I designed the Uncomfortable Creatures gallery quality art poster in 2023 for a public space at the Burning Man arts and culture festival. Brainy Bar serves as a combination of gallery, lounge space, and dive bar at the event in northern Nevada. In keeping with the art theme of Animalia, Brainy Bar wanted to decorate the gallery as a Creature Comforts Lounge. Consequently this poster was my contribution (click here to see some of my other posters). The space was also filled out with a large mural, several posters and a few sculptures from other artists. I wanted to make a piece with misfits and unconventional choices of what a kindred spirit animal might be. This played nicely off the Burning Man principle of radical inclusion. As with other art poster projects, I think it brings something fun and whimsical to the space.
Metaphorically Speaking
Dinosaurs, skulls and robots might seem different and a bit scary. On the surface they are uncomfortable creatures that feel out of place. But think about this: Some people feel like dinosaurs, skulls or robots because they don’t fit in. They might feel left out, even though they have their own cool things to share. Dinosaurs can teach us about the past. Robots can show us the future. Kids who feel like dinosaurs or robots can teach us new games and stories. Just like discovering a cool fact about dinosaurs or seeing a robot do something amazing, getting to know uncomfortable creatures can lead to awesome friendships and learning cool stuff we never knew before.
Comfortable Tools Of Uncomfortable Creatures
The creatures may be uncomfortable, but I used some comfortable tools to make the piece. The background is a massive 3D model of the Black Rock Desert that I made some years back in Maxon’s Cinema 4D using USGS data. I then added some other more recent pieces I’d been tinkering with. I used Adobe Substance Sampler to create and fine-tune the PBR materials. Afterwards I used Substance Painter to get the models textured. Everything went back to Cinema 4D for the 10,800 x 14,400 pixel final render, and then into Photoshop and Illustrator for finishing touches and type.
The full-sized poster measures 36″ x 48″ at 300dpi. It hung in the Brainy Bar’s gallery and lounge space.
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