femmes fatales

Case study

The red, white, black color palette mirrors the mood of classic film noir and pulp fiction book covers. The red lips and trailing dress convey the femme fatale’s sensuality and the character’s place at the end of an enduring deadly legacy.

While refining the design in Illustrator for iPad, I realized that the head overshadowed the gun, so I replaced the gun with a dagger dripping blood.

I envisioned the image blowing smoke from a recently fired gun.

I let the figure guide me when choosing the type of background. This scene called for the palm trees of the City of Angels / City of The Fallen, as well as the full moon of fairy tales, Gothic stories, and classic and contemporary noir.

Process

Outcome

Cover for a special issue paying homage to femmes fatales.

Femmes Fatales was a personal project inspired by the series Sugar, classic film noir, and Gothic novels and movies, "Femmes Fatales" blends film noir aesthetics with my illustration style to explore the complex role of femmes fatales across time and media.

Role: Illustrator

Client: Rosário Durão Design

AD: Rosário Durão