Marcus
Graphic Gigs

Self-Initiated

Image Type: multiple

Usage: These four posters are a selection from a collection of six (and part of a collection of more than fifteen works), showed at a collective exhibition ‘Music As A Driver For Creativity’ at Cromo Gallery, July 2016, Barcelona, Spain. This project started in Barcelona many years ago, as a personal initiative, taking form from 2013 to 2015, during my staying in London, as a live illustrator in several music venues, ending as the Official Live Illustrator resident at Village Underground, East London.

Process: The aim of my work as a live illustrator is to capture the sound abstraction of music, performer's shapes and movements and the crowd's feeling as catalysers of energy. All my live drawings are based on these three basic essentials and this allows me to work with many possibilities. After the live concert, designing work starts, finding the best drawing that represents the mix of the whole mood. Very often these drawings are particularly small: enlarging them to the final big format of 50 x 80 cm is a very interesting and different way to use pictures for a poster design, with fascinating results. 

Materials: To work standing up, surrounded by lots of people dancing, drinking, singing, with a lack of light, is leaving the comfort zone of your cozy warm studio and push yourself to try different techniques. I work with colour pencils, watercolour, cutting paper, dry media, markers, ink, pen, spray… Anything that could be kept in my little bag or in my pocket because I need to be skilful, agile and fast. After that, the final media is digital, using Photoshop to process the pictures and InDesign to work with typography.

Formats: The original format to work on is sketchbooks, thick watercolour paper, regular 90g paper, or black carton or any suitable surface. If the venue allows me to work in a safe place, such as the side of the stage, I can bring big size papers to work with different media, like stamping, ink rollers, foam rubber… Generally, A5 or A4 size is the best, as it is easy to draw fast and change my point of view often. Magnifying these small pictures on the computer to reach the final format of A1 is something fascinating. A single pencil outline or a textured brush stroke can transform into an amazing enormous background to put an elegant type on.

Brief Requirements: My early works of Graphic Gigs project, when it started in Barcelona, were just showing the drawings I made with the three basic essentials quoted above. Once I was settled in London, I realised that I should make a step forward to use these pictures for something else. As a professional graphic artist, I always have an eye for typography and graphic design, so making posters is one of my favourite things to do. It was there I found my answer: to create a poster after the show with a selection of the many drawings made during the show, as a graphic reporter. Text requirements: name of the band (or the artist), name of the venue, the city and a date. No logos, no ads, no crap, just good design based on the vibe of that particular show.

Key Brief Ideas: For each live concert, I tried to use different techniques, wishing each time that I hadn't chosen the wrong media. Every musical band is different, so my Key Idea was to create a different thing each time, with a different material or technique, listening to the band's sound and being honest with myself.

Agent: Trina Wydmanski, Phosphor Art

Agent Website: phosphorart.com/marcus

marctorrent.com

 







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