I am a ballet dad. My wife and I support our daughter's ballet company. Working with ARCB is a pleasure. They are the most grateful and appreciative clients (perhaps the secret is accepting no payment.) This exercise allows me to get back to basics and sharpen my problem-solving and technical skills. All the illustrations are mine. All the layout and versioning is something I handle as well for both print and digital. I was also able to get them started on their website earlier in the year. It's a great challenge to make something from nothing, to make a small brand from scratch.
For this sleeping beauty work, I created all of the art. It started with something way more complex and I simplified it from there—a creative head game. I love older, simpler posters and am trying to get back to that simplification.
In Swan Lake and all my posters, it's an exercise in making something from nothing. From years of working in advertising and design, when I make things myself, I realize I can use the silhouettes of trees in my backyard to make this forest. I can create ripples in the water by putting the same image into a new window. I can add in stars with Photoshop that look perfectly right.
For Don Quixote, we shot and used images of our lead ballerina. My other inspiration was the children's book "Ferdinand the Bull." We pitch in as much as possible printing shirts and coming up with other merchandise, all proceeds of which go back into paying for the productions.
The Nutcracker was one of my first posters. Drawn with a sharpy and altered from there in Illustrator. Still one of my favorites.
Another reason I think I keep working on projects like this is that it can be pure visual expression. I've always seen a big tutu as a flower and it was a natural progression to make this poster and other assets a Spring bouquet of dancers.
An Evening with the Stars is what it implies. It's a big event that happens now and then when performers from all over the world can get together on stage to draw a big crowd. For this event, I had access to lots of nice images of different dancers. The challenge was to bring them all together in a coherent look and feel. Made the type twinkle all on my own with a few extra hours in Photoshop. This was another event with lots of digital components and a nice shirt at the end.
Cinderella is a more recent production with a new logo. Lots of parts to this visual. Still trying to keep it simple, making all the parts myself and working between Illustrator, Photoshop, and Indesign which is a strong point for me. Intricate design still worked well on the printed T-shirt.
The idea of making something from nothing still involves a lot of my photography. Beyond art and posters for shows, we produce a few pieces of content to give the studio a bit more of a presence. It's amazing what a few words can do.
The final section here reflects a recent logo update with some recent executions. I'm told by Russians that this feels perfect. Da da!