- Oct 17
Drew Struzan is the reason I and so many of my colleagues do what we do today.
For years before I knew his name, I knew his work. Eventually I came to know that all the unforgettable movie posters I’d so dearly loved as a young person were being created by a singular poster artist: Drew Struzan.
I wanted to do what he did.
In 1999, when I was 14, Drew Struzan’s Phantom Menace poster hung proudly on my wall. But I didn’t know the illustrator’s name then. I'd grown up seeing his posters on the covers of my family's VHS tapes; posters like The Muppet Christmas Carol and Hook for example, but my brain simply wasn’t paying attention until Star Wars, when everything clicked. It was the first time I truly noticed a movie poster for its incredible artwork. The paint! Those big swirly brushstrokes, the tangible hand-drawn draftsmanship! The glow! That magical sparkle! It transported me to a galaxy far, far away, and in my heart I've been there ever since.
As a Harry Potter fan in 2001, I fell in love with the poster for Sorcerer’s Stone. I began to realize that perhaps illustrated movie posters were still still being made despite their obvious heyday in the 80s and 90s—and there was clearly one very recognizable artist still creating them.
I credit his posters as the main reason I went to art school to pursue illustration.
I saved the Rhode Island School of Design course catalog from 24 years ago that listed “Movie Posters” as an illustration class offered at RISD the year before I started there. (I highlighted it in yellow back in 2001). It was THE class I was most excited about taking as an undergrad. Unfortunately, during my four years at RISD, “Movie Posters” would not be offered as a class, but thanks to my RISD classmate/now-husband, Adam, (who is also a huge fan of his) I did eventually learn that DREW STRUZAN was the name of the artist who'd been inspiring me since childhood.
10 years after graduating, when the time finally came to embark on my own poster making career, it was clear that movie studios were more and more leaning entirely photographic for their posters rather than illustrated. Yet the undeniable lingering magic of Drew’s posters gave me hope that illustrated movie posters had not just a celebrated past but also a vibrant future. In reality, the alternative illustrated movie poster scene is thriving, undeniable proof to me that movie fans are as eager as ever to celebrate their love of movies through art; a connection for which Drew Struzan has become legendary.
I believe there will always be a place and a need for movie posters illustrated by the human hand. Drew Struzan demonstrated that the illustrated movie poster is capable of capturing the spirit and energy of certain films far better than any other medium. In the minds of many, his posters are iconic; the poster and the movie inextricably linked.
Drew's incredible skill and versatility elevated the illustrated movie poster to a fine art embraced by movie fans and pop culture artists around the world. His posters have sparked the imaginations of generations, and will continually inspire countless artists in his absence, myself included.
Tucked into his book of movie posters is an article I saved from a 2014 issue of Entertainment Weekly. It begins: “Even if you don’t know his name, you still know his work.” I trust that his work and his name will forever be remembered with the same love and respect that he poured into the art itself.
May we all as artists aspire to create artwork that so clearly speaks for itself, and connects us so fondly to strangers who know us only through it.
-C
I was invited to share a few thoughts about Drew Struzan and illustrated movie posters in a brief interview with CBS News Boston which can be viewed on YouTube. >
