Welcome back to our monthly series spotlighting PosterSpy PRO members! Today we are interviewing Nuno Sarnadas, a professional key art and poster designer based in Switzerland. Nuno has been an active PosterSpy member since 2017, and we love seeing his varied artistic output and his atypical choice of key imagery.
How did you get into the art of posters?
As I struggled to stay afloat after the big crisis of 2008, doing whatever jobs I could and some graphic design on the side, I got involved in a local project that had artists create an illustration for a movie they loved. That was my first ever alternative movie poster: for Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope). After that, I fell down the rabbit hole of alternative movie posters and found a thriving and extremely creative community dedicated to them, and I immediately fell in love. I kept doing them — just for personal consumption — until one day my girlfriend introduced me to PosterSpy. The site caught my attention because of the recurring creative briefs. I saw a window of opportunity to keep doing these posters for a bigger outlet while pushing myself out of my comfort zone, following directives, and working on properties that weren’t necessarily personal to me. And six years later, here we are.
What are two or three of your favourite posters you’ve done?
That is like asking which would be one’s favorite son, but I will give it a shot! I think the Ballerina one is a big landmark, as it was one of my most serious incursions incorporating 3D into my workflow, and I am very proud of how it came out. I also think The Terminator stands out, and my Die Hard parody poster is something I made just to have fun with but turned out great!
How long have you been with PosterSpy? What has your experience been like?
I have been with PosterSpy since 2017, and it has been an incredible ride. The community is so supportive and immensely inspirational, and what Jack and the site have been doing for us is nothing short of amazing: giving artists a solid platform to showcase our work while also allowing artists to find commissions and new opportunities that really value and respect our time and resources.
Could you walk us through your typical artistic process?
My process is a bit of order in chaos. Inspiration can come from an idea that just pops into my head at any moment, from a particular asset that triggers it, or from trying many things on a white canvas until something clicks. There is a lot (and I mean a lot) of Googling involved, as I really try to steer away from any existing material or concepts. I recently started exploring the world of 3D, and that has really opened up my options, as now I can create or manipulate assets in order to bring my ideas to light instead of relying solely on stock photos and similar assets. Currently, I am working on developing my illustration/painting skills, to get another tool into my bag of tricks!
Your latest PosterSpy submission, for The Exorcist, is indeed a lot more illustrative than usual. What inspired this stylistic choice?
I have wanted to make a poster for the original film (my all-time favorite horror movie) for a long while now, but inspiration never really hit. I tried a few things occasionally, but they either did not work or were similar to already existing posters. I abandoned it to avoid furthering down the frustration — but recently the stars aligned. I was made aware that this year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film, and that brought it back to the forefront of my queue. I started researching again, until one day on Twitter I came across a thread that celebrated the brilliance of Netflix’s Castlevania (a show I absolutely adore), including the beautiful art of the opening credits. A particular set of frames hit me like a ton of bricks and immediately I saw my poster right there. And since I am in this mindset of developing my illustrative skills, it was a no-brainer.
You’ve done several poster series — for Oscars 2022, for example. How do you go about planning big sets like these?
I’m afraid there is no big plan behind it. I have done three Oscar series, and they all start the same way. I choose one film, create a design that is in line with the overarching theme of the series, and create a poster for it. The remaining posters just have to follow the blueprint of the first one. It might not sound very exciting or methodical, but it has been working for me consistently.
Finally, what is your ideal poster gig?
I would love to work on a big property for a big studio. I love Star Wars and that is there, but I am a bit more attracted to auteurs like Denis Villeneuve or Christopher Nolan. Their movies I feel would be perfect for my style and vision. So yes, Dune, I am looking at you!
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