This is a prototype poster for an upcoming opera by The Bristol Catholic Players. This one was a real pain, at one point i was considering giving up. I'm glad i didn't because I'm extremely please with how it turned out, even though it will not be used, as The Mikado has already been chosen by the BCP committee. I think the reason I had so much trouble with this one is that for ages i was trying to make everything symmetrical and central, but just by off setting the "The" from "Sorcerer" and the main teapot-top hat image, they sort of balance each other out. It was during the final stages of this poster that i discovered the absolute torture of saving images for web and print-outs. I must have used 15+ sheets of photo paper and uploaded it to this blog as many times to get it to match the original. I HATE PRINTERS.

Mikado Poster

Welcome to my blog. I am educated mostly in film and video, as opposed to graphic design, I enjoy working with the colour and composition of images. I have taught myself how to use photoshop over the years and have had a lot of fun distorting photos and occasionally designing things for for friends and family. I have now come to realize that I really should be getting paid for this, as I spend hours and hours designing for nothing more than the satisfaction and pleasure it gives to me. This is a wonderful thing. But so is money. If nothing more i intend this blog to document my progress as an amateur graphic designer.

The image on the left is a poster for the 'Bristol Catholic Players' future production of 'Gilbert & Sullivan's 'The Mikado'. The company has a rich history dating back to 1953. In that time they became affiliated with the late Frank Shipsides, a local artist mostly known for his paintings of Bristol and the South West. Two of his paintings can be seen on the fans on the poster. One is of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and the other is of characters from all of the favorite Gilbert & Sullivan Opreas, each character based on an actual member of the Players. The fans were a challenging part of the poster as both are made from scratch. The handles are made from a photo of some ash wood, sliced thin, duplicated and re-angled and positioned many times. Creating the illusion of depth in the folded ridges of the fans was made using masks and adjustment layers. (how amazing are adjustment layers! if you have photoshop and don't use adjustement layers, start now!).

Behind nearly all of the components of the image are blury shadows. I create these by duplicating a layer, locking the transparent pixels, painting it black, or white in the case of the title. then adding a gaussian blur filter. I would be interested to know if other people use this effect, as i use it all the time.

I have recently bought a small Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch. I used it to create the title text. It is not as easy to use as I thought it might be, but I hope to get better in time.