'Stranger Things' poster created using Apple's iPad Pro and Apple Pencil

Posted:
in General Discussion edited August 2016
Netflix's 80s sci-fi/horror revival "Stranger Things" has garnered high acclaim since its debut in July, and it turns out Apple, or at least one of its products, played a role in creating the series' all important poster art.




Browsing through the thousands of movies and TV shows available online can be a tedious task, especially when studios provide teaser images that assume knowledge of a film's plot and its star actors. Posters for lesser known projects, like indie films, offer a bit more information, a hint at what audiences might expect when they buy a ticket or purchase a download.

Then there's "Stranger Things," a Netflix original set in 1983 Indiana that deals with shadowy government experiments, the Cold War, mirror worlds, telekinesis, a coming of age friendship and other 80s tropes, all while paying homage to sci-fi horror legends John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, Stephen King and myriad cult favorites. Quite the challenge for a poster artist.

That was Kyle Lambert's challenge. In a rundown of his process posted to Adobe's Behance social network, Lambert was asked to communicate the intricate storyline from rough cuts of the first few episodes, some still photographs and a "loose composition" provided by the studio. He also had to accomplish the feat in a single image.



Speaking with Mashable, Lambert detailed the process, which involved iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.

"I used the iPad Pro to do the preliminary composition ideas and the sketch that became the final Stranger Things poster," he said. "I chose to use the iPad Pro for the drawing stage of the poster because I find that I am able to sketch in a very natural way on the device using the Apple Pencil. The device in general is nice to hold for long periods of time, it is really portable and Procreate, the app that I used, has some really great Pencil brushes for drawing with."

Lambert used Procreate to block the poster's basic color palette before exporting the file -- with layers -- to Photoshop, where he upscaled the image to flesh out color details using a Wacom Intuos tablet. From there, the image was flattened (adjustment layers were merged) and sent back to iPad and Procreate to add in layers of detail for what Lambert calls a fluid sketch style. He repeated the layer adjustment process between iPad Pro and desktop multiple times to achieve the final look.
doozydozen
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 27
    Soon the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil will evolve to a level where artists do not have to export to a desktop and use a Wacom device.
    doozydozentmaywilliamlondontallest skil
  • Reply 2 of 27
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    An unusually detailed article and it's an original story, which I think is great for AI. We need more like this.
    doozydozenDeelronpscooter63irelandsteveautallest skil
  • Reply 3 of 27
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Soon the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil will evolve to a level where artists do not have to export to a desktop and use a Wacom device.
    That would be the ideal, however the menu options and other functions that are usually performed using a mouse can be far, far more efficient than a stylus.
  • Reply 4 of 27
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    An unusually detailed article and it's an original story, which I think is great for AI. We need more like this.

    The story came from Mashable. 
    Deelron
  • Reply 5 of 27
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    "...a film's plot and its starts actors."

    What are "starts actors"?
  • Reply 6 of 27
    mac fanmac fan Posts: 87member
    "The iPad is about content consumption, not content creation." -Sentiment casually bandied about the 'net as though it were a fact.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 7 of 27
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    And even better using Mac.
    cnocbui
  • Reply 8 of 27
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    mac fan said:
    "The iPad is about content consumption, not content creation." -Sentiment casually bandied about the 'net as though it were a fact.
    And confirmed by the article referencing a desktop being used to transform an initial sketch into the final result.  The initial sketch could have as easily been done with pencils and paper for an all up cost in materials of less than €2.  The iPad Pro looks to me like it would be a brilliant way to watch movies on planes and to view digital versions of magazines.
    edited August 2016 singularity
  • Reply 9 of 27
    cnocbui said:
    mac fan said:
    "The iPad is about content consumption, not content creation." -Sentiment casually bandied about the 'net as though it were a fact.
    And confirmed by the article referencing a desktop being used to transform an initial sketch into the final result.  The initial sketch could have as easily been done with pencils and paper for an all up cost in materials of less than €2.  The iPad Pro looks to me like it would be a brilliant way to watch movies on planes and to view digital versions of magazines.
    Use of Photoshop sounds like it was mainly for the color gradients, which is something that most of the drawing/art apps in iOS don't currently include. If all of the line art elements were done in iPad Pro, from prelims to tight renders and finishing touches, that's pretty impressive.
    nolamacguymac fan
  • Reply 10 of 27
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    troll is as troll does. again. 
  • Reply 11 of 27
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    troll is as troll does. again. 
    Is someone actually paying you each time you use the word troll?
    singularitysirlance99staticx57
  • Reply 12 of 27
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    cnocbui said:
    And confirmed by the article referencing a desktop being used to transform an initial sketch into the final result.  The initial sketch could have as easily been done with pencils and paper for an all up cost in materials of less than €2.  The iPad Pro looks to me like it would be a brilliant way to watch movies on planes and to view digital versions of magazines.
    Use of Photoshop sounds like it was mainly for the color gradients, which is something that most of the drawing/art apps in iOS don't currently include. If all of the line art elements were done in iPad Pro, from prelims to tight renders and finishing touches, that's pretty impressive.
    If the line art drawing shown above is indicative of what was done on the iPad, why is that 'impressive'?   My daughter could do similar with pencils and paper when she was 13.
    "I did the majority of the color work in Photoshop using my Intuos Wacom tablet," says Lambert. "I find that for color work I prefer to not have my hands obscure the artwork in any way and this type of tablet allows me to focus on as much of the image as I need to when working. Procreate is a powerful app, however a complex painting such as this with hundreds of layers still requires a desktop grade application such as Photoshop to pull it off."

