Poster Design — Surly Darkness

This student project was given to me as if I’d been hired by Surly Brewing Co to create a line of designs for their Darkness 2024 Release. Getting chosen to do these designs is typically done through means of a portfolio contest where artists submit their past work for the chance of creating the next release of this specific drinks Darkness line. Through research I found that most of the themes of the Surly brand and their 3 colored brand were focused on a dark theme, their content primarily surrounds this dark topic especially with their Darkness line where often mythical creatures and monsters are the focus. After some thorough research and sketching I came to the idea of a severed Medusa head with her half beautiful face being split into two to show the decay and skull remaining. The story of Medusa is the driving factor behind this design decision as after she was killed in the tale, her head was mounted to a shield to be used as a weapon against other monsters. The creation of this artwork had me use means of photo-manipulation to create the reference I was unable to get from mind onto paper, with use of stock imagery. Following the reference I was able to realize the illustration I sought after that existed only in my imagination now brought to reality. The software I used in the creation of all assets, Photoshop with the assistance of a drawing tablet.