Sit back, and enjoy this rare, almost fireside chat amongst some of the finest illustrators in the film poster field from the last 50 years!
Interview with prestigious Illustration Magazine
In case you missed it, I was recently interviewed in Issue 66 of Illustration Magazine. The magazine is well known amongst illustration lovers and collectors. Predominantly showcasing the illustration work of the Golden Age, highlighting the incredible artists and their craft from this period who are sadly no longer with us. Publisher Dan Zimmer is helping keeping the art alive and well.
I am incredibly honoured to be the first living illustrator to grace the magazine with an interview and showcase of some of my own work across 20 pages. Author Stephen Jared talks to me about growing up and the early part of my life; through school, college and university to working professionally today.
I encourage you to get a copy or if you are a fan of illustration, go ahead and get yourself a subscription - published quarterly, it is an absolute must! A wonderful archival magazine that will be cherished in anyone’s collection.
Here is a little snippet from the interview:
Many thanks to Stephen Jared and Dan Zimmer for making this happen.
You can get a hard copy or digital download of the magazine here: Illustration Magazine #66
When your childhood influences can shape your future career
It’s a time-old tale - what if you were to time travel back in time to tell a 13-year-old you the things you are getting to work on today… oh boy!
Some advice I would likely give to myself would be to never be ashamed of the things you love and enjoy while growing up. Let the TV shows, the movies, the books, comics, toys and games wash over you and become engrained in your existence, it usually is coming from the right place, deep in your heart and soul. There were times growing up where I can remember being made to feel that I shouldn’t be into certain things any more - ‘grow up!’ they would say. There is peer pressure that can stop you from being into something you enjoy too. One thing I have found is that the things we are into as children can shape your future if you don’t give up on them. The stuff you loved growing up, you can continue to enjoy as you go throughout your life. In essence, the memories you have, however rose-tinted they may be, can define your future. No one can know where your path through life will lead to or end up - but we can steer towards our own interests to shape our own futures in the hopes that our choices can help make the world an even better place.
At this stage of my life and career, I feel very humbled and grateful for the opportunities that have come my way. Growing up dreaming about working on official work for something like Star Wars, to actually being hired to create art for the franchise! 🤯 I still find myself in awe of the enormity of this even happening in reality … Is it fate at hand, coincidence, has prayer got something to do with it or is it merely willing things to become a reality? It is hard to put one’s finger on it. It could be all of the above. All I can really suggest is that it has been a dream of mine to do this kind of work. Without knowing how to even make it become a reality, keeping the faith has been my mantra. Never giving up despite any naysayers. Believing there is even the slightest possibility.
“If you build it, they will come.”
Be passionate, be consistent. Work hard. Never give up.
![SW2[2]-1.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50710c28c4aa65eb3b63d154/1584542553752-MMOWPAN9F9CST7JPMTDS/SW2%5B2%5D-1.jpg)
Official Back to the Future Art Print
I am thrilled to announce this limited edition print of my recent Back to the Future 30th Anniversary artwork created in conjuction with Under The Floorboards, officially licensed and approved by Bob Gale, Michael J. Fox and Universal Pictures.
18x24" Art Print.
Limited edition of 150 signed and numbered. There will also be an artist proof edition of 50 which will be available from the artist at a later date.
Litho Printed on 200gsm stock.
£35 each (shipped) with profits from the sale of these prints being donated to the “Up to 88” TEAM FOX Campaign for Parkinson’s research.
We are also producing 20 metal prints of the artwork which will come in a special edition archival box. Only 10 will be available to purchase (attached photos are not the final product - very close though!)
£100 each plus shipping. (To be announced)
A heads up - the cost of this print is only £35 which INCLUDES Worldwide SHIPPING! All proceeds/profits go to Michael J. Fox's Charity supporting Parkinsons Research... Please lets get this sold out :) Celebrating a great cause, a great movie and hopefully you think it's great movie art :) go to www.underthefloorboards.com and get your copy today and help our future :)
New York Comic Con 2015
I am flying to New York today. I will be at New York Comic Con on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
You can find me at the Hero Complex Booth #236
I will be there with some amazing art friends signing prints maybe sketching and meeting fans at the following times:
Thursday: 10-1pm
Friday: 1-4pm
Sunday - to be confirmed but I will be around all day :)
if you are going I hope to see you there!!
