Art Kill Adam: Volume 2

[James]

[color=#707875]I was working on a little logo for Kill Adam 2, and I decided I'd make a funny little movie-esque preview poster for the RPG.

I remember that my little tagline for the first RPG was "The first and last movie by James Otaku", or something along those lines. So I couldn't really think of something to follow that up...except for the tagline you see on the poster there. I couldn't think of how many RPGs I've done in total, so the bleeping fit in quite nicely (though there's a bit more to it than that). ~_^

As you can see, it's quite a simple piece, but I kind of like it. I kept the Kill Bill theme, but I also moved away from that theme just a little. As far as RPG promotion goes, people seem to be making banners and such more and more these days. Maybe this will encourage people to make fake RPG posters as well. :-P[/color]

[center][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/jamesimages/Kill_Adam_Lives_04.jpg[/img][/center]

[DeadSeraphim]

[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial Narrow]'The **nd RPG by Jeh' Isn't it a bit early for Alzeihmers James? Forgetting how many RPs you've made already? In any case I rea lly like this... similar to the actual film posters but different enough to be original. And I like your silohuette thing.

Its a shame you used the Northern Hemisphere dates though... betraying your Aussie heritage lol. I can't give ratings well so I'lljust give it three thumbs up.

~CrH~[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[James]

[color=#707875]Three thumbs eh? Why thank you. ~_^

You're right about the summer/winter thing, but eh. Most of the people who read/participate in it are American (or non-Australian), so I guess it makes sense in that respect.

And yes, I forget how many RPs I've made...they [i]might [/i]go into the double digits, if I'm lucky. Maybe the true number is "09" or something. Or [i]maybe [/i]there are no numbers there at all, if you catch my drift.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback. The silhouette is a kind of icon/logo that I was developing for it. I wonder if anyone can guess who the two characters are.[/color]

[Kinetic]

The orange one actually looks like the asian guy (I forget his name) who protects the oracle in The Matrix. That's how it seems to me at least.

As for the ad, it looks pretty good. Nice use of complimentary colors, and not just laying them against each other, but actually bordering them with white, which makes it look better. I also like the depth given off by the blue character being behind the orange one. It makes it seem even deeper because blue is darker than orange. Nice touch.

As for the background, I like it, but I honestly don't like the color of it at all. I think a brighter color would do the ad more justice. If you were looking for something to contrast well with the silhouettes, I think the text would do it well enough if you used something bright like yellow. Although, you said you're moving away from the Kill Bill theme, so you might not want to.

Nice job :)

[James]

[color=#707875]Thanks for the critique, Kinetic. The character behind the first silhouette is actually dark grey; I'm not sure if that's your monitor, or if it's just the type of colour (and if it's giving off the wrong impression or something).

The yellow used in the texture is actually directly sampled from the "Kill Bill yellow", which can be found on the official posters. However, it's darker because it's been mixed with various shades of grey, to create a concrete style effect.

I actually began to make something very clean and pristine...but then I realized that I didn't want that at all. I wanted it to look dirty and gritty...dirtier than the first chapter. Because, afterall, the second chapter [i]is [/i]dirtier.

Regarding the logo, I see what you mean; brighter colours would definitely enhance the contrast. But by the same token, I wanted to keep that subdued and dark look. Kill Bill actually seems to use multiple logos (there are a few different versions shown during the movie), so I figured that I could maintain the style but still do my own thing.

Anyway, again, thank you for the comments. It was a fun image to make. ^_^[/color]

[Kinetic]

Ah, I see the grey now. I didn't look closely enough, as my eye was drawn directly to the orange, and the shade of grey it is made it seem as though it were a dark blue.

It's good that you follow Tarantino's style, but still keep it unique, whereas most people would completely rip off his style and run with it. Have you ever taken a design class? It seems like you know alot about it, which is a good thing, depending on what career you're looking forward to.

[James]

[color=#707875]Yeah, I did two years of graphic design in high school, and I'm in my second year of a Bachelor of Arts (in graphic design). So, I've done a lot of design classes over the years.

I'm definitely not an amazing artist though; but I have come to a greater understanding about the psychology of design. So, that's helped with site development and stuff.

But yeah, anyway...I should really get this thread back on track somehow. lol

It's great that you've noticed the link with Kill Bill, while also acknowledging that it's a different overall design. I really like the Kill Bill "style", so to speak. The colours are so well used, especially in the movie itself (ie: not just the wallpapers/logos/site graphics). I've actually had fun working on different post backgrounds for Volume 2 as well (all of which will be optional/chooseable by those who enter the RPG).[/color]

[Brasil]

The use of "**nd" is significant on a number of levels, actually.

The most obvious and superficial significance is simply that Kill Adam Vol 2 is the second part of Jeh's RPG. That's fairly obvious. It ties in with the fact that while Tarantino is very subtle in what he does, he can be very overt in the subtlety.

But where that takes on a neat twist is when we realize what kind of wordplay and dialogue-play Tarantino is known for. Kill Bill was subtitled "The 4th Film by Quentin Tarantino," and I think it's a fantastic subtitle. Some have criticized it for being pretentious or self-indulgent, but no other Tarantino film has ever had that kind of subtitle and there is a reason for it.

If you know anything about QT or if you've seen his previous three works (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown), you will notice a very, very distinct difference between those three and Kill Bill. His Trinity, so to speak, were crime movies, heavily influenced by film noir (you can see this in Reservoir Dogs), the serial novellas of the 40s (Pulp Fiction), and Blaxploitation (Jackie Brown). And you will notice in those films, the tone is often very similar.

