Prop Design: IT Chapter 2

IT Chapter 2 picks up with IT aka Pennywise coming back and the Losers are called back to Derry by Mike Hanlon who stayed behind. I decided to try my hand at designing some props with my knowledge from the novel. Also, I am proud to say a lot of people have mistaken these as either official posters and real props from the film after posting these to Instagram and Reddit.

The first image is a map of Derry, Maine the town from the story. I designed a map of the town last year but wanted to design a more realistic version, a prop map. The map was based on the prop map from the first film which was just a slightly repurposed vintage Bangor, Maine map. Bangor is where Stephen King lives and based Derry on. I decided to do the same but reform the streets of Bangor to match Derry's streets. As well as mark it up with significant locations and events from the story from the perspective of Mike Hanlon, one of the characters who stays in Derry into adulthood.

The second image is a poster for the film, the Derry map also came in handy when designing the poster for the sequel. The idea behind this one was the moment Mike Hanlon makes calls to his long lost childhood friends to tell them IT aka Pennywise is back in Derry.

This poster's idea comes from the moment after Mike's phone call to Stan Uris, one of Mike's childhood friends. Who promptly takes his own life after finding out IT is back but in his final moments writes a message on the shower wall.

This "film still" takes place after the phone call as well. When Beverly, another childhood friend of Mike starts to pack her things to leave for Derry but her abusive husband Tom doesn't agree with that decision. You can guess what happens next.

Magazine covers of two of the characters Benjamin who grows up to be a very successful architect and Beverly a very popular fashion designer. In the story Pennywise taunts the friends (the Losers) in their present lives and these props represent IT's taunts.

Bill Denbrough is another character in the story who grows up to be a successful horror/thriller novel writer. This prop is one of his best selling books. On the left side is a promo billboard for the book that Pennywise uses to taunt Bill.

Another shot of the book. The Black Rapids is inspired by Bill's childhood which is why I chose to use the Derry map in the background. The red stream represents the murders in the book.

I collaborated with a photographer who lives in the town they shot the film. He was able to shoot some photos of significant spots from the film. I took his photo and manipulated it to look like a film still where Pennywise taunts Mike Hanlon by suggesting his parents who died in a house fire are being used in a sinister manner.

My collaboration with the photographer continued with this last design. Our goal was to make people on social media to think this was a real prop design on set. It worked.

Derry travel posters

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