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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 JUNE 2015 This Week 39 Maltese artist scores opportunity to illustrate poster for New York soul band MaltaToday cartoonist Mark Scicluna wins chance to illustrate poster for Pharrell Williams-produced single for the band Lion Babe FREELANCE illustrator and MaltaToday journal- ist Mark Scicluna has just scored a chance to illus- trate a poster for New York soul band Lion Babe – spe- cifically, the track 'Wonder Woman', produced by none other than RnB star Phar- rell Williams. "It was extremely creative, but kept with the retro ref- erences and mantra of our band: Dare to be bold and different," said Lion Babe, in a statement, about Mark Scicluna's illustration (pic- tured). The initiative was organ- ised through the online portal Talenthouse, a platform where artists can post their work, share it, and also participate in live briefs with big clients. As the Selected Artist, Scicluna receives £1,000 and his work will be used to create a run of lim- ited edition merchandise for the band. Speaking to MaltaToday, Sci- cluna said that he got to know about Talenthouse through a friend some months ago, and that he didn't strike gold there first time around. "But I kept my subscription, and eventually Lion Babe posted a brief which asked for a retro comic 70s style poster." The aesthetic caught his atten- tion, as the lurid comic book style of the era was always appealing to Scicluna. "On closer look, I noticed that Pharrell Williams would be pro- ducing this record. This made it a bigger deal and I decided the competition was definitely worth a shot." Scicluna said the process he employed for the commission was the same as he used when "creating comics in the tradi- tional way". "I sketched a layout, inked it on semi-transparent paper and coloured it digitally. I think what made it stand out was that it real- ly linked to the style of the band. Even though I went for a retro comic style, I also tried to keep the colours and general feel of the illustration on the contempo- rary side. I took my time to come up with a concept," Scicluna said, adding that he used the song's video as his main reference. "I watched and analysed it a couple of times, keeping track of the best shots and any inter- esting elements in the scene. I also watched interviews with the band members and also listened to their music to get to know the band and also to get myself in the right state of mind." He added that in total, the post- er took roughly a week – "on and off" – to finish, "however it was a lot of fun and definitely worth every minute". "The fact that hundreds of de- signers and illustrators from around the world participated in the competition intimidated me at first, but now that I've won, I'm obviously happy that I wasn't discouraged." Download the MaltaToday App now Mark Scicluna's winning poster illustration for Lion Babe's song 'Wonder Woman' – the brief asked for a '70s comics style illustration' Mark Scicluna received £1,000 for his work