Drew Stuzan

Artist Drew Struzan with his famously distinctive signature

Drew Struzan (born 1947) is an American artist. Struzan has painted album covers, advertising, collectibles, and book covers, but he is best known for his extensive movie poster work. This is a copyrighted promotional photo with a known source. ... This is a copyrighted promotional photo with a known source. ... This is a copyrighted promotional photo with a known source. ... This is a copyrighted promotional photo with a known source. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Artist is a subjective term which describes a person creative in, innovative in, or adept at, their endeavors. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... 1942 US government war poster. ...

Popularly known by his signature first name on his work, Struzan is one of the industry's most recognized talents, having provided artwork for over 150 movie posters, including many of the best-known films of all time. A particular favorite artist of film directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Struzan created distinct and indelible images for many of their film releases, with Spielberg decreeing that Struzan be the only artist allowed to render the space-creature character E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. John Hancocks signature on the United States Declaration of Independence A signature is a usually stylized version of someones name written on documents as a proof of identity, like a seal, but handwritten. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... George Lucas George Walton Lucas, Jr. ... Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg KBE (born on December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio but raised in the suburbs of Haddonfield, New Jersey and Scottsdale, Arizona), is a Jewish American film director and producer whose films range from science fiction to historical drama to horror. ... E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a Academy Award-winning 1982 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg that tells the story of a young boy, Elliott, who befriends an alien being called E.T. stranded on Earth and trying to find his way home. ...

Spielberg says that Struzan is his "favorite movie artist"; Lucas has called him "the only collectible artist since World War II"; and the Boston Globe called him "the greatest poster artist of our day". The Boston Globe is the most widely-circulated daily newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts and in the greater New England region. ...

Early Years

A Portland, Oregon, native in a family of meager means, Struzan was born a child prodigy with the rare distinction of skill in art. As such, Struzan and his artwork were studied by researchers at Stanford University. Ironically, it would be many years later, in 1969, that one of those early childhood works was discovered, by Struzan and his wife, being offered for sale in a California art gallery for thousands of dollars. Portland skyline. ... A child prodigy, or simply prodigy, is someone who is a master of one or more skills or arts at an early age. ... Resources ArtLex. ... For other meanings of Stanford, see Stanford (disambiguation). ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

Although struggling with dyslexia as a young man, Struzan overcame the learning disability, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from high school. Dyslexia is a cognitive deficit in which a persons reading and/or writing ability is significantly lower than that which would be predicted by his or her general level of intelligence. ...

In 1965, at age 18, he enrolled at the Art Center College of Design then located in West Los Angeles, California. 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... Art Center College of Design is located in Pasadena, California and is commonly referred to as Art Center. ... The Downtown Los Angeles skyline. ...

"The first thing the counselor asked me was 'what do you want to major in,' so I asked what the choices were." He was informed that he had two choices: Fine art or illustration. The counselor went on to describe the two careers, telling Struzan that as a fine artist he could paint what he wanted, but as an illustrator he could paint for money. It didn't take him too long to choose his course of study. "I'll be an illustrator," he announced. "I need to eat." 1

In his first year, Struzan met a pretty brunette, Dylan. Personable and easygoing, the artist was soon smitten with the young girl, finding a shared soul and recognizing her complimentary qualities to his own awkward introvertedness. Three years later they would marry, and a son, Christian, would soon follow.

Working his way through school by selling his artwork and accepting small commissions, Struzan graduated five years later with honors and a bachelor of arts degree. He would also complete two years of graduate studies and eventually return to the school in later years (the campus then relocated to Pasadena, California) to teach for a short time. Pasadena is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ...

About his early life, Struzan has been quoted: "I was poor and hungry, and illustration was the shortest path to a slice of bread, as compared to a gallery showing. I had nothing as a child. I drew on toilet paper with pencils — that was the only paper around. Probably why I love drawing so much today is because it was just all I had at the time." 2

Pacific Eye and Ear: Album Covers

Alice Cooper: Welcome To My Nightmare, album cover art by Drew Struzan.

