed]

1990s–2000s

edit
Struzan's cover art forAction Comics#800 (April 2003), with a self-portrait seen at the lower left

In the 1990s, with the advent of computers and digital manipulation of images utilized to create poster art, Struzan was affected by the decline of traditionally illustrated poster art. While continuing to create artwork for such 1990s and 2000s films asHook,Hellboyand the American poster forHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,he started exploring other outlets for his work, including comic books, limited-edition art, and the collectible market. As such, his work has been featured on such diverse items asFranklin Mintcollectible plates, including a twelve-piece set commemorating the life of Princess Diana, the 1996 cover forParker Brothersboard gameClue,[13][14]and over 30 U.S. postage stamps, including the 2004John Waynestamp and the 2007James Stewartstamp.[15][16]

Struzan once lamented on the decline of traditional art in an e-mail exchange:

I love the texture of paint made of colored earth, of oil from the trees and of canvas and paper. I love the expression of paint from a brush or a hand smearing charcoal, the dripping of paint and moisture of water, the smell of the materials. I delight in the changeable nature of a painting with new morning light or in the afternoon when the sun turns a painting orange or by firelight at night. I love to see it, hold it, touch it, smell it, and create it. My gift is to share my life by allowing others to see into my heart and spirit through such tangible, comprehensible and familiar means. The paint is part of the expression.[17]

From 1995 through 1997, Struzan's work was shown throughoutJapanin a series of one-man exhibitions, which offered his one-sheet work of Lucas and Spielberg films in a successful limited-edition program.

In 1999, in an exhibit entitledDrew: Art of the Cinema,Struzan had over 65 pieces of his artwork presented at theNorman Rockwell MuseuminStockbridge, Massachusetts.[18]

For the release ofStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,George Lucasdictated that, contractually, Struzan's poster was the only art the foreign distributors could use, and other than the text, it could not be modified in any way.[19]

2000s

edit

In 2008, Struzan in collaboration with his art director son, Christian, created the official poster for the 80thAcademy Awards.[20]

After completing the extensive artwork required for the campaign ofIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,Struzan announced his retirement on September 3, 2008.[21]

In 2009, Struzan (in collaboration with Jim Sanders of Reel Ideas) produced a DVD,Conceiving and Creating the Hellboy Movie Poster Art,as a step-by-step documentation of his creative process, techniques, and industrial experience. Shot in his studio, the DVD is intended to provide an over-the-shoulder look at the thinking and techniques that go into Struzan's posters.

A February 2009 exhibit entitledDrew Struzan: An Artist's Visionat Gallery Nucleus inAlhambra, California,presented select pieces of the artist's for the first public exhibit in 10 years.[22]

In September 2009, Struzan produced an image for publication inKurvmagazine of Mattel'sBarbie,in celebration of that doll's 50th anniversary year.

2010s

edit

The 2013 documentary,Drew: The Man Behind The Poster,directed by Erik Sharkey, examines Struzan's life and work, and features interviews with filmmakers and actors involved with films for which Struzan has done poster work, includingFrank Darabont,Harrison Ford,George Lucas,Michael J. Fox,Steve Guttenberg,Guillermo del Toro,Steven SpielbergandThomas Jane.[23]The film was scored by award-winning composerRyan Shore.[24]

Struzan came out of retirement to design posters for the 2015 documentaryBatkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around The World[25]andStar Wars: The Force Awakens.[26]

In December 2017, to celebrate Struzan's 70th birthday, Robert Townson,Varèse Sarabandeand theGolden State Pops Orchestraproduced the tributeThe Magnificent Movie Poster World of Drew Struzan – live in concertwhich featured Struzan's artwork displayed to the live orchestral performance of associated film music. The performance included composersThomas Newman,John Debney,Brian Tyler,Marco Beltrami,Robert Folk,and Michael Kosarin, as guest conductors.[27][28][29]

In January 2019, for the release ofHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden WorldStruzan came out of retirement again to create three separate posters for theHow to Train Your Dragonfilm trilogy.[30]This series followed the exclusiveComic-Conposter Struzan did for the release ofHow to Train Your Dragon 2in 2013.[31]

Published in 2019, Struzan illustrated the bookA Bloody BusinessISBN978-1785657702aboutprohibitionandorganized crime,written by his wife Dylan Struzan.[32]

Creative process

edit

To create his finished work projects, Struzan starts by sketching out drawings ongessoedillustration board, then tinting the draftsmanship with airbrushed acrylic paint, finishing up the highlights and other details with colored pencils and more airbrush if needed. The gessoed foundation allows Struzan the luxury of being able to accommodate any requested changes to the work. Preferring to work on a 1 to 1 scale, Struzan's one-sheet work would be approximately 27 x 40 inches, the size of a printed movie poster. Working from reference photographs and live models, Struzan has been known at times to include depictions of himself, family members, and friends in his work. He is known for working very quickly, as it typically takes him a week to two weeks to finish a painting. With the theatrical release of theStar Warsspecial editions, Struzan created the three-panel triptych within the limited four-week deadline. The poster artwork forJohn Carpenter's 1982 remake ofThe Thingwas created overnight, Struzan having received that assignment less than a day before the finished poster was needed.[33]

Personal life

edit

Working from a backyard studio, Struzan lives in California with his wife, Dylan. He has a son named Christian[34]and since retiring from full-time work in 2008 spends much of his time caring for his grandchildren.[35]

