The Man Who Drew The Bug-Eyed Monsters

Last night I ended up watching an excellent documentary on Reynold Brown, called ''The Man Who Drew The Bug-Eyed Monsters''

Reynold Brown (1917 - 1991) was an L.A born illustrator who basically drew every movie poster you've ever seen from the 50s.

Reynold Brown has always been a huge inspiration for me, I just never knew it until I saw the documentary! When I was in secondary school I took a big interest in posters from the 50s, especially b-movie horror posters. I was always under the impression that there was a 'style' of posters, that everyone drew the same, but I found out last night that they're all by the one person!

I had a bit of a rubbish art teacher, who told me studying poster art wasn't the best way to go about getting a career in art (thanks, Ms Kavanagh). And I will say, 4 years of Graphic Design college will prove that actually, poster design is a pretty bit part. I honestly never came across his name, I just pulled pictures of his work from books and vhs boxes.

This documentary gave me a huge insight into the world of poster design from the 40s onwards - it explains how illustrators like Reynold Brown never signed their name to the artwork, and if they did, it would be removed. They were under appreciated, poorly paid and were basically unknown. They also had at best, 3 day deadlines to finish the posters! (I couldn't make a gig flyer in 3 days without the help of my computer)

The documentary was made in 1994 so it's hard not to be put off by the ''art historians'' with giant glasses - but it's still well worth a look. Any reason to procrastinate!

Much love for Reynold Brown!