Texture and print

One thing I do as an illustrator is mixed media. The thought occurred to me that this might be a great approach with soft goods. I mean, why not mix printed pieces with fabric that is lush or textural? Mixing things up opens creative doors and makes things possible that aren’t possible with just one fabric or process.

Thinking out of the box like an interior designer/decorator. Create an experience and mood with your far out ideas, mixing smooth printed pieces with textured lush fabric, cutouts or icons or logos tour theme art will give your backdrop dimension and set you apart.

Digitally Speaking

Creating graphics the size of a building can be an intimidating prospect for some people. I deal with the issues of proper files set up all day. Questions like “should the art be vector or raster, what resolution do I need to provide and so on come up every day. I’ve found, over the last few months, that if you provide your artwork as a .tif file with an end resolution of at least 75 ppi, you should be golden. Most artwork doesn’t need more than that. If you are doing something complex in Illustrator, I find that it’s the file rips and works better if you rasterize your art before you send it to us. In other words, give us a .tif file. For the most part, a .tif is the least complex of digital files from a data standpoint and the simplicity rips and prints much easier. You can call me if you are in doubt but for the most part, this is the case.

Thinking Design?

Design of a printed backdrop starts by identifying a goal or desired end result. Depending on your needs and personal taste, this can take on many different forms. The process can start with a cocktail napkin sketch and a few key words that describe look and feel or, it can be a taken from existing brand pieces such as printed collateral, new CD artwork, your web site or whatever brings you inspiration. The key is in translating that vision into a grand format that sets the tone you are looking for. 
Literal translations can work. Sometimes they don’t. That’s when its time to start thinking design.

Use the “forced”

Sometimes you really want to make elements in your backdrop seem huge. At the end of the day, we all have limits to the height we can go to in most venues.

One thing that can help create the illusion of great height is to illustrate the main elements of you backdrop in forced perspective.  What this means in the clearest terms is to illustrate in a way that creates an optical illusion that an object is nearer or farther away, larger or smaller than it actually is. This may be most effective with a building, mountain etc. This creates a feeling of great space or confined quarters to help pull off the feeling you’re looking for with your stage.

I’d be happy to talk to you about how forced perspective can help you.

More Scenic Backdrops for Little Big Town

Last year, I posted about some beautiful digitally printed backdrops that we made for Little Big Town’s 2010 tour.  Well, this year we were excited to be asked to provided additional scenic backdrops for their 2011 tour – and this time the project included not only two digital backdrops, but a gorgeous handpainted backdrop as well, all 24′ h x 40′ w.  Of course, the artwork was created by, you guessed it, John Rios of GrafixJam.

Each of the two digitally printed backdrops had a unique image – one in black and white depicting a country church, and the other a graphic image of a black bird silhouette over a red, yellow and black geometric pattern.

Photo Courtesy of Bobby Simmons

Gorgeous, isn’t it?  Even more impressive is the handpainted backdrop.  Painted on NFR Muslin and then treated for flame retardancy afterwards, this drop features an image of a hand-stitched American flag.

Photo Courtesy of Bobby Simmons

It’s beautiful as is – but there is a surprise waiting when the lighting changes!  You’d never realize it looking at the photo above, but there is a hidden message painted on it in invisible UV paint.

Photo Courtesy of Bobby Simmons

Pretty cool effect, don’t you think!  I remember when we first hung this in our production shop, after the painting was complete, and everyone was amazed at how beautiful it was.  It is so exciting to see it on stage, with all the lighting effects.  Wow!

Congratulations to John Rios of Grafix Jam

For those of you who are regular followers of this blog, you know how much we love the artwork of John Rios of Grafix Jam.  Not only has he created the artwork for our annual Sew What? shirts for the last two years, but we have happily recommended him to a number of our music tour clients.

Today, I want to congratulate John on the achievement of a dream.  For years, John dreamed of having his artwork published in Rolling Stone magazine.  Despite his best (and worst!) attempts, that dream wan’t realized, and eventually that dream was put aside.   

Well, in January, his dream finally came true, albeit in a roundabout way.  Late last year, John was selected to produce the artwork for Kid Rock’s 40th Birthday Bash at Ford Field in Detriot as well as his Born Free Tour.  This was a great honor for John, and of course his artwork (as always) is terrific.  But John never imagined that this project would finally get his artwork into Rolling Stone, which included photos of Kid Rock at his 40th Birthday Bash, with a backdrop featuring John’s artwork prominently seen in several photos.   Incredible work, John, and congratulations on having that long-forgotten dream come true.

Read more about it on John’s blog at http://www.grafixjam.com/wordpress/, and make sure to check out the link to the photos on Rolling Stone online.

Putting the “art” in a craft business

When most people think about sewing (whether it is custom stage drapes or handmade quilts or apparel), they generally think of it as a craft rather than an art.  And I think that is generally a valid way to categorize sewn goods.  But you would be surprised at how much “art” actually comes to play in the creation of what is known in the entertainment industry as “soft goods.”