Published collections

edit
  • Drew Struzan: OeuvreISBN0-9732786-7-6– a hardbound edition of Struzan's works, ranging from movie posters to album and book covers. Due to financial problems with the publisher, Dreamwave, Struzan lost a considerable amount of personally invested money on this volume.[36]
  • The Art of Drew Struzan – Star Wars PortfolioISBN0-9672928-0-8
  • The Movie Posters Of Drew StruzanISBN0-7624-2083-9

Awards

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^The Man Behind The Posters Series Drew Struzan Biography
  2. ^"CineMaterial.com: Drew Struzan".
  3. ^"Oregon gallery to exhibit varying art of locally born Drew Struzan".Daily Emerald.October 14, 2007.
  4. ^Holberton, Priscilla (2007)."The Artist and the Stamp: Drew Struzan"ArchivedJuly 23, 2019, at theWayback Machine.Montgomery College.Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  5. ^Lambert, Molly (April 8, 2014)."'Drew: The Man Behind the Poster,' 'Stripped,' and the Outmoded Art Form".Grantland.
  6. ^"Art of the Stamp: Drew Struzan".Smithsonian National Postal Museum.Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  7. ^Hawkinson, Olivia (May 14, 1999)."The brush strokes behind the images of our 'Star Wars' world".Orange County Register.
  8. ^Struzan, Drew (February 9, 2021)."George Carlin - Toledo Window Box front & back album cover. I did the drawings on George's t-shirt".Twitter.
  9. ^"Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers".Rate Your Music! Reprinted fromRolling StoneNovember 14, 1991, See alsoArchivedJuly 15, 2012, atarchive.today
  10. ^Konow, David (February 14, 2004)."The Art of the Poster: Three legendary illustrators speak out on the declining state of movie poster art".MovieMaker.Archived fromthe originalon September 10, 2012.
  11. ^"A NEW HOPE STYLE" D "– 1978".TheForce.net.Retrieved January 30,2 017.ArchivedMay 17, 2005, at theWayback Machine
  12. ^"MovieMaker Magazine: The Art and Craft of Making Movies".
  13. ^Struzan, Drew."Illustrated Works".drewstruzan.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  14. ^"Advertising"ArchivedFebruary 2, 2017, at theWayback Machine.The Drew Collectors Page. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  15. ^Monahan, Kelsey (August 1, 2014)."The Artist Behind the Stamp".Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
  16. ^"Literary Arts: Zora Neale Hurston"ArchivedAugust 2, 2003, at theWayback Machine.Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  17. ^Stephens, Dan (January 6, 2011)."Movie Poster Artist: The Work of Drew Struzan".Top10Films.co.uk.
  18. ^"Drew: Art of the Cinema".Norman Rockwell Museum.2012. Originally published inResource Library Magazine(1999). Retrieved January 30, 2017.ArchivedApril 9, 2005, at theWayback Machine
  19. ^"The Making of the Poster".StarWars.com.March 10, 2000. Archived fromthe originalon May 13, 2011.
  20. ^"Official 80th Oscars Poster Revealed".ComingSoon.net. January 16, 2008.
  21. ^"Drew Struzan Retired".TheRaider.net. April 9, 2008.
  22. ^Drew Struzan: An Artist's Vision.Gallery Nucleus. 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  23. ^Jones, Gareth (February 19, 2015)."Exclusive Clip Gives You a Peek Behind the Poster with Drew Struzan".Dread Central.
  24. ^Debruge, Peter (August 16, 2013)."Film Review: 'Drew: The Man Behind the Poster'".Variety.
  25. ^Yamato, Jen (January 9, 2015)."'Batkid Begins' Draws Poster Icon Drew Struzan Out Of Retirement – Video".Deadline Hollywood.
  26. ^Goldfarb, Andrew (August 15, 2015)."D23 2015: New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Poster Revealed".IGN.
  27. ^"The Magnificent Movie Poster World of Drew Struzan LIVE IN CONCERT — Golden State Pops Orchestra".www.gspo.com.Archived fromthe originalon September 24, 2017.
  28. ^"The Magnificent Movie Poster World of Drew Struzan – Live in Concert".
  29. ^"Thomas Newman and Brian Tyler Help Celebrate 'The Magnificent Movie Poster World of Drew Struzan'".December 7, 2017.
  30. ^"Holy Crap, Drew Struzan Did 3 Incredible Posters for the How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy".January 19, 2019.
  31. ^"Immersed in Movies: DeBlois & Struzan Talk Postering 'How to Train Your Dragon 2'".July 27, 2013.
  32. ^"A Bloody Business".
  33. ^Struzan, Drew; Schow, David J. (2010).The Art of Drew Struzan,2010, Titan Books, p 20
  34. ^Napier, Jim (2012)."Update on DREW: THE MAN BEHIND THE POSTER & New Clip".Geek Tyrant.
  35. ^McIntyre, Gina (October 16, 2012)."Drew Struzan unveils Universal monster portraits for Mondo show".Los Angeles Times.
  36. ^Audio Interview With Struzan.a3upodcast.com.ArchivedAugust 28, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  37. ^"Inkpot Award".San Diego Comic-Con International.Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  38. ^Winder, Mike (December 18, 2015)."Illustration alum and legendary Star Wars poster artist Drew Struzan on the awakening of his own creative forces at ArtCente".Art Center College of Design.
  39. ^"Drew Struzan Makes Any Movie Better ⋆ Atomic Junk Shop".October 21, 2016.
  40. ^"Drew Struzan".
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related toDrew Struzan.

Interviews

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Drew_Struzan&oldid=1275723355"