Legends of the National Parks

Services: Illustration
Illustration & Design: Aaron Johnson & Derek Anderson
Creative Direction: Joel Anderson

The Project

Our fans and followers love our National Park posters. Over the years, as we’ve explored and researched the history and legends of America’s public lands, we’ve come across creepy stories of unexplained phenomena. We rendered a few Bigfoot designs, but as we discovered legendary creatures like the Wendigo, Jackalope, and MothMan, we felt like we had something more to offer people who love our artwork, adventure, and lore.

The Challenge

How would we render a collection of posters about mythical creatures that nobody has ever been able to document? How should we create creepy, yet approachable art that could be enjoyed by a wide range of people—from hard core cryptid junkies to outdoor lovers who just want to add a sense of whimsy and quirky art to their National Parks poster collections?

The Solution

We began doing research to learn everything we could about mysterious creatures, ghosts, myths, legends, folk lore, and creepy stories associated with American National Parks. We created a whole collection of 38 posters to celebrate the strange, wonderful, ghastly beings that haunt the imaginations of hikers, campers, and National Park lovers across the USA.

Concepts

ADG staff artists Aaron Johnson and Derek Anderson worked with ADG founder Joel Anderson to sketch up, flesh out, and lay down some dynamite artwork that feels right at home with our expansive collection of National Park posters. They managed to evoke the same classic 20th-Century travel poster vibe while adding a new dimension of creepy, B-movie, Sci-Fi campy fun.

Legends of the National Parks

More than 38 of America’s 63 National Parks have an Indigenous Legend, a rancher’s tall tale, or a local hoax that involves a mysterious being believed to have inhabited the park or surrounding areas. We set out to render posters for each of these legendary creatures.

Mythical Creatures from Around the World

As we researched American legends, we began to appreciate the mythical creatures that other cultures have embraced throughout history. Legendary beings like the Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti, vampires, and dragons began to captivate our attention. So we made a separate collection dedicated to the mysterious cryptids from around the world. That collection continues to grow.