After graduating college, Struzan remained in Los Angeles, and a trip to an employment agency found him a job as a staff artist for Pacific Eye and Ear, a design studio. There he began designing long-playing (LP) album covers, relishing the creative aspects the 12 x 12 inch size the record packaging afforded him. Over the next 5 years, he would create album cover artwork for a long line of musical artists, including: Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Black Sabbath, Glen Miller, Iron Butterfly, Bach, Earth, Wind and Fire and Liberace. This image is the cover of an album or single. ... This image is the cover of an album or single. ... Tony Orlando and Dawn was a pop music group that was very popular in the 1970s. ... The Beach Boys, 1963 (L to R, David Marks, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, Brian Wilson) The Beach Boys are a pop music group formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961, whose popularity has lasted into the twenty-first century. ... Roy Orbison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. ... Clockwise starting from the left, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne This article is about the British heavy metal band. ... Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 - December 15, 1944) was an American jazz musician and band leader in the Swing era. ... Iron Butterfly was a U.S. hard rock and psychedelic band, mostly known for their sole hit In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has reincarnated several times with various members. ... In music, the BACH motif is the sequence of notes B flat, A, C, B natural. ... Earth, Wind & Fire was a legendary American funk band, formed in Chicago in 1969. ... Liberace shows off his rings (circa 1980). ...

Among those, Struzan illustrated the album cover artwork for Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare, which Rolling Stone magazine would go on to vote one of the "Top 100 Album Covers Of All Time". Despite the burgeoning demand for his talents, however, Struzan was still only earning $150 to $250 per album cover. Cooper in his trademark eye makeup Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948), is a heavy metal singer and musician. ... Welcome to My Nightmare is an album by Alice Cooper, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). ... This article is about the music magazine. ... ...

Pencil Pushers: One-Sheets

With a friend with a background in the movie industry, Struzan started a small company, Pencil Pushers, in a collaboration that would last 8 years. It was during this time that he honed his distinctive one-sheet style and first became proficient in the use of the airbrush, which would later define him as a master of the tool. His first movie works started appearing in 1975, although in those early days Struzan mainly did artwork for B-movies, such as Empire of the Ants and Food Of the Gods. While his talent steadily grew in demand, it was his work done for a small science-fiction movie that would establish Struzan and his work in the public eye forever. 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The term B-movie originally referred to a film designed to be distributed as the lower half of a double feature, often a genre film featuring cowboys, gangsters or vampires. ...

Star Wars: A Big Break

Star Wars: A New Hope 1978 rerelease style D "circus" poster. Art by Charles White III and Drew Struzan. © 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm

In 1977 fellow artist Charles White III, well known for his own airbrush prowess, had been hired by Lucas to create a poster design for the 1978 rerelease of Star Wars. White, uncomfortable with portraiture, asked Struzan for his help on the project. As such, Struzan painted the human characters in oil paints and White focused on the ships, Darth Vader, C-3PO and all the mechanical details of the poster art 1. Download high resolution version (423x645, 58 KB) This is a copyrighted poster. ... Download high resolution version (423x645, 58 KB) This is a copyrighted poster. ... 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Star Wars is a series of science fantasy films created by writer/producer/director George Lucas. ...

The unique poster design, popularly called the "Circus" poster, depicts what appears to be a torn posted bill on a plywood construction site wall. “It was necessity that invented that,” Struzan explains. “They found out there wasn't enough room for the typography and the billing block they had left in the design. What can we do to make more space on a poster that's already been printed? Let's pretend it's posted, then they can put the type below the actual poster. We painted Obi Wan down the side and stuff across the bottom to make it wider and deeper.”

While a fortunate accident, the poster went on to become a fan favorite as well as the director's, as the original art hangs in Lucas' Northern California home. Thus began Struzan's long association with the Star Wars legacy.

