It is said that to succeed, we must first, fail. Melbourne local Rhys Cooper definitely personifies this notion, having flunked biology and turned it into a full-fledged career in illustration. The transition wasn’t an easy one but having spent years producing designing for clothing and fashion lines, his love for movie and music poster design really began to kick-off. While I’ll consider anything incorporating Sigourney Weaver to be great in my books, these illustrations are dripping with nostalgic geek noir, are beautifully stylized and the inner film and music geek in me can’t help but gush a little.
Rhys Cooper is responsible for some seriously tight and detailed line work for projects incorporating Pearl Jam, Clockwork Orange, Queens of the Stone Age, The Bronx, Them Crooked Vultures, Rage Against The Machine, Iggy Pop and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. A personal favourites of mine are Rhys Cooper’s Kyuss posters – if you like your stoner rock, I highly recommend you check them out too!
The intricacy of Rhys’ work doesn’t muddy the clarity however: it’s crisp, bold and filled to the brim with vivid hues – you can certainly see his fashion design roots seeping through. Comparisons can be drawn from American traditional tattoo design, which also incorporates the big, bold and clear imagery, with bright saturated colour. The potential transferability of Rhys Cooper’s illustrations is testament to his craft: poster, t-shirt, body ink; none of these designs would appear out of place in these medium.
