Q+A with Prolific Film Poster Artist Nima Nakhshab

By Iman Sadri

Nima Nakhshab with Jeff Goldblum.

September 25, 2018

Films have many ways of drawing an audience to them. Trailers, soundtracks, and scene clips are some of these many methods to build audience anticipation. One of the most compelling ways to also draw in viewers are film posters. The best movie posters give a glimpse to the audience of the cinema experience they will have. If the movie poster is made compellingly enough the artist will make the audience feel as if they are missing out if they don’t watch the film. Nima Nakhshab is one these types of artists.

Nakhshab‘s Jurassic World film posters have been featured by Universal Pictures’ promotional department. They have been in Fandango and in MovieBillNakhshab has created a multitude of concept design and mashup film poster ideas, ranging from the newest Joker film to a concert idea for Britney Spears.

To gain greater insight into the world of film poster design we caught up with Nima Nakhshab in Orange County, California.

Iman SadriPlease describe early life in early bio ?

Nima Nakhshab : Growing up I was always surrounded by the most supportive Iranian family and friends. Both of my parents are first generation Iranian-Americans who did everything to encourage me to follow my dreams. I grew up in Rancho Santa Margarita in Orange County, CA, and went to college in Los Angeles for my Graphic Design and Marketing degrees. I became interested in graphic design, movies, music and the entertainment industry at a very young age.
IS : How did you get into the poster business?

Nima Nakhshab : For years I’ve designed movie posters for fun during my free time. During the marketing for the latest Jurassic World movie, I started making fan made posters and shared them on social media. Fans all over the world, some of the cast members, and even the directors, J. A. Bayona and Colin Trevorrow, took notice and really liked my work. A couple of months later, I received a message from Universal Pictures’ marketing team to create some official posters and art for the film. It was a dream come true.

Nima Nakhshab signing autographs of his Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom posters.

IS : What are some of your favorite Old Hollywood posters?

Nima Nakhshab : I love any classic poster that Drew Struzan did for films. He is my biggest inspiration. You might not know his name, but you definitely know his work.

IS : Please describe your daily schedule ?

Nima Nakhshab : I work full-time as a Marketing Executive at Realty ONE Group. My day to day includes: designing graphics, social media management, event planning, photography, and more! I also do freelance work as a wedding and portrait photographer, and I try to design a movie poster every other day just for fun to keep up with my skills.

An Jurassic World concept poster created by Nima Nakhshab.

IS How long does it take you to work on a poster?

Nima Nakhshab : This question is really hard for me to answer. The first Jurassic World poster I designed and went viral took me 5 minutes to create by taking a screenshot from the movie trailer, adding effects, extending the image, and including the release date and logos to the bottom. For most other posters… if I have a vision of what I want it to look like I can create a poster in less than an hour.

One of Nima Nakhshab’s Posters.
IS : Do you do original posters for studios? If so, please describe the posters you have created. If not, do you plan on doing so ?

Nima Nakhshab : The two official art pieces I have created for movie studios are for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. One was a collaboration poster with Fandango, and the other was a cover for the awesome MOVIEBILL publication. I’ve also collaborated with musical artists such as Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, and Blake Lewis in the last couple of months to create posters for their musical releases. I hope to do more official movie posters soon. It’s an amazing feeling seeing your art in so many places for the promotion of a film.
Nima Nakhshab’s poster art has been featured on MovieBill and Fandango.
IS : What mash ups of posters are your favorites that you have done? And why?

Nima Nakhshab : I would say my favorite mashups I’ve done are of Jurassic Park with E.T., Winnie The Pooh, Indiana Jones, and The Lion King. People seem to love the mashup posters and seeing dinosaurs in other pre-existing films and I love making them.
It’s an amazing feeling seeing your art in so many places for the promotion of a film.
IS What is the copyright like to recreating a poster ? Are there any challenges with the studios in this regard ? If so, please elaborate
Nima Nakhshab The big reason why I don’t sell my artwork is because I respect that the images I use for the mashup posters are from other studios, and I’m mixing them with other imagery. A lot of the other posters I create are original, but I do not own the rights or names to those characters or movies, so I don’t monetize them.
IS What kind of software / animation tools do you use to create your posters ?
Nima Nakhshab I use Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and LightRoom for all my art. There are a few other secret ingredients I use as well !
A Britney Spears concert concept poster for Netflix Nima Nakhshab created.
IS Imagine you are 100 years old and reading your Wikipedia profile, what other career milestones would you like to see on there ?
Nima Nakhshab If I was reading my Wiki page 100 years from now, I would want my name attached to various art pieces for film, music, and more. I’d love to work on art for Britney Spears, more Jurassic films, and so much more. I’d also like to see myself owning my own creative agency.
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Follow Nima Nakhshab on social media @NimaNeemz 

Iman Sadri is the founder of @LASmileMag and @ThePersianObserver 

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