When a major music tour is being planned, much more is involved than simply the music itself (the set list, the rehearsals, etc.).  Concerts today are  more than musicians on a stage, singing and playing.  Sound, lighting, special effects, pyrotechnics, and set design all work together to give the audience an experience for the ears and the eyes.  And soft goods are often a major part of that.

The role of the Production Designer is to design a set (which may include both soft goods and hardscape) that provides a stunning visual backdrop to the music.  Once the design is created (the “art”), the Production Designer brings in all of the crafts (sewing, stage builders, etc.) and charges them to make his artistic vision a reality.

That is where we come in.  The Production Designer presents us with his vision (it may be in the form of an artistic drawing, a technical drawing, or even a verbal sketch), and it is up to us to figure out how to best achieve that vision through stage curtains, painted or digital backdrops, and even mixed media pieces.  The Production Designer relies on us to recommend fabrics and construction methods that will carry his design from paper (or just his head) to the stage.

At times, it is relatively straightforward – perhaps an Austrian Drape or a series of Swags.  Other times, however, it takes skill and ingenuity (and, dare I say, art?) to figure out the best way to manipulate fabrics (and other materials) to achieve the look. 

One example that springs to mind is the project we did for Mariah Carey last fall.  The designer knew the look he was after, but it was up to us to find a way to achieve that look.  Gwen Winter, the Senior Sales Rep on the project, knew that traditional stage fabric, such as velour, was out of the question.  The solution?  Clear vinyl, hundreds of silk flowers, and sheer net, along with the experience and skill of our manufacturing staff, turned the designer’s vision into reality.

Another example is the Maxwell 2009 project, in which Sew What? and Rent What? joined forces to help the production designer achieve his vision through the use of fabric (Black Mirror Sequins and ”tattered” White Voile) and other media (mirror shards), with Rent What? bringing more drapery to the table (including Silver Satin Austrian Drapes and Swags and an LED Star Drop).

These are just two examples (out of many), but I think they are great illustrations of how closely connected “craft” is with “art.”  We may be a craft, but part of that craft is taking the “art” and making it a reality.  And I am so proud of the way our team accomplishes that reality.

Sons of Sylvia Digital

It seems that almost every day, we are making a new digitally printed backdrop for an artist or band.  It is really interesting to see these backdrops in the various stages of construction.  First, the individual panels running through our wide format digital printer.  Then, the panels being matched together and sewn.  And finally, the finished backdrop hanging on our mechanical truss for the final quality control check before being shipped to the client.

Even more exciting, however, is seeing these backdrops actually in use – on stage with the artist or band.  It makes it so much more real – to know that these beautiful pieces went from plain fabric to beautiful scenic backdrop to part of an actual concert! 

One of the backdrops that I have recently seen onstage was a 30′ h x 32′ backdrop that we made earlier this year for Sons of Sylvia, the country music trio of brothers.  Printed on FR Heavy Knit, a durable wrinkle-resistant digital substrate, the backdrop was also topically treated for flame retardancy after printing, meeting National, California and New York City standards for flame retardancy.  Also included on the order was a Tear Away header, which allows the backdrop to function as a kabuki without the need for a solenoid system.

Seeing it in a photo is great, but video footage is even better.  Check out this video on YouTube – the backdrop is certainly a prominent feature in the show!

Backdrops for Billy Idol

John Rios of GrafixJam strikes again!  Last week, I told you about the incredible artwork that he did for Rod Stewart.  Well, we were also privileged recently to use artwork created by John for a trio of digitally printed backdrops commissioned for the Billy Idol 2010 tour.

The scenic backdrops were made as one center panel, 20′ h x 16′ w, with two reverse and repeat side panels, each at 16′ h x 10′ w.  FR Heavy Knit was selected as the fabric substrate for its durability and resistance to wrinkling (so important for tours!).  After printing, the panels were topically treated for flame retardancy, we did the finish sewing, and off went the pieces to show rehearsals here in California.

Take a look at John’s working drawing:

The tour kicked off in Europe in early June and arrives for the North American leg of the tour in early August.  If you think John’s working drawing is amazing, check out this photo taken at one of the tour’s European shows.  The panels really are even more impressive at full size.

Another cool project for Rod Stewart

I’ve told you about some of the beautiful projects we have done in the past for Rod Stewart – the gorgeous voile drapes in 2009 and the amazing Stewart Tartan drapes in 2006.  Well, we recently provided drapery for Rod’s 2010 tour, and it was seriously cool.

We started out making three 36′ 6″ h x 41′ w Braille Curtains out of Black 16oz Commando Cloth (along with three 7′ h x 41′ w Borders, also in Commando Cloth).  Then, our favorite graphic artist, John Rios of GrafixJam, provided some amazing artwork, which we had scenically painted onto the Braille Curtains.  Who would have thought that a Braille Curtain could also be a Scenic Backdrop?

The drapes alone look amazing, but just as impressive is that John’s artwork was also pulled into the tour’s video content as well.  Note the terrific cartoon of Rod that John did!

All in all, the combination of the scenically painted Braille Curtain and the accompanying video content makes for a really compelling set design, don’t you think?