Monday, November 13, 2006

Trailblazers & Trendsetters: Art of the Stamp





On Nov 16th I have the great honor of having my work appear in a year long exhibition at The National Postal Museum of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, entitled Trailblazers & Trendsetters: Art of the Stamp.

Originally the images that were to appear were the Mickey, Donald and Goofy image from the Art of Disney:Friendship pane and the Lady & the Tramp image from the Art of Disney:Romance pane. However, I was asked by the kind folks at the Postal Service if I would submit my preliminary sketches for the two images because they had decided that my work would be amongst a few select artists to have our work displayed in a case as opposed to having it hang in the gallery.

Needless to say I was thrilled and submitted all that I had (I keep everything!) and it turned out that they preferred to show all the work I sent them regarding the MD&G image (so L&T is out, sorry folks!)

In this post you will see some of the steps that were taken to create this image, starting from my initial character sketches and where I started to piece them together. You will also see how they evolved and that Mickey basically is the only character to have the same look from the start. Donald and Goofy were changed to have a more antique feeling and I think they fit the look we were going for perfectly. You will also see the color rough which is very similar to the final and then the actual stamp image as it appeared when printed.

If you are in DC please stop by and see the show, it is free admission and the website for further information is below.

http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/

8 comments:

RYAN ASTAMENDI PHOTOGRAPHY said...

Pete, this is great! Congratulations, that's definitely a great honor. I like seeing the evolution of your drawing....it makes for a nice series.
Ryan

Todd Oman said...

That is really cool to get your artwork on an actual stamp.

Patrick said...

Congratulations Pete. I love seeing the roughs and the finished pieces are so well done. Great stuff!

RYAN ASTAMENDI PHOTOGRAPHY said...

Sweet Pete! Thanks for all the nice comments. You probably noticed that I added a link to your blog. Thanks for doing the same. Hey, I think it's time for a new posting!
Ry

Brian Sibley said...

Well done, Peter!

A lovely honour and a fascinating series of designs for what will become -- is ALREADY -- an iconic postage stamp image!

I'd be fascinated to read your comments on WHY you made the changes you made: the area of the stamp to be inhabited by the characters; who got to be in front and who behind Mickey and why; and why the pupils in Donald and Goofy's eyes were enlarged towards the end of the design process...

Tell us MORE! :-)

And again, CONGRATULATIONS, old friend...

Anonymous said...

great to see the original sketches!!

Anonymous said...

Congrats Pete! very cool.

Wetterschneider said...

Whew, Pete, you must have exploded with pride. I can't imagine anything so satisfying and wonderful.