Talent In Demand: '70s & '80s

"A poster becomes that one image that represents the entire film," Struzan says. "If it is accurate and truthful and has good spirit, it resides with you forever." 1

As other directors and studios became aware of Struzan's work, they beat a steady pathway to his door. Throughout the '70s and '80s Struzan produced a constant stream of work for such diverse films as Blade Runner, Cannonball Run, the Police Academy Series, Coming To America, First Blood, Risky Business, D.C. Cab, Stroker Ace, An American Tail and The Goonies, among many, many others. By the 1980s, Struzan was producing approximately 10 poster designs a year. Blade Runner is a science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and released in 1982, depicting a dark, dystopic vision of Los Angeles in November 2019. ... Cannonball Run was a campy, screwball comedy released in 1981 that starred Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise and Farrah Fawcett-Majors. ... This page is about the movie series; for the training school for police, see police academy. ... SEXUAL CHOCOLATE!!!! ... Sylvester Stallone and Brian Dennehy in a scene from 1982s First Blood is the first film featuring the character of troubled Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. ... Risky Business is a 1983 film written and directed by Paul Brickman. ... D.C. Cab is a 1983 comedy film, starring Mr. ... DVD cover An American Tail is an animated film produced by Steven Spielbergs Amblin Entertainment, and directed by Don Bluth. ... The Goonies 2001 cast reunion The Goonies was a hit comedy movie in 1985 produced and with a story by Steven Spielberg, written by Chris Columbus, and directed by Richard Donner. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Industrial Light & Magic original logo designed by Drew Struzan.

During this period, Struzan continued his association with Lucas by designing the original Industrial Light & Magic logo, and creating the associated one-sheet artwork for both the continuing Star Wars saga and the Indiana Jones series of films. In the process, Struzan's work became, in the public mind, the defining visual images representing those series. As such, he was also sought after to create new artwork for rereleases and reissues on video and DVD, book covers, theme-park rides and video game titles for those properties. This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... Industrial Light + Magic is a motion picture special visual effects company, founded in July 1975 by George Lucas. ... Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones Indiana Jones is a fictional bullwhip-toting archaeologist with an overdeveloped ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) played by Harrison Ford in a series of films by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg; younger versions of the character were also played by River Phoenix in the third film...

The Decline of Traditional Art: Other Outlets

Action Comics #800, cover art by Drew Struzan (featuring a depiction of the artist). © DC Comics

In the 1990s, with the advent of computers and digital manipulation of images utilized to create poster art, Struzan experienced the decline of the traditionally illustrated poster art. While continuing to create artwork for such 90's films as Hook, Hellboy and the Harry Potter series, he started exploring other outlets for his work, including comics, limited-edition art, and the collectible market. As such, his work has been featured on such diverse items as collectible plates produced by the Franklin Mint, including a set of 12 plates commemorating the life of Princess Diana; the 1996 cover for Milton Bradley's board game Clue 1 ; and even U.S. postage stamps 2. This image is the cover of an individual issue of a comic book. ... This image is the cover of an individual issue of a comic book. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hook is a 1991 movie directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Julia Roberts. ... Hellboy is a comic book adventurer and paranormal investigator. ... Image:Http://www. ... Comics (sometimes spelled comix) are combinations of words and images into a medium for telling stories. ... The Franklin Mint is a private corporation based in Media, Pennsylvania, USA which markets collectables of their own designs. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Milton Bradley (1836 - 1911) was a game pioneer, credited by many with launching the game industry in North America. ... The North American name for the board game Cluedo: Clue board game The 1985 movie based on the game: Clue (1985 movie) The computer game based on the board game: Clue (computer game) An acroynm (or, strictly speaking, an initialism) for Command Line User Environment This is a disambiguation page...

Struzan once lamented on the decline of traditional art in an e-mail exchange: "I love the texture of paint made of colored earth, of oil from the trees and of canvas and paper. I love the expression of paint from a brush or a hand smearing charcoal, the dripping of paint and moisture of water, the smell of the materials. I delight in the changeable nature of a painting with new morning light or in the afternoon when the sun turns a painting orange or by firelight at night. I love to see it, hold it, touch it, smell it, and create it. My gift is to share my life by allowing others to see into my heart and spirit through such tangible, comprehensible and familiar means. The paint is part of the expression."

