Beautiful Movie Poster Illustrations by Bartosz Kosowski

WRITTEN BY: Roger McDonald

Artist Bartosz Kosowski has a visually-striking style and an eye for beautiful design illustrations. Therefore, it is no surprise that DFL Magazin commissioned Kosowski to design these amazing movie posters.

Select players of the German professional association football league, Bundesliga, chose their favorite films. These illustrations highlight four of those favorites. Most noteworthy is the insane amount of details Kosowski has put into these gorgeous illustrated designs

Kosowski’s used of the Wacom CintiQ and Adobe Photoshop to achieve a high level of detail. The drawing tablet makes use of an enormous interactive touch-screen. As a result, Kosowski could get in close without sacrificing his his workspace view.

Although the design style feels very minimalist on the surface, the devil is in the details. Minimalist design is not to be confused with simplicity. These designs are incredibly complex in their minimalism.

In addition to the rough brush strokes, there is a subtle layer of dirt and grit that give these designs character.  Thus, the vintage minimalist look is retained while remaining cleverly complex. Let’s take a look at these inspiring illustrations a little closer.

Gladiator Illustrations

These illustrations focus on the iconic Roman helmet worn by Russell Crowe in the 2000 film, Gladiator. There are four variations to this poster. Each uses a different color scheme and/or design style to display the helmet.

The Intouchables Illustrations

The Intouchables illustrations highlights the main duo of the 2011 french buddy comedy-drama film, The Intouchables. The alternative German title of the film, Ziemlich beste Freinde, is featured on the main poster design.

Avatar Illustrations

Kosowski makes great use of color in this poster design for the 2009 James Cameron film, Avatar. The illustrations feature a member of the film’s titular alien race, the Na’vi.

Lord of the Rings Illustrations

This fiery design focuses on the only thing anyone can focus on in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The One Ring. The ornate illustrations for the trilogy’s first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, make you wish Kosowski would have designed posters for all three films.

Start To Finish: Early Drafts To Final Printed Product

Similarities and differences can be seen when comparing the early initial design drafts to the final printed designs.

The Intouchables early draft shows the english title and alternative text layout. Gladiator started with a completely different helmet design. Avatar’s logo font was initially much more artistic and abstract. These are the kinds of things that change and develop throughout the design process.

Be sure to view the entire project and appreciate it on Behance!

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