I will have some new with me along with other prints and hopefully a few surprises.
Cant wait!
///PS
Follow me on http://Instagram.com/paulshipper and http://twitter.com/paulshipper to keep updated on the con and see all the release info as it happens!
Monsters: Dark Continent Official Screen Print Release
Monsters: Dark Continent a new release from Vertigo Films and the sequel to the Gareth Edwards' hit Monsters have partnered with the Poster Posse and Hero Complex Gallery to produce 3 illustrated film poster designs which are now available to purchase as screen prints
My poster is available here at http://hcgart.com
Product details
- Inspired by Monsters: Dark Continent
- Screen Print
- Limited Edition of 240
- Approximately 18" x 24"
- $35.00
Also be sure to check out and snag prints by my talented compadres Orlando Arocena and Marko Manev here
I will have some AP's coming my way if anyone is wanting a signed print.
Showcase 100
Next week a gallery show will open at the Framers Gallery in London. It's called Showcase 100 and is in collaboration with The Little Chimp Society and Hire an Illustrator.
Today a book has been launched in conjunction with the gallery show which is available from today!
I will be in attendance at the private view next Thursday - hope to see you there!
The Showcase 100 exhibition will be held from 7th – 11th April 2015 at The Framer’s Gallery in central London. This is an excellent art space in the heart of the Fitzrovia area and is easy to get to by train, tube and bus.
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/710733742303427/
The final 100 artworks will be on display and available to purchase at the show, as will the accompanying book.
7th-11th April 2015
The Framers Gallery
36 Windmill Street (Artefact Showroom)
London W1T 2JT
T: +44(0)207 580 4878
http://www.theframersgallery.co.uk/
Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday: 10.00 – 17.30
Saturday: 11.00 – 17.00
Thought Bubble 2014
I am very proud to say I will have a table at Thought Bubble, Leeds this coming weekend! I am really looking forward to meeting some of you face to face.
I will have Prints from the shop (plus some new additions) comic books, screen printed poster...
And... An art book! (if they are printed in time!)
I'll also be doing a set number of 5X5 sketches on Saturday and Sunday. Once they are all sold out, that's it! To avoid disappointment, I have 20 slots open for pre order NOW. these are ONLY for pickup at Thought Bubble either on Saturday or Sunday. First come first served.
Head to the Shop to place an order now
So, if you are a fan of art, illustration, comics and posters you have to be coming along to Leeds this weekend! Some of my favourite artists EVER will be there too including Adam Hughes, Jock, Olly Moss, Laurent Durieux, Jason Edmiston, Tony Harris to name a few... see my highlighted list ;)
I will be in the Thought Bubble Tee Pee on Table 53 (it even rhymes!) next to my poster buddy Matt Ferguson at Table 52...
Hope to see you there!!!
...PS
For more information head to the Thought Bubble website.
Good Milo!
An exciting update to the news that the poster I illustrated for the film 'Bad Milo' was nominated and a finalist at this years Key Art Awards....Well I am proud to tell you that It won a Silver Key Art Award in the Illustration Category/Print technique!
Being a huge fan of film posters and movie advertising I have followed the Key Art Awards for many years - What an amazing feeling to have a poster I worked on make it to the awards and win!
Thank you so much to Gravillis Inc. who I worked with on the poster for entering the poster this year. Thanks also to the Hollywood Reporter and the Key Art Awards! It was an awesome night... Not only did we get an award but illustration Legend and Mentor, Drew Struzan was honoured with a Saul Bass Award for his contribution to the craft... Wish I could have been there!
Key Art Awards / Bad Milo
I heard some exciting news this morning and I wanted to share it with you all. The poster I worked on with Kenny Gravillis for Jacob Vaughan's film Bad Milo has made the final selection at the Key Art Awards in the category of Print Technique for Illustration...
It was really wonderful being able to catch up with Director Jacob Vaughan during a trip to LA last year... a truly awesome guy!
paulshipper's photo on Instagram
The World's End - An Illustrated Film Poster
Okay, being followed on Twitter by a celebrity you admire is one thing... but when they send you a direct message asking if you would be interested in creating a piece of art for them... well, that's... SUPER cool!
