Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Lowbrow (Pop Surrealism): A central face with the surround filled by emblem-like motifs
- Type
- Set in Lowbrow (Pop Surrealism)'s manner (Sign-painter and comic lettering rendered as carefully as the art), and let Skate Graphics's lettering (Brand name drawn as heavy lettering at the stroke weight of the art) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Lowbrow (Pop Surrealism)'s material (Oil gloss and smooth gradation, brushwork sanded away); bring in exactly one thing from Skate Graphics (A few screen colors overlaid, with knockouts letting the wood show through).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
- Both belong to Illustration Styles, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Lowbrow (Pop Surrealism) Picking creepy subject matter while skipping the rendering craft turns the work into doodling that only wants to shock.
- Skate Graphics Leaning on fine detail loses the image the first time it grinds, so the more a board is ridden the less it is worth.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Lowbrow (Pop Surrealism) (Style, 1979–) and its accent from Skate Graphics (Style, 1980s–). Structural cues: Pop-culture iconography; Precise classical technique; Uneasy humor; Street-born heraldry. Accent cues, used sparingly: Tall deck-bottom composition; Bold-outlined characters; Horror mixed with humor; Grace about being worn away. Composition: A central face with the surround filled by emblem-like motifs. Type and lettering: Sign-painter and comic lettering rendered as carefully as the art. Let one material quality come from the second style: A few screen colors overlaid, with knockouts letting the wood show through. Mood: Rebellion, Play, Nostalgia, Exhilaration. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Lowbrow (Pop Surrealism) 1979– / Style / Illustration Styles
Painting from outside the museum, schooled on hot rods, comics, tattoos and B movies. It renders pop memory in exacting oil technique, and Juxtapoz magazine gave it a home under the name Pop Surrealism.
- Skate Graphics 1980s– / Style / Illustration Styles
Graphics made for the tall canvas of a deck's underside, drawn in the knowledge that grinding will wear them away. Bold outlines and horror-tinged exaggeration, typified by Phillips's Screaming Hand, built a heraldry for the street.
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