WHEN LIPS SLIP, THE EYES REVEAL How I get to embody the spirit of the Wakandian through everyday occurances. T’CHALLA EMBODIES
When I first saw the Black Panther, I wanted to be him. His Ninja-warrior stealth suit was awe-inspiring while paying homage to his homeland and a legacy, a vast culture derived on survival of the fittest. He dawned the mantle of his predecessors and yet had the intelligence far beyond what was shown in books at that time. His tracking methodology devoured even the mightiest of detective heroes. His fighting tactics were exotic and clearly efficient. He composed himself with regal and yet wild fierceness. I was enraptured. So much that years later I wanted to design something to pay homage.
Creator Stan Lee with Jack Kirby Penciller
T’CHALLA EMBODIES
Amen Ra Films owned by actor/producer Wesley Snipes acquired the rights to The Black Panther but then his earthly pursuits placed a roadblock on the concept becoming a cinematic feature. I was running my Design company M3AD and we asked all our employees to design their dream job, mine was to design the teaser (main Movie) poster for the Black Panther.
Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable. ~ Bondei proverb
I was currently designing a brochure for Cinnabar who was famous for designing Pee-Wee Hermans Playhouse, they created designed the temples for the Disneyland ride Indiana Jones Adventure and the ships for a new Steve Wynn pirate themed property Treasure Island in Las Vegas. Cinnabar had some great images that I was allowed to use to promoted my design capabilities and ideas. I combined stock images of an Africa landscape (savanna) and with blurred photography of artist sculptures of Dale Chihuly to give off a mysterious power mist - paying tribute to the past Wakanda’s Royal Warriors. Researching various tribal/shaman symbols I looked at the mere letter forms of the B of Black and The P of Panther combined with two dashes to create a mask - eye like presence and a cross to symbolize: spirit, a warning, intelligence (add to) and a sign of focus. Designed in 2004.
Symbolic Letter B for Black
Claw Symbol, Headress and Letterform P for Panther
Eyes & Oval shape to be the mask / head, The Cross (mouth) silent, focused, spirit.
In 2006, a local non-profit design organization AIGA Las Vegas asked several designers to design some cards to be added to their custom Deck. So the Wakanda spirit attacked again and this time it was a dual with a young punk photographer kid from Queens, Peter Parker. I was given a Black Panther action figure as a gift from a fellow designer and loved the detailing (except the gold aspects, I thought the Black Panther looked better with Black and Silver accents) and decided to pay homage to the many designers I know that are avid collectors of vinyl toys,action figures and regalia from the MCU, as a side note those darn things are harder to balance and pose than high priced models for photoshoots! 2006 AIGA Tournament Deck ALL IN AIGA Las Vegas ACE of Spades - (Custom Tiki Design) Eight of Spades - (Entanglement Image) Two of Hearts (Not Shown)
Black Panther by georgian artist Merab Abramishvili
Then Rian Hughes came into the equation. An amazing Graphic Designer who has designed some brilliant identity for the Marvel Universe and designed the current Ta-Nehisi written Black Panther Series. He judged my work in Rockport Publishings - REALLY GOOD LOGOS. I was thrilled that he enjoyed my work It was a Highlight of that year for me. I always been a stalker/fan of his popculture illustrations and genius identity for X-Men and several superheroes. I would always question when does he sleep since the work he would produce would be unending as if he embodied uncanny abilities himself. He influenced me to push more into the creative ebb and flow.
T’CHALLA EMBODIES WISDOM IN CHAOS
I have the honor to be a Professor at The College of Southern Nevada Cheyenne Campus in North Las Vegas. I teach a Graphic Communications course (CSN / GRC) on how to adapt quickly to a hostile environment. In the same manner how the Black Panther confronts conflict with his own methodologies of protection and resolution. I called these in class tests HellFire sessions, students of the GRC Graphic Communication (Graphic Design) program are randomly selected and must choose from the following: .01 - Pick a Color (Blue) .02 - Pick any Continent (Australia) .03 - Pick any Mammal/Animal (Black Panther) .04 - Pick any number 0-100 (Seven) Each student has 30 minutes to combine these elements in an application (Photoshop, Illustrator or Indesign) in this example the software was Adobe Illustrator. They are to showcase their best ability using the software. This illustration was drawn in 10 minutes scanned, Image Traced, recalibrated and placed on a vector file of the continent of Australia, with custom Type created from a single abstract shape. Completed in 25 minutes. You never know when the King will arrive to entangle such mayhem.
Left: HellFire Session using Adobe Illustrator, Below: Custom type and illustrations used for example in GRC 104 - Typography and Layout Midnight Angel markings.
Custom Type and illustration inspired by the latest Black Panther designs by: Rian Hughes & Brian Stelfreeze used to create a Lazer die-cut example for a printing process for a pre-press class.
I am forever grateful for the revival of T’Challa and his epic adventures as the King of Wakanda and as Black Panther. I look forward to be inspired by the spirit of Lee’s and Kirbys creation and your impressive evolution. Continued success and ideas! Ta-Nehisi Coates // Brian Stelfreeze // Rian Hughes and the rest of the team!
If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. ~ African proverb
T’CHALLA EMBODIES