Artist Interview: Sam Green’s Newest Spider-Man Game Print

Snap! Thwip! Swing! Everyone’s favorite friendly, neighborhood hero makes his way into a new art print from Sam Green, inspired by the Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 video game. Including Spider-Man, Miles Morales, and Venom, this Marvel art print brings these iconic characters to life in thrilling, dynamic detail. From suit texture to city architecture, there are endless features to unlock in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: Greater Together Art Print.

Keep reading for an insider look at how Sam approached his latest print, how he used the video game itself to depict the characters’ suits and poses, and what his ideal Spidey superpower would be!

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Artist Interview with Sam Green

Last interview, you revealed you’re a huge Spider-Man fan! How did you feel being able to work on the Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: Greater Together Fine Art Print?

It’s really cool! Spider-Man is a character that means so much to me, so I really tried to make sure I did this iteration of the character and mythos justice. I’ve drawn these characters countless times throughout my life, so it was a real treat to be able to do that in an official capacity.

Did you approach this project any differently than the movie poster work, since this is directly tied to a video game?

I approached this in much the same way as a movie poster, in terms of composition and the actual painting process. One of the main distinctions, however, comes from many games these days having a built-in photo mode. The photo mode in Spider-Man 2 is incredibly robust with different camera options and the ability to pose and light the characters with a great deal of control. I was able to gather my own reference imagery directly from the game and have full access to the finer details of the suits and the environments. That was invaluable for creating the depth I seek to have in my work.

Greater Together also features a major Spider-Man villain, Venom. Which aspects of this character did you enjoy working on the most?

On a practical level, the fact that he’s so slimy and fluid is a lot of fun to paint. As much as I enjoyed painting the heroes and their meticulously detailed suits, it’s liberating to paint a character with the sort of wet and organic texture that Venom has. You can really play with highlights — it feels very satisfying.

Since the release of the poster, Tony Todd — the voice actor for this version of the character — has sadly passed away. He really did such a fantastic job embodying that character and It was an honor to be able to depict that in an official print.

You’ve described your style as meticulous and noted that you like to pay close attention to detail. Can you point to some of those finer details and carefully crafted elements in Greater Together?

With the exception of the graphic elements overlaid on the artwork, everything in this poster is completely painted by hand in Procreate on the iPad. One of the most meticulous and challenging areas would have to be in the city scenes behind Peter and Miles. New York City is so integral to the game, so I really wanted to have it well represented and featuring locations fans would recognize.

I’m also really pleased with the texture work on the suits — all made using a combination of brushes from True Grit Texture Supply, the default Procreate brushes, and a lot of manual tweaking and manipulation. I’m most proud of the look of the white carbon fiber-like materials on Peter’s suit. That was made from a combination of three or four different brush types and a combination of layer modes.

This year marks the first anniversary of the game’s release. Have you played Marvel’s Spider-Man 2? Were there specific video game elements that you placed into the print that gamers will be excited to see?

I have! I’m a big fan of Insomniac and their Spider-Man games. I really tried to embellish the poster with as many small details and Easter eggs as I could, whilst still feeling organic and not forced. As a fan of these games, authenticity is hugely important. I want people to be able to recognize the care and attention that has been put into making this artwork and that it comes from an honest place.

Throughout the artwork you’ll find references such as a gate to one of Mysterio’s Mysterium challenges, a billboard for The Daily Bugle, Oscorp and Avengers Towers, the Emily May Foundation building, and the graffiti from Hailey’s side mission.

I also made a conscious decision to include Peter and Miles’ classic costumes for their confrontation with Venom in the bottom half of the poster. This is something I know a lot of fans (including myself) really wanted to have seen in the game, so it was really important to deliver that.

Your use of color and light in this print is astounding. Can you tell us how you get those reds and blues to really pop, especially on such a dark background?

Thank you! The red and blue color scheme was something I settled on early in the process. There are two reasons for this — the obvious one is that red and blue typically represents Spider-Man. The other reason is a reference to Venom’s depiction in the ’90s Spider-Man animated series. In that show, his highlights were always red on one side and blue on the other. I translated that quite literally on the portrait of Venom looming behind the protagonists. This same detail is also reflected in the game in an unlockable costume for Peter that references this. The animated series is one of my favorite renditions of these characters, so I felt it necessary to pay homage.

As for how to make it pop — It’s a lot of adjustment throughout the whole process and just making sure you’re conveying that contrast. Slipping some near-white highlights through the colored rim lighting on the characters really goes a long way to making them pop.

Finally, if you could have any of Spider-Man’s powers, which would you want and why?

So, I know it’s maybe not technically a power since he uses web-shooters, but I’ve thought for a long time how much I’d love to be able to have that ability. Not really for anything exciting like web swinging though – more just to be able to grab out of reach objects or switching the bedroom light off without getting out of bed. 😅

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Which detail from Sam Green’s Spider-Man 2: Greater Together Art Print stands out most to you?

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