The Bucks County Gilbert & Sullivan Society is once again gearing up for one of the Victorian playwrights’ funniest, most lyrical and most popular creations, The Pirates of Penzance. I’m happy to again be illustrating the poster for this wonderfully fun musical. If you have ever heard the brilliant patter song I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General, this is the rambunctious show for which that song was written.
I started with a very rough pencil sketch of a group of the colorful characters – maidens, pirates, bobbies, the Major-General – in a classic triangle composition.
I defined the characters a bit more in the next sketch.
I scanned this sketch and did a rough colored pencil blocking in of the colors
I traced this drawing onto illustration board, outlined the characters and began to paint it in using acrylic washes.
And now the finished piece is dropped into the poster design, below. I hope you consider coming, this will be a terrific musical comedy!
AchillesPortfolio 
Another great poster, Pat!