33 Tiki Art Poster Design Inspiration Samples for Your Den!

After an arduous day running the rat race, wouldn’t it just feel grand to slip into your lounging robe, relax with mai tai, and dream South Sea dreams? Well, that would certainly be ideal for fans of Tiki culture – that art movement inspired partly by Polynesian carvings and myths.

Coming to prominence in the 1930′s, Tiki culture featured the American interpretation of the art, food, and music of the Pacific Islands.

Common design elements from this genre came from carved Tiki gods; tropical patterns; flaming torches and volcanoes; and hula girls; with rattan, bamboo, beach hibiscus seeing a lot of use for decorative items.

Rum-based Tiki drinks like the Zombie and the Bahama Mama were all the rage, as was exotica music which musician Martin Denny describes as “combination of the South Pacific and the Orient…what a lot of people imagined the islands to be like…it’s pure fantasy though.”

These days, while it probably not as mainstream as it was before, there are still many fans of the movement. Tiki art aficionados and retro buffs still collect memorabilia and there are also some artists who are known for their Tiki-inspired works.

To celebrate the romance and adventure of the Pacific Islands, we’ve decided to feature some Tiki art poster designs. We hope they inspire you to create your own Tiki lounge at home. Or at the very least, we hope you find some really great creative and imaginative examples here.

33 Tiki Art Poster Designs to Inspire You!

Disclaimer: Images on this page are not owned by UPrinting and are used solely as design examples. Please click on the images to see their original sources.

Image found at Klang und Kleid.

Image found on www.mrbalihai.com, illustration by Chet Phillips

Image by Pictures Plus Hawaii by Tom “Thor” Thordarson

Several samples from some prominent Tiki Art artists

Tropical island culture and sea creatures are among Dennis Mathewson’s frequently-visited themes when he creates his art. It’s not unusual to see giggling tiki statues and fun beach scenes in Mathewson’s airbrushed paintings, which can be seen on his site, www.cosmictiki.com.

Image by Pictures Plus Hawaii, illustration by Dennis Mathewson

Image by Pictures Plus Hawaii, illustration by Dennis Mathewson

Josh Agle, or Shag’s retro-styled illustrations are known for celebrating luxury. Many of his slick, two-dimensional characters are depicted lolling about in poolsides, bars, and yes, tiki lounges. In fact, more than the actual Polynesian tiki gods, Shag’s works tend to display people enjoying fruits of the Americanized tiki culture like tiki drinks and the like.

Agle has designed memorabilia for Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room. To learn more about Shag’s work, please visit www.shag.com

All rights reserved by Josh Agle aka Shag

Image found on www.bigdaddyseashell.wordpress.com. Illustration by Josh Agle aka Shag

Robert Jimenez is another artist and animator who specializes in tiki art. Unlike Shag’s and Derek Yaniger’s illustrations, a lot of Jimenez’s work has more in common with modern cartoon art especially if you consider the use of color and shading. Like all other tiki artists’ though, these examples are lighthearted and aren’t meant to be taken seriously.

More of his work can be seen in tikitower.com

All rights reserved by Robert Jimenez

The last nine Tiki art illustrations are by Derek Yaniger, a Georgia-based artist who specializes in retro art, mostly featuring tiki, surf, beatnik, and hillbilly cultures. He takes his peg from visual styles popular in 1950′s commercial art.

There’s a dynamic aspect to the way Yaniger composes his work – like there’s a bit of giddiness in his characters, tempered only by a limited palette.

More of Derek Yaniger’s work can be seen at his online portfolio, www.derekart.com

All rights reserved by Derek Yaniger

Amazing, aren’t they? The fun, retro vibe that all our Tiki art poster design inspiration samples exude is really something. Do you have any favorite Tiki artists that you think we should have on there? Let us know in the comments!

Or maybe you’d like to have posters with designs like those hanging up on your wall?

If you do, then maybe you can send in your designs to UPrinting.com for high-quality, printing services. You can have mounted or large format posters made. You can even order in bulk.

To find out about your printing options, you may speak with our 24-hour phone support team at 1-888-888-4211, or have our live chat assistance team answer your questions online.

Tagged as: bulk posters, dennis mathewson, derek yaniger, design inspiration, island art, josh agle, large format posters, mounted posters, Poster Concept, poster design, poster design inspiration, poster design samples, poster printing, robert jimenez, surf art, tiki art, tiki art posters, tiki culture, tiki gods, tropical art