2013 Generations of Steel Poster

I hadn't done a Steel Band poster in a couple years, but when I was asked to do this one, I was excited to take it on.  The theme of this concert is dance music, which ranges from disco era, to dance tracks on the charts in 2013.

Because the music spans generations, and the performers span multiple generations, I wanted to create something that communicated the similarities and differences of these generations.  So...lately I've been REALLY into doing these "half-and-half" designs. I'm sure I'll find something else to interest me in a few months, but until then, I've got a few pieces that follow this theme...and I'm okay with that.

For this poster, I had an idea to create a face that is half 70's Disco Diva, and half 2013 Dance Diva.  I knew what I wanted to do, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to pull it off. When I sketched it out, I was pretty excited about the potential, but I was afraid it would turn out like a cartoon instead of a dimensional illustration. I decided, in an effort to avoid this, I'd just draw the whole thing in Photoshop, rather than go through my normal process of transferring pencil drawings into computer illustrations.

I took a quick photo of my initial sketch with my phone. I used the photo as a guide and utilized my Wacom Tablet to paint this portrait.

Recently I watched a bunch of make-up tutorials on youtube.  I was really just looking to learn one thing, but I got to surfing and came across all these men doing drag tutorials. I was in awe of their talent and skill. I picked up a few techniques that I was able to use when I was doing the facial contouring and highlights. You never know where you're going to pick up a useful trick!