    Obviously the artist likes using the iPad Pro and it certainly can be used as a tool to create in skilled hands, but it is constantly touted as a conventional computer replacement, which for many tasks it is not.


    edited August 2016 singularity
  • Reply 13 of 27
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    cnocbui said:
    Use of Photoshop sounds like it was mainly for the color gradients, which is something that most of the drawing/art apps in iOS don't currently include. If all of the line art elements were done in iPad Pro, from prelims to tight renders and finishing touches, that's pretty impressive.
    If the line art drawing shown above is indicative of what was done on the iPad, why is that 'impressive'.   My daughter could do similar with pencils and paper when she was 13.

    Obviously the artist likes using the iPad Pro and it certainly can be used as a tool to create in skilled hands, but it is constantly touted as conventional computer replacement, which for many tasks it is not.


    Maybe the fact that its done on a digital screen is impressive? How many other digital devices can you do that on? You're missing the point...
    mike1mac fan
  • Reply 14 of 27
    why-why- Posts: 305member
    Neat. I love the show to be honest
  • Reply 15 of 27
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,310member
    cnocbui said:
    Use of Photoshop sounds like it was mainly for the color gradients, which is something that most of the drawing/art apps in iOS don't currently include. If all of the line art elements were done in iPad Pro, from prelims to tight renders and finishing touches, that's pretty impressive.
    If the line art drawing shown above is indicative of what was done on the iPad, why is that 'impressive'.   My daughter could do similar with pencils and paper when she was 13.
    So your daughter is talented; I'll bet she would like and benefit from the current or next generation of iPad Pro and Pencil, for no other reason than her pencils and paper would not have an easy time making and editing a video, something that an iPad Pro user would find pretty straightforward. Of course, you would get her that wonderful Surface that does everything, mostly in the mediocre ways that unoptimized applications give.

    Me, I can use my 12 inch iPad Pro as either an input device for my Mac, or an added screen, eliminating for me the necessity to pull out my Wacom tablet. I can also take pictures and videos with my iPad Pro, which is likely impossible for the Wacom. I'm finding plenty of small content creation apps, and more and better professional apps, including Concepts and uMake for Industrial Design, and OnShape for solids modeling and mechanical design. 
    edited August 2016 mike1
  • Reply 16 of 27
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    cnocbui said:
    mac fan said:
    "The iPad is about content consumption, not content creation." -Sentiment casually bandied about the 'net as though it were a fact.
    And confirmed by the article referencing a desktop being used to transform an initial sketch into the final result.  The initial sketch could have as easily been done with pencils and paper for an all up cost in materials of less than €2.  The iPad Pro looks to me like it would be a brilliant way to watch movies on planes and to view digital versions of magazines.

    What the fuck? For as long as I can remember, the ultimate goal was to make a digital sketching experience feel as natural as paper and pencil. The iPad Pro, by all accounts, has finally achieved this to the greatest extent, compared to all previous attempts by other companies, and now you mock that and turn that into a joke, as if Apple should be embarrassed about that achievement. You also pretend that there are no advantages to using a digital device, as opposed to "pencils and paper". You should point all artists currently using such devices to your post, so they can see the light and ditch their workflow for your brilliant pen and paper discovery. 
    cnocbui said:
    troll is as troll does. again. 
    Is someone actually paying you each time you use the word troll?
    I doubt he's getting paid, but what I do know is that if I got paid every time you trolled, I'd be fucking rich. Really, it's pathetic. The way you bend logic like a pretzel in every single thread for the sole purpose of shitting on Apple and mocking everything they do is a sad reflection on yourself and some underachievement in your own life. One would think you would invest more time at some Samsung forum since you shill for them at every opportunity. If someone is being paid, it's most definitely you. 
    mac fanbestkeptsecretbadmonk
  • Reply 17 of 27
    michael_cmichael_c Posts: 164member
    cnocbui said:
    Use of Photoshop sounds like it was mainly for the color gradients, which is something that most of the drawing/art apps in iOS don't currently include. If all of the line art elements were done in iPad Pro, from prelims to tight renders and finishing touches, that's pretty impressive.
    If the line art drawing shown above is indicative of what was done on the iPad, why is that 'impressive'?   My daughter could do similar with pencils and paper when she was 13.

    Possibly your daughter has some unusual skills with paper, but there are some incredible things that can be done on the iPad Pro that are either impossible or cumbersome to do on paper.  The use of layers Is incredibly easy and effective in Procreate - zooming in to do detail work is a breeze, and the pencil action is impressive.
  • Reply 18 of 27
    cnocbui said:
    If the line art drawing shown above is indicative of what was done on the iPad, why is that 'impressive'?   My daughter could do similar with pencils and paper when she was 13.
    Childless techie boyz *always* claim to have a super-talented offspring, but please do tell us which studio she is currently working for and the number of articles praising her inimitable drawing skillz that are beyond compare.
    bestkeptsecret
  • Reply 19 of 27
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Best produced show I've seen in a long time.
  • Reply 20 of 27
    Crap show. Formulaic, cliche. Nothing new there. They just stole ideas from a couple of dozen movies and tried to peddle it as something new. Watched up to Episode 4, got fed up and gave up.
Sign In or Register to comment.