Joker Poster

Illustrated and coloured in Procreate, assembled in Adobe Photoshop.

The movie Joker for the most part is a character study of one individual; Arthur Fleck, as portrayed masterfully by Joaquin Phoenix.

As such, for this poster I wanted the focus to be purely on that individual. I really enjoyed the movie, being particularly in awe of Phoenix’s powerful and tragic performance. Being a lifelong DC Comics fan, I always enjoy unique new takes on their characters. It’s especially exciting to see an interpretation handled with such a degree of maturity and being unafraid to push the boundaries on what can be done with the character. Creating an interpretation that is new and fresh whilst also retaining the soul of the source material.

The composition evokes Arthurs ‘rise’ to the persona of Joker from the downtrodden state of his life. The literal lower portion of the poster features Arthur lying down in an alley after being assaulted, as represented early on in the film – just one of the many instances of misfortune and trauma he experiences throughout his life.
Rising bold, strong, and confident above this is Joker – mirroring the transformation the character undergoes throughout the course of the film. Simplicity and clarity were key here – focusing on strong iconography to clearly define the character and their arc to the viewer.

Joker film still study.

Illustrated in Procreate.

Joker portrait, used as the main image for the poster.

Illustrated in Procreate.