Simon Pegg was very generous in publicly liking and tweeting my Star Trek poster art earlier last year to his fans and since then we have kept in touch with each other from time to time, culminating in an unexpected commission from him to create an illustrated poster for his latest film 'The Worlds End'!
Simon wanted me to see the film before I started on the poster design. His assistant invited me to a screening that would be in Wellington a few weeks away... a press screening I presumed...I was planning on going, until I realised the mid term school holidays were to start that weekend -- The film would be out the following week here so decided I would wait a week and spend some quality time with my daughter that weekend.
The day before the screening, Simon Tweeted this:
Bloody Hell! Simon and the Cornetto Crew were on their way to New Zealand! - Turns out it's the NZ Premiere I've been invited to! ....and there was no way I could get down to Wellington in time... Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch (at the time I was drawing him for the Star Trek: Khan comic book covers) were there too as they were filming the Hobbit... oh and look, Edgar Wright and Peter Jackson! (After telling a good mate this story, he called me a fool. Hah, I sure felt like one!)
After getting over the fact that I had been invited to the New Zealand Premiere and NOT gone! I went to see the film the following week and absolutely LOVED it! Now the ideas for the poster began....
Once I had the rough composition sketched out I emailed it to Simon to have a look at...
The World's End - Colour Rough Comprehensive
I got a quick fire reply from Simon by Direct Message on Twitter: (NB. Whenever I receive a message from Simon and I read it, I ALWAYS hear his voice saying it)...
Honestly, I can't ever recall a client messaging me like that before... I totally love this guy!
With no major changes needed except for adding Simon and Nick's names at the top of the poster and adding 'A Film by Edgar Wright' under the main title, Simon was completely happy with how the poster looked and gave the go ahead to work on the final art...
And here it is:
The World's End - Finished Illustrated Poster
Edgar Wright, Director of 'The World's End' was kind enough to write to me recently recalling the moment he received his gift:
“Simon had delivered a suspiciously poster shaped Xmas present to my house. I was already excited, but when I unwrapped it and saw Paul’s amazing poster I literally said ‘That’s fucking awesome’.
If our movie had been made in 1983 instead of 2013, I could imagine the poster looking a lot like this. Like many film fans I miss actual art on film posters and Paul Shipper’s genius work is precisely what’s missing.
I can happily call this my favourite ‘World’s End’ poster.”
A Poster Artist can not ask for higher praise than that! Thanks to you Edgar for taking the time to write to me and to Simon... well, this was all your idea!
An honour and a pleasure creating this illustrated 'World's End' film poster for you... You're a true Gentleman and a Living Legend mate!
Should you so desire, here's a link to download a 2560x1440 version for your desktop wallpaper.
Journey to the West - Illustrated One Sheet
When I first watched the trailer for Stephen Chow's latest film I thought, Woah! it reminds me of a show I grew up with in the UK... 'Monkey Magic'... As I researched a little more, turns out that this film by Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) is based on the same material! Very Crazy Cool... The film looks as crazy, if not more so than the TV show I was so fond of as a kid...
It is an absolute pleasure to be asked to illustrate a poster to promote this film for Magnolia Pictures and Magnet. This is another film that thematically lends itself to this kind of 'old school' advertising, my favourite kind!
It is so awesome to see a company looking towards illustrated posters to promote their films and feel very fortunate and proud to be a part of it…
The Poster art made its debut on CraveOnline and has had some nice feedback...
“Yes, from the writer/director/star of Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer comes a demon-fighting fantasy with a new poster in the Drew Struzan mold, just to sell you on its epicness.”
“It’s great to see what I would call a ‘classic’ illustrated movie poster being used as the primary marketing tool, much like artists Drew Struzan and John Alvin used to produce. Paul Shipper has a talent for portraying emotion and character in his pieces, this being no exception, and has captured what I expect to be the fun and humour of a Stephen Chow movie. In tone, it very much reminds me of the poster for Big Trouble in Little China.”
About the Film:
Based on one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature of the same name, Stephen Chow's ‘Journey To The West’ is a contemporary remake of the misadventures of a Buddhist monk as he makes a pilgrimage from China to India. - See more at: http://www.magnetreleasing.com/journeytothewest/
Star Trek KHAN Wallpaper Free Download
IDW have kindly brought my cover art created for Star Trek: Khan #3 to your digital devices in time for the Holidays with this wallpaper. Head over to www.idwpublishing.com and download for your Phone, Tablet or Desktop at the resolution you need... LLAP!
