Crimson Peak studies (Patreon)

One of my goals for this year was to work on developing a style similar to movie stills, and I thought what better way to learn than by doing some film studies! There is just something about telling a story in a single shot that I love, subtitles and all.

Whenever I think of TV shows or films that have some of the visual and narrative qualities I want in my own story, I always come back to Guillermo Del Toro's Crimson Peak. It's pretty, it's Period and has a subtle kind of horror that can be very 'blink and you'll miss it'. 

He also uses color to tell stories, and Crimson Peak is a perfect example of it.  Of course the movie has a lot of red, but there are greens and yellows too. He definitely didn't shy away from using black either. 

So I chose 4 shots that inspire me. They tell a story, are visually beautiful, macabre or both (my favorite aesthetic lol) I looked for stills that have color palettes, lighting and compositions that I love too. I tried not to be overly concerned with accuracy, but I tried to get some sort of likeness. Here are the thumbnails I did to try and capture the light and shadows:

 I will try to do more of these, not just from Crimson Peak but other television shows and movies in the hopes that it will teach me how to be a better storyteller and painter.  Credit for the stills goes to filmgrab