I was commisioned to create the art for Cruz.E skateboards propaganda. This new brand of skateboards was released here in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The main goal was to create a new, fresh concept and dump the paradigms of old plastic skates. I came up with the idea of these masks. I wanted to create a fictitious beast who lived into the jungle and has made this place it's home, has built it's own roads to skate on, search for food, and escape from angry dogs and other beasts. They have their own stock of plastic boards concealed inside the woods, and they just live to protect them from evil. They even have their own lenguage.
I didn't want to get stucked in the same old story or concept that's typical of these cruise boards. I didn't want the people to see this brand as just "another california-surf-cool-style" It was a challenge to find the right way to mix these two way-diferent concepts together. But it seemed to work well in the end.
Besides i was directing the photography for the video with the filmaking company Encinta, and so for the photoshoot. So i had to work overtime to get this masks done in time.
Technically i used hard paper (in spanish Papel batería if you wonder), flour paste, masking tape, glue, and acrylic paint. The hair i made it by hand with natural fibers. They are fixed to the mask with velcro wich makes'em more portable and easy to clean.
Thanks a lot to the people who trusted me: The Cruz.E crew for helping me to bring the idea back to ground, and my partners also friends and family in Encinta. And everyone else who helped!
BIG project, hope you like it!
The first sketches. Inspired in ethnical art and animals
I started to choose the designs that were more alike to the concept that i was looking for, it had to bring this wild beast out
this is papel batería, i first had to made a scale model then disassemble it to scale up every single piece to get the final size frame
you can see the grid drawn on the surface, that was used to do the scale up thing
To be sincere, it was the first time i explored the technics of origami. At the beginning i didn't see the way, but it came up so naturally i couldn't believe it was going so well
The full-size woman frame done.
The full-size man frame done.
To harden it i covered with newspaper with flour paste, i can totally say that it works better than common white glue
The hair was made of natural fibers, and painted with vegetable colorants. It took me one full Mars Volta album to get each one done
This reptile texture paper is sold at my local paper store.
Photoshoot
After one month working extra hours in my room (from 9pm to 1am DAILY) i was able to conclude in the final result.
We made the photographs at Guayabos in Guadalajara at night.
It was not easy to use them into the forest, (by common people) but the skaters we got, hell they could!
All photographs shoot and edited by me
This is a screen planner i made before i actually executed the photoshoot just to make clear the idea in my head
Video
Video produced, recorded and edited by Encinta
Storyboard
This is the storyboard for the video. It was new also for me to try to represent full darkness and the characters popping out the shades. In the end it was the main purpose indeed, not to have everything perfectly illuminated, but make it look really natural. As if this guys just went to have fun out in their backyard at night with a pair of camping lanterns
Story by Encinta.
all made with intuos 4 tablet in photoshop
Making the Video at Guayabos in Guadalajara, Mexico
Here are some making-of pics. Featuring Abel and Isha behind the masks, and me behind the camera.
Photographs by Daniel Alejandre from Encinta.
my face is not actually like this all the time
i had to be very conscious that Abel (the guy behind the mask) wasnt able to see so well so i had to explain him with apples how exactly i wanted him to move
tough guy