Typhoon Yolanda Charity Auction
An online auction to benefit the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, and featuring artwork donated by some of the best illustrators in the business today.
18" x 24" Fine Art Giclee prints of the 2009 version of 'STAR TREK', and 'STAR TREK: Into Darkness' by Paul Shipper. JJ Abrams, Simon Pegg and Karl Urban each have prints from this very small run. A collectors dream poster to say the least!
Here are the WebStore links for my STAR TREK poster set!
'Star Trek (2009)' - http://www.webstore.com/34690452
'Star Trek: Into Darkness - http://www.webstore.com/34690871
Please give generously!
Visit the LineWork: Artists for Yolanda Relief Facebook Page and see more awesome work donated by Mark Raats, Jerry Vanderstelt, Sebastian Krüger, Trevor Grove, Roberto Robolus Freire, Alessandro Baldasseroni and Tsuneo Sanda.
Gallery Prints For Sale
As it's the Black Friday / Cyber Monday weekend some galleries are having sales on... so thought I would compile all the prints that are still available for purchase in Galleries. Click on the Art below and it will take you to the right gallery store...
Get your signed copy of Star Trek: Khan #1 from the ShipShop!
Only $15 plus shipping. Get your signed copy today... CLICK HERE to go to the ShipShop
Star Trek: Khan The Final Chapter
Star Trek: Khan #5 is coming out in February 2014 from IDW Publishing. Issue #1 and #2 are in stores NOW!
See the full illustration including closeups on my Behance Portfolio here http://bit.ly/I3Pm6L
Star Wars - Reinterpretation of A New Hope
When Topps contacted me about this project, Part of me was screaming YES while the other was hesitant about even trying to reinterpretate this CLASSIC film poster... I was swayed by Mr Waldeck to go for it using my style of illustration... Along with 8 other selected artists who have each contributed their re-imagining of what is possibly one of the most well known film posters in history.
Original Illustration
For a bit of fun I wanted to see how the artwork would look with added Billing Block, Titles, with a little weathering and creases as though it had been folded up and been in storage for a number of years :)
The Original Star Wars Release Posters
Thanks go out to SlashFilm for including the art on their site today!
'Out To Sea' - Smile You Son of a Bitch! A JAWS Tribute Art Show
Its on tonight... Time to start swimming with those bow-legged women and check out the amazing art show celebrating Spielberg's Masterpiece this weekend only at Hero Complex Gallery in Los Angeles!
JAWS - One Sheet Style
UPDATE: Jaws Prints now available online!
Both limited edition of 100. This weekend only!
Out To Sea - 18 x 24" Giclée Print
PangeaSeed, artist Craig Drake and Hero Complex Gallery present a shark-saving effort of monstrous proportions: Smile, You Son of a Bitch! An Art Tribute.
3 days only, from November 1 – 3, 2013 at Hero Complex Gallery in Los, Angeles.
This unique ARTivism effort will featuring original artworks from over 90 international artists all coming together to help raise awareness for the global plight of sharks while celebrating their place in pop culture.
Opening Reception:
Friday, November 1 – from 6-10pm
$10 donation at the door – proceeds go directly to benefit PangeaSeed’s conservation & education efforts and help the non-profit organization stay afloat.
For more information please visit: PangeaSeed.org / HeroComplexGallery.com
Event address:
Hero Complex Gallery – 2020 South Robertson BLVD. Studio D. Los Angeles, California 90034
UPDATE: Gallery Show has been extended! If you're in LA, you must go and visit!
Check out the show reviews over at
Trailers From Hell
http://trailersfromhell.com/shark-attack-hero-complex-gallery/
and
Ain't It Cool News!
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/64945
Star Trek: Khan Covers #3 and #4
Hot on the Heels of Issue #1's release this week, Cover #4 was announced on StarTrek.com today.
With only one more cover to reveal I feeling a certain melancholia... I have enjoyed creating these covers and I hope the fans will love them and this series.
Below are covers 3 and 4and are due out Dec and January respectively.
