Ain’t Misbehavin’ Final Poster

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The final version of the Ain’t Misbehavin’ poster for the Orlando Shakespeare Theater has the two gentlemen smiling instead of singing. Ain’t Misbehavin’ will run at the Shakes from April 10 to 28, 2024. Tickets run from $32.86 to $48.76.

I have a full run of poster designs done for next season and I know there will be some evolution to each design. I try not to fall in love with one particular design since I just know what I like and that isn’t always the image that will sell the most tickets.

With my online Elite Animation students I am always pushing them to loosen up the drawings they do to get more gesture and flow in each pose. My goal is to focus on the action or the verb of any scene. I am not drawing or painting nouns. I want to feel like things are happening and a story is about to unfold.

That is hard to relate to students and even harder to put into practice every day.

On an unrelated note, It is day 1 in the new studio and OUC cut the power before I sat down to start writing.

Several days ago, had set up service online and then spoke to 2 robots who never understood a thing I said. I shouted my responses robotically into the phone but that digital bastard don’t listen. I spoke to 2 separate robots but I assume they are of the same digital hive mind. I finally realized I have to confuse the robots right off the bat and then they are forced to put on a human to answer the call. The human took all my information and did a credit check. She said everything checked out so I was set to go.

Fast forward to this morning and the power cuts off as I am making breakfast. My landlady was shutting off her service but I figured that OUC would be smart enough to roll my service on. After dodging a robot and talking to a human for over an hour she admitted she had all my information but the computer insisted that the service could not be turned on. I was put on hold, having to listen to  horrendous call waiting music. Several service managers finally managed to bypass the computer system. Day one with OUC and I am not happy. I was better off with Duke Energy. What can I do? I have to charge my phone and summer in Florida without AC would be hell on earth.

 

Comedy of Errors: Poster Evolution 3

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The final version of the Comedy of Errors Poster involved removing the winged lady or just clipping her wings, and adding more parade revelers. One of the twins was removed, and the whole focus became the parade. I added sparks falling from the sky as if from fireworks.

The third pass at the title treatment worked best. It was hand drawn for added control over the letters. Copying some letters saved time. Thank goodness there were so many Es and Rs.

I learned quite a bit about using elements from one poster and adding new elements as the poster evolved. Each character was kept on their own layer in case they b=needed to be moved. People were indeed moved multiple times to fill out the scene.

This might not be the final pass a the poster but it was the one I could locate on my hard drive. I just noticed I had already signed the original poster. I threw another signature on this post since it is kind of a habit.

Comedy of Errors: Poster Evolution 2

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The second pass at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater poster focused on a Mardi Gras parade. Two of the characters were identical but since they looked alike it felt like a mistake. I set up a woman with shimmering wings as the focal point but she didn’t really relate to the play directly.

Everyone liked the street scene I had set up and the musicians. The title didn’t have enough of a Mardi Gras feel so it would need to be reworked. The glowing lights of a nocturnal parade felt right. The large mask as a decorative element really wasn’t needed so it would fall to the wayside.

Though there were plenty of changes still needed it felt like I was on the right track.

Comedy of Errors: Poster Evolution 1

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With the first pass at A Comedy of Errors poster for the Shakes, I played with twins imagery. The show is set in New Orleans during Mardi Grass so masks and vibrant colors were incorporated. I used an abstract peacock imagery as a backdrop which was also symmetrical.

It was decided that the twins imagery wasn’t needed. What did stand out was the hint of a Mardi Gras parade in the background. The parade was to be the focus.

Comedy of Errors was performed at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater from September 6 to October 1, 2023. Since I have been so focused on my film, I didn’t get to the theater to sketch. Photos I saw on Facebook clued me in to the fact that I was missing a fun time.

Poster Evolution: Kinky Boots Final

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Kinky Boots was a really fun poster to design. The idea came from watching  Hollywood Bubsby Berkely dance numbers. I saw one scene there the camera trucked down between a long row of dancers legs. I watched YouTube videos of various productions go get an idea of what the show was like but unfortunately I missed the show at the Shakes. I have been so caught up in the film production that the show slipped past my radar.

It is a really fun production, I am rather sad that I missed it. It is about an old show factory in England that has run across hard times since they only produce old fashioned shoes that are going out of style. The entire staff including inflexible yokels are set the task of producing Kinky Boots to keep the business alive. It is a joyous musical.

Anyway my COVID film is wrapped up and I am looking for ways to promote it. I don’t know how to get The challenge will be to get as many eye balls as possible to see it in the coming weeks. The world premiere will be May 19, 2023 at the free Fringe Film showcase inn the Shakespeare outdoor courtyard. I had to put a warning in front of the film. This has to be the first time an Fringe animated film had had a warning. I can’t wait to see how an audience reacts. I’ll be there with my mask on.

