Nightmares & Nocturnes-UNLV Wind Orchestra

For those of you that don't know me very well, before I was involved in marketing, design and athletics, I started out college majoring in music with a double emphasis in voice and percussion. During that time I met some impressive individuals, including a young composer named Justin Raines.

Last week, he and the folks with the UNLV Wind Orchestra were in a bind getting their print piece/poster produced for the upcoming world premier of Justin's, "Nightmares & Nocturnes". Justin put out a call for help on Facebook and I was more than happy to lend my talents.

Justin wanted a visual that invoked an eerie sense of mystery. He asked for a closet door in a room, with an iridescent light shining out from underneath with the hint of a shadow to a mysterious something lurking from behind. His piece presents haunting melodies sprinkled with peaceful nocturnes and musical statements that present a strong contrast to his 'nightmares'.

I wanted the image to pull the viewer in out of curiosity but repel them at the same time due to the unpleasantly dingy appearance of the room.

Building the Poster-11x17 Promotional Poster
I started with just the distorted picture of the door in the dark room.

I then tried to establish the lower plain line by putting down a hardwood floor (the floor would later disappear under the lightburst, but hey, it's all about the attention to detail.) creating a layer with a small box with white fill and outer glow to mimic light shining from under the door.

I then created a light burst and manipulated the angle to appear as it too was coming out form behind the door.

I then used and online image of a man standing in dress shoes to create the illusion of the person behind the door. I duplicated the mirror and flipped it to create a mirror image casting the shadow through the light from under the door. I then manipulated the perspective of the legs and feet so they appear to be stretching out toward the viewer, fading into the darkness with a mask.

 

Hope you enjoy may latest, non-athletic creation. I know getting back to my roots was a pleasure!