Saturday, February 14, 2009

Welcome to the TokyoDome




Here's a couple of rough drawings for an upcoming poster (no, not Indy, but more on that later) based on a memorable moment in sports. My dad may be the biggest boxing fan I know and he would always get excited for any bouts that would pop on the television, especially the major championship fights. Unlike today, back in the late 80's and early 90's, the heavyweight division was amazing to watch. This was due, in large part, to the unstoppable force known as 'Iron' Mike Tyson. I don't remember ever seeing anyone who annihilated the opposition with such ease than he did on his undefeated road to the heavyweight championship. Anyone who faced him never had a chance and they were considered lucky if they survived the 1st round. We followed his every bout with such anticipation and the expectations of a quick, devastating victory. That all came to a crushing end on February 11th, 1990 when the undisputed champion put his title on the line in Tokyo against a journeyman named Buster Douglas who wasn't even given one iota of a chance. What happened was something I don't think anyone who saw the fight will ever forget. For the first time ever, the invincible force was made to look like someone who was a mere mortal. I guess it was like finding out Superman was only human. Tyson was never quite the same after that night and a lot of terrible things took a hold of his life, but I'm glad I can still remember the energy and excitement he brought to the sport way back when.

The plan with these drawings is to create a good, old-fashioned fight poster with a twist. The fact that this historic night took place in Tokyo led me to come up with an anime look for the artwork and the use of Japanese typography for all the editorial to create a unique angle on what we traditionally know to be a fight poster. I'll be sure to post the early layouts of the poster design.

On a side note, I've been getting a ton of inquiries on the Indiana Jones series, namely the 3rd poster. I do have a layout in mind and hopefully it will get done fairly soon. It's just a matter of getting on the same page with the vendors and working something out. I'll keep you posted, hopefully sooner than later.