Concept
The Little Mermaid has always held a special place in my heart as my favorite Disney movie since childhood. When the announcement for the Live Action version was made, I was filled with excitement, immediately envisioning my dream cast.
During this time, I was honing my skills in Photo Manipulation on Photoshop, primarily for work-related purposes. I felt compelled to channel my enthusiasm for the movie announcement into a creative endeavor.
The Process
After stumbling upon a tutorial by PiXimperfect on YouTube titled “The Inverse Curve Technique for Painting Light! – Photoshop Tutorial“, I found the perfect guidance for blending people into backgrounds.
Next, I embarked on the task of gathering materials and ideas for my project. I envisioned a singer to portray the character of Eric in my adaptation of The Little Mermaid, with Harry Styles being my initial choice. However, after an exhaustive search for suitable photos, I serendipitously discovered a captivating portrait of Zayn Malik by GQ magazine, instantly falling in love with it.
Zayn’s mesmerizing gaze in the portrait perfectly captured the essence of Eric under Ursula’s spell, inspiring me to bring this vision to life. With the ideal beach backdrop in hand, I began crafting the concept.
To ensure Zayn resembled the Disney character as closely as possible, I meticulously selected hair and attire resembling Eric’s, with inspiration borrowed from Harry Styles. Following additional tutorials on precise color adjustments, I aimed for a polished and professional result.
Upon reviewing my work, I felt it lacked a finishing touch. Thus, I decided to incorporate text to emulate a movie advertisement. Drawing inspiration from original advertising posters and DVD covers, I merged elements from both, opting for a gold-ish effect reminiscent of modern title wordings.
Using Adobe Illustrator, I crafted the font to match the desired aesthetic before returning to Photoshop to finalize the design.
Seeking to make the artwork practical for web advertising, I tailored it for Instagram posts and stories. The composition naturally lent itself to an IG post, with the actor’s face centrally positioned, drawing attention to the plot summary and movie title.
For the IG story, I emphasized Zayn’s dreamy gaze and captivating eyes.
