Hey all —
Well, it’s been a few weeks since my last visit. I’d like to say I’ve enjoyed my sabbatical but I wound up with health-related issues instead. I’m still on the mend but definitely improving. And to celebrate my recovery I’ve upgraded another old design submission.
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF NERO WOLFE was another very early design from when I was just learning Photoshop (as witnessed by the crude reverse and insert). I tweaked the cover and label a couple years ago but still have never been pleased with the result.
[My rule of thumb is if I’m ashamed to post it in my personal gallery then it needs to be fixed.]
For this upgade I’ve scrapped the entire submission and redesigned it from scratch. And Wolfe fans will be pleased to note I actually spelled Greenstreet’s first name right (can’t believe NOBODY ever wrote me about that!)
So without further ado here’s the new submission with my usual notes:
COVER — This is an example of what I call “splatter art” where I use a Hard Mix Blend on the layers to produce a quasi-painting look. I wanted something to evoke the 1930s/40s without competing with my eventual PETE KELLY’S BLUES revamp.
COVER REVERSE — This one I wanted a ghostly headshot look to evoke (of all things) VHS cover designs from the early 1980s. If Disney had done a 1950s Wolfe movie, I think the lobby art would’ve looked like this.
LABEL — I wanted at least one image where Wolfe looked like he was thinking. Although Greenstreet looks a bit like a painting, that’s an actual photo from ACROSS THE PACIFIC. A different experiment in colorization. The bookshelves, btw, were cloned from a much smaller portion and then layered.
TRAY INSERT — A great example of colorizing a b&w image (Greenstreet) to match a 4-color image (Goodwin). The tones, btw, were inspired by of all things by the cover art for THE PARENT TRAP Vault Disney edition. Go figure.
TRAY REVERSE — The usual design package. I’m still toying with where to place the host/announcer credit. That’s also the complete Archie Goodwin cast listing for the entire season.
That’s all for now. Coming this weekend should be a new (not a revised) ZERO HOUR serial. I’ve also starting upgrading THE AVENGERS and will probably do some tweaks on THE GREEN LAMA. Further out I plan to finish ARCH OBOLER’S PLAYS, PLAYS FOR AMERICANS (I’ve been sitting on a dynamite cover for several months now), revamp PETE KELLY and HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, and create a design package for CRISIS.
And, of course, whatever else my Muse tells me.
In the meantime, as always, keep watching the skies!
Denny (HapWander)