By Alex Simon
Influenced by legendary names in the movie poster trade such as Amsel, Drew Struzan, John Alvin, the brothers Hildebrandt, and Tom Jung, artist Ciara McAvoy works almost exclusively in oils for her much sought-after movie posters. However, she has built a broad repertoire of skills in other media (acrylic, watercolor, graphite, charcoal, and pastels) as well as storyboarding, animation, character design, and matte painting. She studied at L'École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, where she obtained her Diplôme Supérieur d'Art Plastique (D.S.A.P). Later, she expanded her artistic skill set to include costume design and historical fashion, which now play an integral supporting role in her posters and illustrations. She describes her modus operandi as “photorealism applied to movie posters.”
Her most recent work to soon go public is the poster for Paul McGuigan’s Victor Frankenstein, set for release in November. The trailer for the film, which made its premiere at this year’s ComicCon, caused a stir on the Internet from bloggers and Tweeters alike. It gets is official release today, August 18. Ciara spoke with us recently about her experience designing the poster and some of her adventures on the film’s top secret, closed set.
Tell us about how you conceived the concept for the Victor Frankenstein poster.
As soon as I heard Paul McGuigan was directing Victor Frankenstein with Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy, I rushed straight to the studio to pick up my brushes. The Frankenstein movies have a longstanding history of gorgeous and memorable traditionally illustrated posters, so this was a perfect opportunity for me to create something as an homage to that tradition and legacy.
Movie poster artists mainly work from existing photographs—stars don’t really like sitting still that long. :) In this case, I didn’t even have that, plus no guidance on where to start. At first I was disappointed there were no visuals to work from for Victor Frankenstein—all very hush-hush—but it was an opportunity to let my imagination run wild, especially when it came to the magnificent costumes. I love detail and my creations celebrate that; a single image may take up to five or eight weeks to produce.
What that, I started my first character poster. Since then I’ve been invited to the set, though, which was right around the time my own “creation” evolved and took on a life of its own, so to speak. :) That experience, seeing Paul McGuigan in action, made me take a 180-degree turn and paint something totally different (i.e., a more apocalyptic view of the lab, Victor as mad scientist, Igor, Lorelei, and of course the impressively terrifying creature himself).
James McAvoy even ended up showing me some picture albums of various scenes and costumes between takes in his trailer before having diner. I truly appreciated his thoughtfulness. Coming from a costume design background, my eyes were glued on the gold silk brocade fabric and burgundy regency ascot tie; collars were high and shawl-like to frame the face. Simply beautiful! I was eager to bring life to the design complexity and the historical references of the costumes.
Before coming on set, we were instructed to wear warm clothing and waterproof jackets to the set. “O-o-o-kay,” I thought to myself worriedly. Upon our arrival, we found out first-hand what that was all about. They were in the middle of a night shoot, but not just any night shoot; it was my good fortune to “experience” one of the most dramatic scenes in the film—the creation of Frankenstein's monster—complete with all the eerie rain, thunder, and lightning effects. Thank goodness for my waterproof jacket!
What was it like being on the set of the film?
It was exciting and I had great fun. As you can imagine, I was told, “If you talk about the film, we’ll have to shoot you.” But there was a funny anecdote, yes. As a joke, guess who (hint: initials are JM) changed the position of the creature’s hand for a particular scene—middle finger pointed to the sky in all its glory. I think JM was making a sly "Filth" reference there. It’ll be interesting to see if the monster was actually filmed with his finger in that position!
Sounds like you got to know James McAvoy quite well. What's he like?
He is one of the most easy-going and generous people I’ve ever met. There were last minute changes to the filming schedule, so we had to change our plans several times. These things tend to happen with big films, so I wasn’t surprised when the production team informed James that they would be filming on location in Manchester instead of London. Of course, I had already booked for London. James offered to organize my hotel in Manchester, but when plans changed back to London (as these things do), he sent his apologies and personally booked me into the Charlotte (pretty sweet digs in Soho and right next to the shooting location) so I wouldn’t have too far to go after the shoot was over. That, to me, is who he is.
Walk us through your creative process, from conception, to drawing/painting, to completion.
I have an unusual way of creating my posters. I only draw initial pencil sketches, black and white compositions, and full color renderings of concepts to be sure the production team is in agreement with my vision.
It’s time consuming to make changes and ensure these changes are in line with the aesthetic integrity of the piece. So, it's best to have a clear concept down before the real work on the actual painting begins.
When I get the go-ahead, I paint directly on canvas. It's like a 3D puzzle, but instead of starting at the upper left corner and working my way around, I jump immediately to the middle and start with the main character’s expression—eyes, nose, and lips—until I reach photorealistic perfection. It's a ritual for me and helps me to kick start my own creativity and build confidence. When the character comes alive and whispers, "pull me out," then I know I’ve opened the floodgates to the rest of the painting. It all just comes together after that.
From the first coat, I add layers and layers—hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of tiny brush strokes—thicken colors and incorporate my own secret techniques (the kind of techniques you don’t learn in school, the kind of techniques you pick up and invent along the way). The trick is knowing when to stop with the fine detail. Too much can be overkill and you ruin the integrity of the work. Then the "Frankenstein" magic happens—bringing the heroes to life. I don't need lightning and thunder, just a day light lamp.
Is it hard for you to be finished with a project? Are you one of those people who always wants to go back and tinker with a picture, or the kind who, once you're done, you're done?
As you know, techniques are derived from an ever-evolving process. I’m mastering my own technique each and every day, gaining new perspective and better ways of doing things. That’s the nature of being an artist. Like the movies I create my posters for, “If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips out your heart, that’s the good picture.” Those were Eddie Adams’ great words of wisdom. As it does for film, it holds true for movie poster art! Therefore, a painting is never finished as long as I have it stored in my art studios. When it comes to lofty deadlines, it’s simply impossible to work with oil and produce the kind of high-quality results I'm looking for. A chance to go back and improve a piece of art that I wanted to do differently or with more details is just the nature of the beast within me. Many of the award-winning pieces I’ve created have changed and improved. I wish I could get back some paintings I sold, but life goes on.
Your mother is French and your dad is a Scot. How did those two very different cultures influence your artistic sensibility?
You may not know this, but the Scots have a great deal of affection for the French. Traveling back and forth between the two countries, I realized how close the temperaments really are—our attachment to traditions and the respect for the pact of friendship between the two nations. I inherited my talent for portraiture from my French grandfather (a pre-WWII portrait artist from Montmartre) but the inspiration, passion, stubbornness, and that very close family interaction are definitely Scottish.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Practice electrical safety during a thunder storm - you never know what may come alive !
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