Waste is a movie poster concept that symbolizes how our discarded materials and the consequences of overconsumption can take on a life of their own.
The idea behind this piece is that the things we throw away never truly disappear; they come back to haunt us. The trash monster is composed of bright, multicolored plastics and recyclables, symbolizing the waste we throw away mindlessly daily. In the poster, it’s escaping from the back of a garbage truck, trying to blend in with its surroundings. At first glance, the monster almost looks like part of the truck, but its chaotic mix of color and texture reveals that something is not quite right.
In Photoshop, I began with a base photo of a garbage truck, which I masked out and placed against a separate image of a road. I then sketched the shape of the trash monster using the brush tool and layered several images of real trash and recyclables over it. I wanted its form to look unstable and inhuman. Something halfway between solid and shapeless. I spent a lot of time experimenting with lighting, color adjustments, and shadows to make the monster stand out while still keeping it partially camouflaged. I blurred and darkened the truck slightly, reflected light from the monster onto the truck and road, and added a green overlay and grunge textures to harmonize the colors and create a gritty, cinematic tone. The window texture was added to make it feel like the viewer is looking at the scene through a car windshield, witnessing the monster’s escape.
The hardest part of this project was deciding on a final idea. I had several different concepts at first, but this one felt the most meaningful and achievable with the tools I had. Photoshop can feel limiting at times, especially when translating a complex idea into a realistic image, but I’m proud of how I was able to execute this concept. Waste ultimately reflects the idea that our habits and neglect toward the environment can come back to life in unexpected and terrifying ways.