Poster Evolution: Zoom in

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Since the door seemed to predominate the first pass of this poster, the easiest solution was to create a version that was zoomed in.That allowed the tile and author information to cover the door and camouflage it. The scene was still a bit to bright and cheery. I needed some urban grunge but wasn’t sure which way to turn yet. The director of the show was shown the poster and she had some magnificent suggestions.

She sent me on a search of a particular style of portraiture that uses unexpected colors in skin tones. This allowed me to keep the bright colors I was drawn to in the steps but use those colors to paint skin. I was no longer limited to painting variations of flesh tones.

The show is about love and acceptance but also about intolerance, to a hint was needed of conflict. The director helped me find that balance in the final poster.

Though set in an imagined future utopia the themes of the show are particularly relevant today.

First Concept: Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry

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This was my first poster concept for Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry by Rachel Lynett which ran at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. After reading the script I was fixated on the brownstones in what was an all black utopia after a civil war in the future. It is a play about race and gender and trying to find happiness only among others who are truly black.

I added rainbow colors to the steps to add color and lighten the mood of the poster. It was felt that the door took up too much of the composition. It takes up about half of the image. I also felt that it had a bit of Sesamie Street feel as apposed to an urban feel. For a start I just had to reduce the size of the door so it didn’t dominate.

A Big Day for Baseball: Poster Evolution

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The first poster I did for A Big Day for Baseball: A Magic Tree House Adventure was rather documentary in nature. I wanted to re-create what the day looked like when Jackie Robinson walked onto the field in 1947 as the first African American athlete. Some fans were thrilled while others were not. Jackie focused on what he knew best, which was playing baseball.

At this point I didn’t know much about the book series on which the play was based. I was just batting ideas around. The title itself changed while I was working on the posters to A Big Day for Jackie Robinson: A Magic Tree House Adventure. Eventually the team name of Dodgers was removed form the art, probably for legal reasons. I don’t mind small changes like that, the big problem is finding just the right image to tell the story.

Jack and Annie are back in this musical journey, based on the book A Big Day for Baseball from the acclaimed Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne! The Magic Tree House whisks the siblings away to a baseball game in 1947 Brooklyn, New York, where they meet baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson and must figure out what’s so special about this specific game – in under nine innings!

The show continues to run through March 18, 2023 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (812 E Rollins St
Orlando, FL 32803).

A Big Day for Baseball: Poster Evolution, Final

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A Big Day for Baseball: A Magic Tree House Adventure is playing at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater through March 18, 2023. This poster is closely based on the book designs of the very popular Magic Tree House series. I did multiple designs based on the Jackie Robinson story, but those tended to look more like they were for adults. Returning t the leaf and acorn design motif lightened the mood of the poster.

I read the script and it should be a very fun play about kids being able to be on the field for a very historic baseball game. Jackie Robibnson was the the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB). Robinson made his debut in a Dodgers uniform wearing number 42 on April 11, 1947, in a preseason exhibition game against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field with 24,237 in attendance. These two lucky kids get to experience the day as a bat boy and girl from the field. It should be an exciting day of theater.

The Fantastiks: Final Poster design

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This is the final poster design I did for The Fantastiks. The show run ended February 26, 2022 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater.

The Fantastiks featured Broadway legend Davis Gaines as the narrator El Gallo, The show chronicled a timeless coming of age story about the peaks and valleys of young love through breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication. In a world of magic and moonlight, a young couple find their way back together, despite everything trying to keep them apart.

The longest-running musical in world history has been refreshed for the new century and is the perfect celebration of theatre and the eternal power of love. Featuring an award winning score including breakout songs like “Try to Remember,” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” and many more.

This sheet lit by a glowing moon was achieved after much experimentation with previous sketches for the poster.

My first pass was more of a long shot since the notes asked for two houses separated by a clothes line. I realized that drawing both houses would create a rather horizontal image, so I filled the rest of the poster with the star filled sky. I liked the design but the couple was rather small.

The second design moved in closer to the couple. I felt I needed at least one roof line to support the clothes line. The sheets are rather opaque with the couples silhouettes a light blue. It works but the triangular shape of the roof rally didn’t add anything to the look of the poster. The young boy and girl were both simplified blobs without much detail as well. So I needed to refine their silhouettes some more. Having a huge moon filling the night sky also didn’t seem to be needed. I decided to start slipping it down behind the sheets. The best look was achieved when it was completely hidden behind the sheets along with the couple. I went back to the drawing board.

The next version moved in even closer. The sheets are still opaque and the boy and girl are each hidden behind their own sheet. This multiple sheet idea wasn’t needed. They could hide behind the same sheet. The final image came about as I played with the blending modes in my digital painting program. That is when the magical glow jumped out at me and I accentuated it further. Sometimes a look is achieved through trail and error. I get the obvious out of the way and then massage the magic with each new pass.

I am sorry I missed sketching this production on the stage. Right now I am designing another set of posters and I am lost in the process. reading new scripts and having a blast designing posters for another season.