"Snap" 'em up!

Thanks to everyone who's already sent me pics of the Cars 2 'retro' campaign. It's really cool to see how many different places these things have be posted. Here's a pic of the prints that are up for grabs. I have 2 sets of the 4 prints and they are all scribbled on by yours truly. They are actually larger than I even thought they were (18.5" by 27"), so they'd make a nice addition to any room/garage/cubicle/bar area. Keep sending the pics in to get the chance to own one of these. See the previous post for all the info and keep snapping away! ;)

The Last Cars Post (I Swear)

I never ever thought the Cars 2 campaign would get around as much as it has. Friends have been e-mailing me about different places where they've seen them. It made me want to gather as many photos as I can of them out in public. For me, stuff like this doesn't happen very often so I definitely would like to create a personal photo archive to capture this experience.

This is where you guys can help. And I'm willing to part with a few of my Cars 2 mini-posters (I have 2 each of the 4 different international cities) for the effort. All I'd really need is a shot of any of the 4 posters you see above, anywhere you find them in public (Just like the one of above, I'm that little dot). Only one photo per person/e-mail address will be accepted & I'll count only the entries received before 12PM Pacific Standard Time on July 30th, 2011. The 8 winners will be drawn at random and all photos I receive will strictly be used for my personal archive and/or blog. All winners will be notified via e-mail.

Send jpegs to eric.tan.scavenger@gmail.com, along with your first name and the location where it was shot. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with! Thanks in advance for the help!

The Cars Show

That's me in the middle of one of the coolest places on earth, the atrium at the Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California. They were nice enough to hang up the Cars 2 posters I had worked on along with my coworker Stephane Kardos and Pixar's Harley Jessup, John Lee, and Craig Foster. When you enter the Pixar campus, you can immediately feel the creative energy in the air. There's tons of development art, maquettes, and huge statues of many of their beloved characters everywhere you go. It's quite an honor for me to visit the place where all of those amazing films are generated and it's an even bigger honor to have something I worked on hanging up anywhere in their building, let alone the main area. Amongst my daily duties at work, the posters are definitely the most difficult and time-consuming projects. I believe this particular series stretched over 4 or 5 months. They also are the most fun because they combine everything I like to do - layout, illustration, and typography.

When we started the project, we knew that there had to be 12 individual pieces, rendered in different styles, that had to hang together in harmony. When I hear they're printed and ready to be hung, I always tend to panic a little because I never know if it will work, or look like a confusing mess. When I walked in to see them this morning, I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and thought they actually looked pretty cool as a series. The idea of having Italian, Japanese, British, and vintage Spy designs as inspiration worked! Just when I could enjoy feeling that they were finally up and I was completely done, I got word that they may need a whole new set for their next film. Oh well, back to the drawing board. ;)

Monster Cars!

When i was 15 or so and on vacation in Los Angeles, I remember asking my parents to drive by the Disney studio in Burbank. I just wanted to see Mickey's Sorcerer hat which pinpointed the exact place I wanted to someday work at, Disney Feature Animation. I worked tirelessly on my drawing and painting all throughout high school so that I could get into a good art college and hopefully one day, into Disney. What I didn't find out til I took animation courses in college was that I was HORRIBLE at it! I have A.D.D. which also means I can't stick to something for very long and the slow animation process really took a toll on me. To this day, I have the utmost respect for all the amazing animators out there because it really is a special set of skills they have. With animation not being a realistic option, I decided to pursue a whole different type of art.

My major in college switched to Graphic Design. I had taken a few classes in Junior College and really enjoyed them. The projects were just as challenging and the turnaround seemed a lot faster. It really did satisfy my interest in illustration and typography and I instantly gravitated towards poster design because it completely integrated the two. I was content within the world of Graphic Design, but I was also a little disappointed that my childhood dream of working at Disney was drifting further and further away.

I lucked out one afternoon in my Editorial Design course when my instructor, Carla, asked me what my goals were after I finished college. I told her about my early goals of working at Disney and how I didn't believe that was possible anymore. That left me a little lost until she mentioned that a former student of hers worked at Disney Consumer Products as a graphic designer. I was completely blown away because I didn't even know they had positions within the company that involved what I was now learning in my design courses. She immediately connected me with her former student, Marcella, and I started working at DCP a week later.

To say I was thrilled to make it to the Mouse House was an understatement. I wasn't really sure at first what I would be working on, but I just thought that if I stick to it and work really hard, I'd make it onto the Disney lot for a tour of the place I dreamed of working as a kid. That was about 12 years ago, and since then I've been very fortunate to work on products for all of the Disney and Pixar films that have been released throughout the years. The fun I had designing posters in school has translated into the ones I've created for all of the Pixar films, starting with The Incredibles. I've been extremely lucky to work with all of the talented people within my company and we've all been blessed to get to do our childhood hobby as adults.

