Illustration

Its Not

Custard

- Film Poster & Key Art -

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Location

London, UK

 

Brief

Create look and feel for the film on the form of key art paintings along with a graphic film poster of an Its Not Custard - a dark comedy short and has been likened to Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected.

 

Tools

Hand-rendered, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Ilustrator, Winsor and Newton Watercolours, Steadler Clutch Pencil.

Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.

I was asked to produce some concept art for an independent film studio who was producing her first ever short film. Being a independent film the budget was very tight so I had a limited amount of time complete the work from sketch to final artwork. The film will be crowdfunded in order to raise the funds to commence shooting.

 

I created some key art pieces for Lions Den to help promote and secure financing for the project. This consisted of a digital painting, additional watercolour pieces along with a poster for promotion.

...This magical gift has a bizarre consequence that grants her the most delicious of revenge..

Key

Art

I was commissioned by Lion’s Den in London to initially create the key art for the short film It’s Not Custard. Produced as a digital painting in Photoshop, the artwork was designed to capture the distinctive tone of the film and serve as a striking visual reference for both promotion and pre-production.

 

The project was completed independently with minimal client involvement, giving me the freedom to shape the final composition, colour palette, and mood. By applying detailed digital painting techniques, I created bold and memorable key art that conveyed the film’s atmosphere while providing the production team with a strong piece of art direction.

Concept sketches for the key art of 'It's Not Custard,' showing early designs and concepts for the indie film, focusing on characters and style.

Initially, I was give the script to the masterpiece production and looked at different pivotal scenes in the film to bring to life with the aim of securing funding through crowd sourcing platforms. Selecting the important scenes I then went on to start sketching these concepts up in my sketchbook

Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.

To start with I considered several different positions for the painting, but having a poster feel to it was important especially since the piece would be used as a promotional tool and prints will be produced to be used as rewards to backers, which will be signed by myself.

Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," showing a close-up of a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.

Film

Poster

This digital concept art was created as key art for a short film, using a bold yellow-and-red palette to evoke tension and foreshadow a darker narrative arc. Through Photoshop digital painting techniques, the textures of exaggerated acne-ranging from pustule-like clusters to inflamed, raised blemishes intensifying the unsettling atmosphere and heighten visual storytelling.

 

Grounded in colour psychology, the balance of sallow yellows and deep reds was carefully tuned for maximum contrast and saturation, enhancing the impact of each frame. The result is a series of high-impact horror illustrations that work as assets for animation pre-production, dark-themed marketing campaigns, and horror illustration portfolios, where every image doubles as a narrative foreshadowing device.

Closeup of typography for It's Not Custard short film
In situ photo of poster for short film It's Not Custard

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© MMXXVI  Rory J. Murphy | All rights reserved.

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Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Concept sketches for the key art of 'It's Not Custard,' showing early designs and concepts for the indie film, focusing on characters and style.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," showing a close-up of a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Closeup of typography for It's Not Custard short film
In situ photo of poster for short film It's Not Custard
Envelope icon linking to an email address for quick and easy contact.

Concept sketches for the key art of 'It's Not Custard,' showing early designs and concepts for the indie film, focusing on characters and style.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," showing a close-up of a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Closeup of typography for It's Not Custard short film
In situ photo of poster for short film It's Not Custard
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Concept sketches for the key art of 'It's Not Custard,' showing early designs and concepts for the indie film, focusing on characters and style.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," showing a close-up of a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Closeup of typography for It's Not Custard short film
In situ photo of poster for short film It's Not Custard
Clickable home icon to inicate to the user that tapping this will take them to the homepage
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Mail icon providing a direct link for users to contact the website via email.
Concept sketches for the key art of 'It's Not Custard,' showing early designs and concepts for the indie film, focusing on characters and style.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," showing a close-up of a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Closeup of typography for It's Not Custard short film
In situ photo of poster for short film It's Not Custard

Concept sketches for the key art of 'It's Not Custard,' showing early designs and concepts for the indie film, focusing on characters and style.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," showing a close-up of a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Closeup of typography for It's Not Custard short film
In situ photo of poster for short film It's Not Custard
Clickable home icon to inicate to the user that tapping this will take them to the homepage
Arrow icon; click to go back to the previous page you were on

Concept sketches for the key art of 'It's Not Custard,' showing early designs and concepts for the indie film, focusing on characters and style.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," showing a close-up of a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Closeup of typography for It's Not Custard short film
In situ photo of poster for short film It's Not Custard
Active contact icon indicating you are on the Contact page

Concept sketches for the key art of 'It's Not Custard,' showing early designs and concepts for the indie film, focusing on characters and style.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," showing a close-up of a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Closeup of typography for It's Not Custard short film
In situ photo of poster for short film It's Not Custard
Clickable home icon to inicate to the user that tapping this will take them to the homepage
"Product icon (active) – Currently browsing our print-on-demand store.
Product icon linking to our print-on-demand store page for browsing and purchasing items.
Highlighted Praise icon in navigation showing you are currently on the Testimonials page
Testimonials icon showcasing customer reviews.
Active contact icon indicating you are on the Contact page
Contact icon directing to the social and contact page.

Concept sketches for the key art of 'It's Not Custard,' showing early designs and concepts for the indie film, focusing on characters and style.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," depicting a girl caressing a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Digital painting in Photoshop of key art for "It's Not Custard," showing a close-up of a giant spot on an acne-covered wall.
Closeup of typography for It's Not Custard short film
In situ photo of poster for short film It's Not Custard