BBH LA Special: Key Art

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Key art is the central piece of art representing a film. To the layman, it's the movie poster, it’s the display you see in the movie theatre, the icon you click on Netflix, the poster you have hanging in your office, dorm room or man cave. And in the land where poster is king, Erik Buckham, a graphic designer, is royalty. Erik has created key art for over 100 films, from Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to House of the Devil. 

A long time fan of filmmaker Ari Folman, Erik jumped at the opportunity to work on his most recent project The Congress. The film combines both live action and animated sequences, providing both challenge and opportunity for Erik. There were many themes for him to play with: identity, perception, and the value of truth versus fantasy. So Erik sat down and began his first round of drafts.

A movie poster can typically take him one to two weeks to produce around ten to fifteen drafts. There is a lot of back and forth with client, until focus is narrowed. Even then many different versions come and go. With any luck, in a few months final art work will get signed off on.

In the next few pages you'll see how Erik takes us through his unique process from starting a project to creating the masterpiece hanging on the walls of dorm rooms everywhere.

Erik Buckham, Palaceworks | palaceworks.net

Artwork courtesy of Erik Buckham

Portrait by Roman Koval | romankoval.com