The Disney Lot has always been a special place for me because of the memories I has as a kid, driving by on the 134 and wondering what amazing stuff was going on within its walls. Nowadays, every time I walk around it to get to a meeting or a screening, I definitely get a sense that to be a part of it is an amazing & magical thing. I feel very fortunate to be there and it definitely puts a smile on my face every time. The old animation buildings, the water tower, the gigantic sound stages, and of course Mickey's sorcerer hat which sits atop Feature Animation - they all are as cool now as I thought they were when I was 15. Yesterday, I was walking along one of the busy corridors between the sound stages towards the commissary. On the way you pass the massive billboards that promote Disney and Pixar's latest and greatest films and shows. In a million years, I would never expect to see what I did on those walls, the Cars 2 series that I worked on a few months ago. I was completely floored.

As a kid, you can sometimes have these wild dreams of what you want to be when you grow up. After watching Jungle Book when I was 5, the only thing I ever wanted to do was to work at Disney - in any capacity. I remember even wanting to be a ride operator at Disneyland. I guess I just never stopped working towards that goal. When I saw those Cars posters, I felt a sense of relief - that all that hard work paid off and I was on the same lot I had always wanted to work on, staring at these 25 foot posters that had been on my little computer screen for all those hours. I also thought of how many 15-year-old aspiring artists who were just like me will pass by them, and be inspired to create their own art and maybe even want to work at Disney one day. I'd tell those kids to work their little hearts out while continuing to have fun and live life. I'd also tell them to hurry up!!! Considering my workload these days, I can definitely use the help!!

Yahoo!

Yahoo was nice enough to rate the Cars 2 Posters I got to work on as one of the summer's best film posters. It's always awesome to get noticed and I'm just relieved that it wasn't in the '5 worst' list. In all honesty, I kind of like the Harry Potter poster, even thought it was on the 'worst' list). Thanks to Ricardo and Sue for the heads up. To check out the rest of the list CLICK HERE!

Even More Cars!!!

Two more Cars 2 posters were launched online the other day. The 'spy' poster, which probably has the most elements of the series, was the quickest one to complete. That's the complete opposite of how things usually go but it was the last I completed of the series and by that time I felt I had a better handle on the characters and the painting technique. It's inspiration came from looking at Bob Peak and Robert McGinnis posters. They had such a great style and design aesthetic to everything they did.

The London poster, like the Japan race poster in a previous post, are my favorites of the series. I tend to gravitate toward simple, bold graphics or the 'less is more' mantra of design. I also like the look of red on a white background too!

In the end, there were 11 posters we worked on in the series and it was definitely the most challenging yet because of the multiple characters, settings, and genres. The various paint styles were also something I had to really push myself to learn. Continuing to grow and progress is always a good thing and I'm very fortunate to be asked to work on as cool a project as this was. I already can't wait for the next one!

....And More Cars!

Here's two more Cars 2 posters that were launched online a couple of days ago. These were a blast to conceptualize and work on because Japan is so rich with iconic imagery and a unique artistic style. The 1st one was influenced by a combination of Japanese film posters and manga while the 2nd poster used more of a minimalist, graphic approach. Special thanks to my friend Stephane Kardos who helped to render the awesome trio of racers.

Cars, Cars, and More Cars!

Cinemablend posted 3 more posters from the Cars 2 series. Of all the Pixar posters I've gotten the amazing opportunity to work on, the series for Cars 2 was definitely the most challenging. With The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-e, and Up, I was able to keep a consistent look throughout each series, so once the stylization of the characters was approved it was then easy enough to concentrate on the themes and layout for each. Cars 2 was an entirely different story. With its multiple settings, characters, and themes, we knew that one style would not suffice to capture the scope of the film. Everything from minimalist Japanese design - to vintage Italian racing posters - to spy film graphics, were used as inspiration to create the series. Pixar has always been amazing at compiling tons and tons of reference material for each film and it was a life-saver when it came to nailing down the 'authenticity' of these. For me, challenging = fun, and it was a blast to switch back and forth in design aesthetic and rendering style. I definitely learned a lot of new tips and tricks within Photoshop on this project. A special thanks to Harley Jessup and Jay Shuster for their sage-like advice in getting these to where they are.

Vrrrrooom!

Here's a poster series for the upcoming 'Cars 2' that I had the cool opportunity to help out with. I think you pretty much know by now that I'm a HUGE fan of anything retro and travel, so when the idea came up of doing a series that combined both of those things, I jumped at the chance to contribute in any way possible. Working with the creatives at the Disney Studio and Pixar Animation is always an inspirational and creatively challenging experience. I definitely learn a ton from those guys and the collaboration produces really cool results. Hopefully, you'll start to see these out and about next month.