Section I: $35+ Posters? Seriously?
YES! First, let me fuck you up with some images.
Pretty cool, right? But why the premium you ask? Because of these four primary reasons:
---The printings are very limited. They can be anywhere from 25 - 500, and 500 would be for the popular artists, such as Tyler Stout, who did the first two pictures above. There are no second printings, except in very rare cases --- though in those cases the integrity of the artist is called into question. As of June 18, 2012, this thread will no longer promote artists that chooses to do second, third, etc. editions without fully disclosing their intentions to do reprints of an edition beforehand.
13. What does limited edition mean?
This means that only a certain amount will be printed of any given edition, as indicated by the number on the print itself. The edition size indicates the maximum number that will be reproduced. In addition to the edition limit, Artists Proofs (APs), Printers Proofs (PPs) and Hors dCommerce (HC) proofs will also be printed, which stand above and beyond the limited edition size.
The amount of APs, PPs, and HC Proofs printed varies by the artists and manufacturers, but usually Artist Proofs are limited to 10% of the regular edition run, Printer's Proof are limited to one per printer, and HC could be only 1 (these are hardly ever seen in the after market).
--- The quality of the printing and paper are better than that of your average movie poster one-sheets/lithographs. These are mostly screen prints, with some giclees for non-mondo releases from time to time.
Useful definitions faq taken from here:
http://www.disneyartonmain.com/pages/about-us/frequently-asked-questions.html
Disneyartonmain.com said:
4. What is a serigraph?
A serigraph can most easily be defined as a silk-screen or screen-print, albeit a very sophisticated and labor intensive one. Using the original artwork as the master guide, each color is carefully hand separated into individual elements and burned onto separate screens. The serigraph is then created by screening each color, one by one, onto the substrate (i.e. paper, canvas, etc.) thereby layering all the colors into their proper locations, pass by pass, through a process of physically pushing the ink through the openings in each of the color screens, ultimately combining to build the final image.
It is a painstaking, labor intensive and very precise technique, both in the color separating process and in the ability to keep all the screens in proper registration with one another throughout the lengthy process of laying down so many individual colors during multiple screen passes.
Considered a traditional printmaking technique because it is an analog process, serigraphy does not traditionally employ the use of a computer, but rather the careful artistic eye and technique of a master printer and color separator.
All Disney Fine Art serigraphs (and all other print mediums that we publish, for that matter) are created under the watchful eye of one of the art industrys leading print experts, Tim Dickson, who for over 25 years has perfected the craft of fine art print making. His expertise is highly sought after and he is trusted by some of the worlds leading artists who want their work reproduced at a level that is nothing short of perfection.
2. What is a giclée?
Giclée printing (pronounced Jee-clay) is commonly considered to be the highest quality digital reproduction technique for fine art. It starts with an extremely high resolution, detailed scanning process during which the image and topography of the original artwork are captured into a digital file. Then the giclée prints are created using specialized printers that literally spray the image onto a substrate such as canvas, paper, etc. However, not all giclées in the world are created equal
(see #3)
5. What is a lithograph?
A lithograph is a printing method which dates back more that 200 years. It began with stone lithography, a process by which an artists work was rendered onto a stone and with the use of various solutions that either attract or repel ink, the stone essentially became a stamp which could be pressed or rolled onto paper to transfer the image.
The modern version of this technique is a process called offset lithography. Before a lithograph can be produced, the image is separated into four colors: Cyan (Blue), Magenta (Red), Yellow and Black (i.e. CMYK). Since most colors in the spectrum originate from these colors, when they are combined to varying degrees, they can reproduce most color that may be found in the original work. For this reason, this process is also commonly referred to as Four Color Process printing.
Offset lithography operates on a very simple principle: ink (which is oil based) and water dont mix. First, each of the four separated colors are transferred to their own individual aluminum plate. During the printing process, each plate is dampened first by water, then ink. The ink adheres to the image area, the water to the non-image area. The image on the aluminum plate is then transferred like a stamp onto a rubber blanket creating a negative image, then the rubber blanket is rolled across the paper to create the final positive impression of that color onto the lithograph. When all four colors are layered onto the same paper sheet (and in proper registration) they combine to create the final image.
Screen print youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wogKeYH2wEE
--- The artists need to be paid for they are commissioned to do these works.
--- In many cases, permissions from the studios are required to depict the likeness of the actors and possible fees may be involved.
Got it? Good.
But don't even worry about spending $40 on those posters, because for the most part, you won't be able the above four at MSRP. The first two are prints by a very popular artist: Tyler Stout. His works are so popular they usually sell out in less than one minute when they become available online! Three of the the four prints above are also posters that were sold at
www.mondotees.com -- the most popular site for these sweet drawn movie posters. Usually, prints that are sold on Mondo sell out in less than five minutes! They also appreciate in value quite well. The most expensive auction on ebay was for a Mondo/Tyler Thing Variant poster for $2,000!