From 1995 through 1997 Struzan's work was shown throughout Japan in a series of one-man exhibitions, which offered his one-sheet work of Lucas and Spielberg films in a successful limited-edition program. In 1999, in an exhibit entitled: Drew: Art of the Cinema, Struzan had over 65 pieces of his artwork presented at the prestigious Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge, Massachusetts. 3. 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The Norman Rockwell Museum is home to the worlds largest collection of original Rockwell art. ... Stockbridge is a town located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ...

Global Awareness

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace Poster. Art by Drew Struzan © Lucasfilm

With over 150 movie posters to his credit, among the most well-known of the numerous films that Struzan has created images for are: i found what im looking File links The following pages link to this file: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ... i found what im looking File links The following pages link to this file: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ...

• The Back To The Future film series
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• The Harry Potter film series
• The Indiana Jones film series
• Jurassic Park
• The Muppets film series
• The Star Wars film series

In the release of The Phantom Menace, George Lucas dictated that, contractually, Struzan's poster was the only art the foreign distributors could use, and other than the text, it could not be modified in any way. With the dominating global release of that film in nearly every country on the planet, it is regarded that the Struzan poster is the single most viewed piece of art in history. 1 Back to the Future is a 1985 film by Robert Zemeckis, written by Robert Zemeckis and Robert Gale, and starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. ... E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a Academy Award-winning 1982 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg that tells the story of a young boy, Elliott, who befriends an alien being called E.T. stranded on Earth and trying to find his way home. ... Image:Http://www. ... Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones Indiana Jones is a fictional bullwhip-toting archaeologist with an overdeveloped ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) played by Harrison Ford in a series of films by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg; younger versions of the character were also played by River Phoenix in the third film... Jurassic Park is a novel written by Michael Crichton and published in 1991, which was later adapted as a movie directed by Steven Spielberg. ... John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together The Muppets are a group of puppets and costume characters created by Jim Henson and the company he created. ... Star Wars is a series of science fantasy films created by writer/producer/director George Lucas. ... Film poster for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 film by George Lucas starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Jake Lloyd. ... George Lucas George Walton Lucas, Jr. ...

Creative Process

Although equally talented in other mediums, Struzan's primary work medium is airbrushed acrylics on board with finishing details in colored pencil, which allow him the easy flexibility in having to accommodate any requested changes to the work. Preferring to work on a 1 to 1 scale, Struzan's one-sheet work would be approximately 27 x 40 inches, the size of a printed movie poster. Working from reference photographs and live models, Struzan has been known, at times, to include depictions of himself, family members and friends in his work. Known for working very quickly, typically it would take him two days to finish a painting. With the theatrical release of the Star Wars special editions, Struzan created the three-panel triptych poster in 3 weeks. The poster artwork for John Carpenter's 1980 remake of The Thing was created, literally, overnight. John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948 in Carthage, New York) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film music composer. ... The Thing DVD. Cover art by Drew Struzan The Thing is a 1982 science fiction film directed by John Carpenter. ...

Working from a backyard studio, Struzan lives in California with his wife Dylan. He is father to one son, Christian.

Interviews

• Orange County Register: The brush strokes behind the images of our `Star Wars' world
• The Force.net - Face To Face With The Masters: Drew Struzan
• Sideshow chats with Drew Struzan
• Echostation.com - Interview with Drew Struzan

Published Collections

• Drew Struzan: Oeuvre ISBN 0973278676
• The Art of Drew Struzan - Star Wars Portfolio ISBN 0967292808
• The Movie Posters Of Drew Struzan ISBN 0762420839

Awards

• 2002 Saturn Award "Life Career Award"

2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy and horror in film, television and home video. ...

External Links & Other References

• Official website
• IMDb entry for Drew Struzan
• The Drew Collectors Page
• The Drew Movie Poster Page
• The Drew Struzan Completist
• Drew Struzan, Harry Potter Poster Artist
• A personal perspective about movie artist Drew Struzan by Gerry Kissel