The Vampire Armand
This is a poster featuring Assad Zaman's Armand. This was created for a fan-organised birthday online exhibition in 2025 (check it out here!). His side profile is visible. The slightly-distressed photograph is in black-and-white and is inside an ornate oval-shaped gold frame. This photo frame is placed over a distressed black background.
The border around this poster is the piece de resistance - the corner pieces of this have been inspired by the horseshoe arch and hexagon-shaped jali screens - two common features of Mughal architecture (and Islamic architecture in general), the dynasty that began ruling the Indian subcontinent in 1526. This was meant to allude to the region and period of Armand’s origins, but as I decided to create this poster at the last minute and forgot to verify this until writing this description for the submission, we shall sidestep the fact that the Mughals came to power 18 years after Armand/Arun’s birth in 1508 and hence didn’t coincide with his precise origin 😬.
The frame connecting these corner pieces has been inspired by the intricate border patterns woven on Jamdani sarees, an art form that originated in the Bengal region and pays tribute to Assad’s Bengali heritage. The pattern consists of a geometric illustration of a magnolia flower, referencing Armand’s precious magnolia tree. This flower alternates in an up-and-down pattern.
This pattern is framed at the top and bottom by another pattern that alternates between an illustration of fangs and a singular drop of blood. Below the image of Armand is the text “The Vampire Armand” in a stylised Blackletter font named “Angel wish”. This text, the corner pieces and the Jamdani-inspired frame have been embossed and coloured gold to give it an ornate, tactile look and feel.
CREDITS
Angel wish font via Font Space
Distressed texture via Resource Boy
Gold frame via Freepik
Armand image via Bleeding Cool News
SOFTWARES USED
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
No Generative AI has been used in this graphic. All assets have been (digitally) crafted by me using the aforementioned softwares unless credited otherwise.