Section II: How to buy
a. attend the event and buy it there. These prints are usually made for gigs or exhibitions, so if you attend, you're very likely to be able to get one.
b. Mondo Prints (
http://www.mondotees.com/POSTERS_c_12.html )
--- Step One. Sign up to their newsletter here:
https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:1418629/acctId:1406483 and follow them on Twitter
https://twitter.com/#!/mondonews
--- Step Two. One day before the prints will go on sale, they will tweet it and send out a newsletter.
--- Step Three. The sale time will always be random. So you need to watch their twitter. Will you best if you have their tweets text to your cell.
--- Step Four. Once they tweet that the prints are on sale, go as fast as possible to
http://www.mondotees.com/POSTERS_c_12.html and try to buy buy buy! The print will not be considered yours if you have it in your cart. You MUST check out for the print to be yours.
--- Step Five. If you succeeded, congrats. If not, ebay usually becomes your only option, unless the artist decides to sell some, if any, of the prints allocated to his or herself on their own website.
c. The others.
Purchase them like you would anything else online, but just keep in mind that once they're on sale, because quantities are limited, the sale times may only be for a few hours/days if they're good and well liked. It depends on the artist, the work, and the quantity, really.
Section IV: Some of the artists
Tyler Stout (
http://www.tstout.com/ )
-----------------
Olly Moss (
http://ollymoss.com/ )
----------------
Martin Ansin (
http://martinansin.com/)
-----------------
Drew Struzan (
http://www.drewstruzan.com/ )
-----------
JC Richard (
http://microcosmicmedia.blogspot.com/ )
------------------
Kevin Tong (
http://www.tragicsunshine.com/ )
----------------------------------------
Eric Tan (
http://erictanart.blogspot.com/ ) (You may recognize his art from the Pixar movies)
-----------------
Tom Whalen (
http://www.strongstuff.net)
-------------
Ken Taylor (
http://www.kentaylor.com.au/ )
---------
Daniel Danger (
http://tinymediaempire.com/ )
-------------
Phantom City Creative (
http://phantomcitycreative.com/ )
---------------
Dan McCarthy (
http://www.danmccarthy.org/ )
---------------
Jeff Proctor (
http://www.makenonsense.com/ )
------------------
David O Daniel (
http://aliencorset.blogspot.com )
------------
Dave Perillo (
http://montygog.blogspot.com/ )
----------------
Aaron Horkey
----------
Tomer Hanuka (
http://www.thanuka.com/index.php )
-------------
Laurent Durieux
----------------
Jock (
http://www.4twenty.co.uk/ )
---------------------
Francesco Francavilla (
http://www.francescofrancavilla.com/ )
----------------------
Jay Shaw (Iron Jaiden) (
http://kingdomofnonsense.com/ )
---------------
Much, much more coming soon.
-----------------
Section V: Other Sources for News
http://forum.expressobeans.com/viewforum.php?f=32
www.omgposters.com
-----------------
http://blog.mondotees.com/2011/07/11/3744/
ACADEMY LIBRARY AND ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE
TO ARCHIVE ART MOVIE POSTERS FROM MONDO
Beverly Hills, CA The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library is partnering with the Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse theater chain to archive the companys growing collection of original film posters designed by contemporary graphic artists. The first group of the Alamo Drafthouses Mondo posters arriving at the Herrick will include the latest print, a poster for the classic horror film Frankenstein (1931), created by Drew Struzan.
The Alamo Drafthouse began producing limited-edition silkscreen posters in 2003. Mondo, the companys art boutique, now produces more than 120 posters annually, and through it prominent artists such as Martin Ansin, Shepard Fairey, Olly Moss, Tyler Stout and Ken Taylor are commissioned to create new art for classic films, as well as alternative posters for contemporary movies such as Inglourious Basterds, True Grit and Thor.
We are always seeking out the unusual, and the Mondo collection certainly fits the bill, said the Academys graphic arts librarian, Anne Coco. We are looking forward to working with the Alamo Drafthouse to ensure that its contribution to the art of movie posters will be around for future generations to appreciate.
This ongoing gift from the Alamo Drafthouse will be housed along with the Herricks existing collection of more than 38,000 movie posters. The posters in the librarys collection are stored in climate-controlled vaults, and are scanned and entered into the librarys online catalog, where they can be viewed by the public.
Were extremely grateful to the Academy for its interest in archiving Mondos poster collection, said Mondo Creative Director Justin Ishmael. Were fans of movie art, first and foremost, and to have our artists work archived alongside some of the classics of movie poster art is an incredible honor.
The Margaret Herrick Library poster collection includes a wide range of works created by noted graphic artists, such as the Stenberg brothers constructivist poster for Man with a Movie Camera and Wiktor Gorkas arresting poster for the Polish release of Cabaret. The library also holds all of the film posters designed by Saul Bass, including his groundbreaking key art for The Man with the Golden Arm.
Lastly, post your prints. Show us how they're framed and hung upon your walls!