Gig poster – Rodillas Sucias

I did a set of gig posters, each based on a phone doodle. Then I did a version of each without the doodle with more emphasis on the type. Both versions shown above.

How did I get to version 2?

• Kept the ‘distressed’ background.
• Distressed the main text to match.

Yes, it’s a bit different but the mood is quite similar. This is probably mostly due to the distressed effect backgrounds.¹

I did start using elements of the image – basing simple graphics on it, using its colours for the text and its cross-hatch effect within the text – but I dropped all these. I had the idea that the first poster might be a paperback book cover, which has some influence on the result.

Distress!

I made the ‘Rodillas Sucias’ text look something like bashed-in Letraset.² I’d not done much messing with the actual letters on the posters so far and it was in keeping with the distressed background.

I have doubts about making digital pretend to be something that it’s not (worn lettering, dirty paper). But I do like the look of it sometimes. I may write about this at some point.

The Grapes

For no apparent reason, so far I’d treated the ‘information’ text (venue, date, cost) as a piece and not paid it much attention. There’s no reason why the venue wouldn’t have it’s own poster template with its info already on it (I imagine if it did, it would be more prominent, and there’d be more of it). The treatment of ‘The Grapes’ on the second poster is a nod at that idea.

1. The background is different because I loaded the wrong one but it does its job (‘Honour thy error as hidden intention’ – Oblique Strategies) so I left it.
2. Plastic transfers. In the ye olden days, you’d use a sheet of letters to lay out the large text in your design. They would stick to the paper but would wear and scratch in attractive ways.