And here comes Kill Bill, a radical departure from anything Tarantino has ever come out with. You can [i]see[/i] how different it is simply from the fan reaction to it. People dislike it because they were going in expecting Pulp Fiction, and that is clearly [i]not[/i] what Kill Bill was intended to be. Kill Bill was something new for Tarantino, it was something he had never done before, something that held similarities to the Trinity only through director and cast, nothing more.

This is why "The 4th Film by Quentin Tarantino" is included as the subtitle, to fully distinguish between the Trinity and Kill Bill. And Tarantino could have very easily put "A 4th Film by Quentin Tarantino." But he didn't. My Linguistics professor would be proud here. Had QT used "A" in the subtitle, instead of "The," he would have used an indefinite article, something unfocused and without specific meaning or reference. "The," on the other hand, is a definite article with very specific meaning and reference. Kill Bill is not another film, and Tarantino knows this.

Kill Adam Volume 2 is not another chapter, and James knows this. There will be a distinct difference in tonal quality, in attitude, and approach, like James has mentioned in his subsequent replies in this thread. So, I hope I explained that well. Obviously, I'm not James, lol, so I could be getting some of it incorrect, or reading too deeply into it, but it's certainly an interesting angle to take.

Now, concerning the piece itself. I'm not going to comment on the visuals, because, well, we all know they're good, lol. I'm more going to look into what the visuals mean.

The center of focus in the image, the orange/gray/pistol, can be interpreted as the lovers fighting back. The orange figure with the gun seems to be taking the role of the protector, as he points the gun at Adam, we suppose, and also keeping his partner behind him. His partner, gray, is almost being held in his arms. The outlines support this interpretation, I think. Orange's face is pointed in the same direction as the gun, and Gray's face looks almost nuzzled up to Orange's neck. Maybe it's just me, but I see definite ears and definite frontal hair lines that also support the "protector" meaning of the image.

That's about it from me for now.

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1][color=darkred]I don't think I could be as indepth as Anime_fangurl [surprisingly well written considering her signi...err,signature ;)], but I do love this. I feel that the background is a bit...icky. However, upon reading your reasoning for it...it fits. It makes sense. It is a harsh departure from the original art I have seen for KBv1. I have yet to see the movies, but this is a big shock... and yet it works. I love the typography of Kill Bill Volume Two, which is especially snazzy and neat. Neato, even. As for "The **nd RPG by Jeh" well, it doesn't work. Not for me, anwyay. For one, the only way it could be "nd" is if it was the second. Secondly, I feel something like an inksplash or blood dripping over the number, just leaving "th" there would have been much more classier and better fitting. It just screams to me of...shoddy. Sorry James, I just don't like the wording of it. As for the silhouettes...well, I don't know. If they aren't necessarily from the Kill Bill movie, then I would have to say that the orange one is that guy from True Crime Streets of LA. Which I have also never played. Aside from that I have no idea though.

Overall, this feels very neat and very...tight. It works...all except the "**nd" part.[/size][/color]

[James]

[color=#707875]Regarding the "**ND" part...you're right that "ND" can only be used for "2ND". But there's a reason that there are two asterisks before the ND. Perhaps I'm being too cryptic for my own good though, and tripping over myself in the process. lol

Regarding the silhouettes...these are not pre-fab designs. They are my own creations. And they are specifically based on characters in the story.

Anime_fangurl actually hit the nail on the head with her interpretation of what the silhouettes represent, although as to who they are specifically...that's another issue. I didn't want to make the second silhouette stand defiantly next to the first; I wanted it to shrink back, as though it's slightly afraid.

It's true that I could have done something classy with the numbers, Baron. But remember, you haven't yet seen Kill Bill. If you do...I think this type of design will make more sense, in that you will recognize its deliberateness (rather than anything being an accident).[/color]

[Brasil]

As to who the silhouettes represent...

Well, as I recall back during the Kill Adam sign-ups, James' character, Jamie Kidd, had a rather interesting picture attached. The outfit was what caught my attention the most, I think. It was a one or two piece robe, or something resembling oriental formalwear. I remember it had tails to it, or at least tips on the edges. Orange here looks to feature those same characteristics, so I would think Orange is Jamie.

Now, Gray could very well be Josh. The pose looks to be an outlined cut-out of Josh's sign-up picture. Not necessarily a trace, as James has said he did these by hand. But it looks to have been somewhat based on the sign-up pic. I remember Josh's hair being slightly...bushy, too.

Of course, I haven't had a chance to follow the RPG (mesorry), so I'm just guessing here. Orange definitely looks like Jamie, though.

[Guest HAL0S]

Great Poster By the way,
But i think that the the figures look a bit dodgey, or out of place at least, i think you could put a bit of texture over the figures, still keeping with the kill bill style, but texture it like the logo.. but thats my take, im not taking a bachelor of arts. but still a cool poster. where abouts in Aus do you do your course because im looking at doing a course along those lines (and live in Aus) and havent found a person who has done them so i need your advice, i am about to enter my final year and still unsure about where and what to do. so any advice would be great.
Cheers

[Hittokiri Zero]

I never bothered to watch Kill Bill because it looked like one of the most horrendous movies on the face of the planet from the various previews I saw :rolleyes:. Nevertheless the "poster" is nicely done, my only suggestion would be to vary the bg a little bit possibly by using some light semi-grunged brushes and just making some light minute smears here and there. Just my 2 cents though...