Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1362655
A P P A R E L D E C O R A T I N G 7 8 G R A P H I C S P R O S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M S O F T W A R E T O S U B S T R A T E | L O N W I N T E R S LORD OF ALL THINGS DESIGNING A SCREEN PRINT WITH A DISTINCT STYLE W hen J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a me- ticulously detailed set of letters to his son about an imaginary land filled with magic and a fantastic jour- ney, could he have known what impact it might have on our culture? It's hard to imagine anyone who hasn't read, watched, or heard of "The Lord of the Rings." It be- came the foundation for everything fanta- sy for decades. Even Dungeons & Dragons that began back in the '80s has renewed interest. Young adults are back to rolling the 20-sided die to land a striking blow to their opponents. The movies themselves were made in the passion of the details so beautiful- ly written to describe every landscape and harrowing battle over the land of Middle Earth. Whether the charm of the gentle wizard Gandalf, the Halfling people of the shire, or the awesome might of the dark lord Sauron, this tale has something for everyone. The inspiration from these books has initiated so many spinoffs, it's hard to keep track of them all. Parodies that abound from this timeless tale were the inspiration for the Rocky Mountain Honors Camp this summer. They were looking for an interesting play on words that reflected the message of their faith. The Lord of All Things, re- turn of the King of Kings. We also used the sword from the series as a symbol of the cross of Jesus Christ. With our explicit directions, or a map if you will, we began our own journey. Not hardly as dangerous as traveling to Mordor to throw the one ring in the fires of Mount Doom but it had its challenges nonetheless. DESIGN FOR STYLE If you have seen the films, there was a specific style to the title lettering. Luckily in the digital age, all things font are easily accessible. We found a type style named Marion that was pretty close. In Adobe Illustrator, we created our text layout and arranged the lettering in the familiar composition. By scaling some letters to dominate over others, we added to the drama of the title. We needed a ring, though. We had to have at least one ring, right? From the many references to the sword wielded by the kings of Gondor, we made a clean graphic to incorporate as the cross in the background. For some flair, we wrapped the text of the group's title into the ring just as the story references. We moved to Adobe Photoshop to drop in the finer details. The old, weath- ered feel from another age that appears The design just had to have a ring. For some flair, we wrapped the text of the group's title into the ring just as the story references. (All images courtesy Lon Winters) The design just had to have a ring. For some flair, we wrapped the text of the group's title into the ring just as the story From the many references to the sword wielded by the kings of Gondor, we made a clean graphic to in- corporate as the cross in the background.