Cabaret: First Pass

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This was the first pass at the Orlando Shakes, Cabaret poster. Actually the broken bulbs came a bit later when there was a request to distress the title. With this first pass I also had a layer that showed a swastika in the shadow of the spotlight. The adverse reaction to that was so strong that I threw out the layer.

The paint application on this sketch is rather sloppy. I was working fast to get the idea down.

What mattered most was the title which closely followed the example of the title used for the movie.

Orlando Shakes will take you back to Berlin in the late 1920’s where, inside the Kit Kat Club, a spotlight shines on the colorful, gritty, and hedonistic lives found inside. Don’t miss this landmark musical that is filled with iconic songs and electrifying dance, including Wilkommen, Don’t Tell Mama, Maybe This Time, Money and the title number Cabaret. It’s an astonishing and eye-popping tale that has renewed resonance in today’s political climate. Tickets are online.

Cabaret: First Ad Seen

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Cabaret was the most challenging poster designed for the 2025 season. That is because it was too brazenly sensual. The splits leg poses shown in this ad were part of the initial design, but after several passes the Cabaret title came down to try and cover the hips of the dancers.

I am rather sad to see that the chair legs were lifted upwards in this add making it seem like the dancers are floating. That might be an interesting effect if that was my intention. I am sure most people don’t notice that the chair legs to don touch the stage.

The Orlando Shakes will take you back to Berlin in the late 1920’s Kit Kat Club, where a spotlight shines on the colorful, gritty, and hedonistic lives found inside. Don’t miss this landmark musical that is filled with iconic songs and electrifying dance, including Wilkommen, Don’t Tell Mama, Maybe This Time, Money and the title number Cabaret. It’s an astonishing and eye-popping tale that has renewed resonance in today’s political climate.

The show runs between February 5, and March 2, 2025. Tickets online.

Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France, Final Poster

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The final painting for Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France involved painting actress Roberta Emerson to replace the generalized woman I had painted.Head shots are rather bland so we searched for reference of her looking much more angry.

Some brush stroked were cleaned up but otherwise I kept the bold look of the sketches.

The play runs from January 8 -19, 2025. Tickets are $35.

Orlando Shakes continues the exciting saga of Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy! A love triangle, a plot to murder, and a rebellion are all part of this thrilling tale – centered on the Wars of the Roses! In this raw, “Bare Bard / Original Practices” production, Orlando Shakes’ actors will perform the play with less than 40 hours of rehearsal, no designers, and no director – just like the acting companies of Shakespeare’s time! Don’t miss this exciting next chapter in Orlando Shakes’ popular Fire & Reign Series.

 

Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France 2nd Pass

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This pass at the Henry VI Part 2: She Wolf of France poster was done to rethink the armor and lighting. It is a very rough sketch of the idea and was for my eyes only at the time. It helped me come up with a more cubist and chiseled look to the poster. The painting is very unrefined. This was just my way of searching for a desired look.

The helmet came off to allow more hair to flow. With a bit more work this could have been refined to a final poster. However the actress who would play The She Wolf of France had just been cast.

My new goal became to paint actress, Roberta Emerson, into the poster. From this point forward I would be thinking of pushing the painting to a finish while still keeping some roughness. The show runs between January 8  19, 2025. Tickets are Pay What You Will, between $15 and $50.

Henry VI: First Ad seen

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It is always a pleasant surprise to see the first add using my poster art for a new show, in this case Henry V Part 2. I reused the Henry VI hand drawn title for the previous years Henry VI Part 1 since I figured some continuity was needed. I find it funny that the thumbs up symbol for likes fell right on Margaret of Anjou‘s left hand making it look like she were giving a thumbs up rather than clenching her fist.

This is a rare case where we found out who was cast in the part before the poster was complete so I painted the actress for the poster.

I looked at heroic sculptures as inspiration for this scene. Since the play takes place during the war of the roses, it made sense to include a huge red and white rose. The vertical blue background implies a misty forest.

Orlando Shakes continues the exciting saga of Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy! A love triangle, a plot to murder, and a rebellion are all part of this thrilling tale – centered on the Wars of the Roses! In this raw, “Bare Bard / Original Practices” production, Orlando Shakes’ actors will perform the play with less than 40 hours of rehearsal, no designers, and no director – just like the acting companies of Shakespeare’s time!

Henry V Part 2: The She Wolf of France ruins January 8 -19, 2025. Tickets are Pay What You Will, between $15 and $50.

