ap spotlight on - james goodridge
James
Goodridge began his illustration career in 1983. Due to the lack
of illustration courses in the U.K. it was necessary to forgo any formal
training and simply teach oneself. Thanks to the influence of work by
artists such as Drew Struzan, Richard Amsel, John Alvin and Brian Bysouth
the standard to follow was set and the field of movie poster illustration
seemed an interesting path to follow.
James was soon hired by a long established studio which was responsible for a huge number of print campaigns for the British and European markets. During this period James worked on a number of projects for, among others, Thorn EMI,20th Century Fox and Vestron though his primary purpose was, through the wisdom of studio directors Eddie Paul and Fred Atkins, to learn and practice his art.
As the movie poster market and illustration in the U.K. declined due to the use of U.S. campaigns and the overuse of photography James found a new home with his London Representative; Artist Partners. For several years prior to his move to Los Angeles James' work flourished and a strong working relationship developed there with Christine Isteed and Dom Rodi. It was during this collaboration that James produced many book covers and some of what he considers his most successful work.
In 1996 James returned to what had been his first influence; the movie poster. This time however he traveled to Los Angeles where, despite the dominance of photography, there is still a great appreciation for illustration and a desire to use it whenever possible. As a result James was fortunate to be asked to produce a series of character portraits for Batman and Robin as well as creating imagery for projects such as Band Of Brothers, Tomb Raider, From Hell, Star Trek: Nemesis and Lord Of The Rings.
Almost 20 years after starting out in the movie poster world it is still the interest in story telling or conveying a sense of emotion which elicits a human response which brings most pleasure to this artist. Hopefully some of that pleasure is passed on to you through James' artwork here and at his own website James Goodridge Illustration.
Click images below for larger version. Maximum size 25Kb
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Tomb Raider Ride |
Batman & Poison Ivy One of a series of portraits produced for Warner Bros. Batman & Robin. The proposed usage was T-shirts and sundry other applications. (1996/97) |
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Batgirl One of a series of portraits produced for Warner Bros. Batman & Robin. The proposed usage was T-shirts and sundry other applications. (1996/97) |
Poison Ivy One of a series of portraits produced for Warner Bros. Batman & Robin. The proposed usage was T-shirts and sundry other applications. (1996/97) |
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Mr Freeze One of a series of portraits produced for Warner Bros. Batman & Robin. The proposed usage was T-shirts and sundry other applications. (1996/97) |
| Batman images used with permission of Warner Bros. Consumer Products. Characters property of DC Comics. | |
| Edward Scissorhands A poster concept which was sadly not seen at the time but continues to be one of the artists most popular images. (1991) |
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Toy packaging for the World Wrestling Federation. |
| Toy packaging for the World Wrestling Federation. |  |
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Statue of Liberty |
| Moon is Down |  |
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Pearl 2 |
| Sphynx |  |
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) |  |
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) |  |
