This is the first ad I found featuring the art I created for the Orlando Shakespeare Theater production of Stuart Little. The show runs through April 27, 2025. I need to arrange to get to the theater and sketch the actual show.
I watched the Stuart Little movie on YouTube for inspiration and found so many illustrated renditions of Stuart. Designs started with thumbnail sketched and then I did multiple versions of the poster before this one was ultimately picked.
I remember that Snowball the white cat at first was immense, with his cat face filling up most of the poster while Stuart was small and diminutive. When I reversed that size dynamic the poster started to fall into place.
I find it fascinating how many steps it takes to reach a final look for the poster art. On rare occasions I hit it out of the park on the first try but that is rare. Being flexible and rolling with the punches is what makes illustration challenging, and so much fun.
By working digitally, changes could involve just turning off a layer to eliminate a character and then start over while the rest of the poster remains intact.
I am in the heat of the moment making changes to the posters to next season. Three posters were approved in the last meeting but four have more adjustments that need to be made. The goal is to know that every change can and will make the poster even better.
One play was dropped to be replaced by another and I had one day to come up with a new concept. That is when things get really fun and exciting!