A Christmas Carol: Final Poster

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For the final version of A Christmas Carol poster, for the Orlando Shakes,  the title had to be larger. that meant slipping the paint lover thus removing the floor in the scene.

Instead of the detailed room setting I added a shimmering red glow to the background. This was an abstract element to keep visual interest behind the title and credits. The focus of the scene is the torch flame and the background helped make that very clear.

I am surprised the old English cursive credits made it to the final poster. I remember being told at one point that people in this digital age have trouble reading cursive writing. It would be a shame to only use bold block lettering for fear that the digital mind can not comprehend the more flamboyant cursive style. Charles Dickens hand writing was definitely cursive and rather messy. I am a fan of leaving some of the messiness of the creative process. I always feel the need to see the imperfect touch of the human hand.

Merry Christmas one and all.

A Christmas Carol: 3rd Pass

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The third pass at A Christmas Carol poster was filled with light. Light equals drama.

I had a rather detailed room as the setting. The intricate mirror behind Scrooge was fighting with the credit type, so I had to blur it out in spots. Ultimately it was decided that it might be better to just get rid of the room details.

All the fruit also needed more painted detail. Things were still a bit sketchy.

Both actors portrayed in this poster reprized their roles for this year’s production. It is very rare that I get to include the actual actors since the posters are painted far in advance of the auditions for each show.

Since I rethink the design for A Christmas Carol poster so often, I am becoming very familiar with the Charles Dickens show. The possibilities are endless, from the depth of despair to the sheer joy of celebrating the holiday.

Since all the posters are painted at the same time, things often rough while changes are made and if time allows, each poster is refined where people will notice the most. It is a fun juggling act. Sometimes I hit the mark right away and other times I search blindly for what is needed. That is the fun of being an illustrator, it is seldom a linear path.

A Christmas Carol: Poster 2nd Pass

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The second pass at A Christmas Carol poster involved zooming in a bit for a medium close up shot. Two children were removed and I gave Tiny Tim his crutch back. With the crutch raised over his head however it seemed to dominate the scene.

I liked the glowing lights in the background and would have liked adding snow to the street. In general it was working but something was missing. Perhaps it was too dark.

I decided to press on and work on a completely new scene to give options. I could have pushed this forward and resolved anything that was making me uncomfortable. The next rendition however had pure brightness and a sense of glowing celebration. That ultimately is what was needed.

 

 

A Christmas Carol: First Rough Sketch

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This rough sketch was an attempt to create a poster similar to the one I had done the first year but with the actual cast from a Shakespeare Theater production.

It was decided that we really didn’t need to see all the cast from a distance.  Seeing the feet on the ground wasn’t needed. I had neglected to draw Tiny Tim’s crutch which would make him difficult to identify. I had to decided weather to hide it in the lower hand or thrust it up in the air with the raised hand. It was also decided that the two extra siblings were not needed for the poster.

The time I did not put into painting the figures, I had put into refining the title for the poster. The new title treatment was accepted as is. My placement of the Charles Dickens and adopted by credits was a bit sloppy but I would give that placement much more though as I refined the poster image.

This rough sketch was enough to send me in a new direction which I would push much further along. I knew the the illuminated

A Christmas Carol is running at the Shakes through December 22, 2024. General Admission tickets are $25. The show is in the Margeson Theater at the Orlando Shakes, 812 E Rollins St Orlando, FL 32803.

A Christmas Carol: First Ad Seen

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It is always fun to see the first ads that appear for shows that are coming up. When I design the poster I supply all the different elements as separate layers so that different sizes can be accommodated. I design the poster vertical but then do a second version that is horizontal. This square ad lives somewhere between those options. Brianna Bell the web and graphic designer does such a good job making design adjustments for all uses. She even produced cool video animations that help bring the poster and the show to life.

I have designed A Christmas Carol poster each year I have been painting these images. One year the poster from the previous year was reused but I also did several variations that were not used. This poster used elements from previous unused posters to come up wit a new images for the show. A Christmas Carol has plenty of darker imagery which attracts my aesthetic, but it is the images that express some joy of the season which make the grade and get used.

The annual tradition continues at Orlando Shakes with the return of one of Central Florida’s favorite holiday classics! The miserly and miserable Ebenezer Scrooge greets each Christmas with a “bah humbug,” until he is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Come see this classic, heartwarming story at Orlando Shakes – a magical and musical spectacle for the whole family!

A Christmas Carol runs through December 22, 2024. Tickets are between $25 and $47. there are special deals for Military and students.