Friday One Sheet: TIN & TINA

There is a lot going on in this key art for Tin & Tina by Spanish artist and designer Pedro Cabañas: the classic book frame, the children's prayer, the costumes, masks, feathers, finger-of-god lighting, sharp implements, and the bleeding heart on the ground. 

The tagline is graffiti'd to playfully underscore that "this is not a bible tale," even as the imagery pushes the iconic prayer below to its most literal meaning of "I give you my heart."  And wait, does the little boy with the Japanese-inspired mask have a pizza cutter in his hand?

There is a rich texture to the whole design here, something that if you ran your hands along it might feel three dimensional and fuzzy, like the cloth of the angel gowns worn by the two protagonists.  While the masks look outward at the person gazing at the poster, the characters look downward at the bloody heart at their feet. It is a great example of using eyelines to lead the viewer.

As this is a teaser poster, the standard credit block is not to be found (which would only get in the way here). Instead of the cliche paper-folds or patina-distress in the poster design, here one of the names in the title is actually slashed -- a self-aware touch that this is indeed a playbill of sorts, and of a piece with the weapon on display. 

One can only hope that the resulting film has the density of design and execution as its poster. Kudos.