Frank Pepito
  • Home
  • Portfolio
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Contact Me

BLOG

I've got a Golden Ticket for you! Making "Wonka" Thank You Cards That POP (up)!

9/7/2013

0 Comments

 
They started with this.
Picture
My "Golden Ticket" art for the winners
I whipped up the above artwork for my friends building the set of Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, last month's musical staged by the Torrance Theatre Company and one I was also cast in, playing the part of reporter-to-the-Golden-Ticket-winners Phineous Trout. The artwork would be applied to large 5' x 3' boards installed at the top of the proscenium of the Armstrong Theatre and illuminated with animated magical effects during every show.
Picture
The completed set pieces ready to install over the stage
Now whenever I'm in a show, I like to try to do something creative and special for the cast, to hand out on opening night or closing night. For this show, I had to consider something I could produce for about forty cast members and about half as many more crew members, something that wouldn't get in the way of me missing (too much) sleep to get them sixty-odd pieces done and looking pretty.

In my last show, 12 Angry Men, I made a card with a wheel that can be turned to reveal jokey verdicts through a cut-out window and a simple pop-up card that I handed out to the cast and crew on opening and closing nights. They turned out well enough and everyone got a kick out of them. I also had fun making them, and they turned out to be fairly simple to do yet were impressive to receive. (Pats myself on the back.)
So immediately the idea of again doing something involving paper engineering came to mind. I browsed through some books on paper engineering I own for inspiration and also to see what would be simplest to produce for a cast of thousands! Ok, sixty people. But I didn't want this to feel like I was making enough for thousands.

After I finished the Golden Ticket art, I occurred to me that not only was that the perfect graphic element to share with everyone, but also that half my graphic design time was theoretically done if I was able to use it in whatever I came up with! (On top of taking the time to brainstorm, design and make these whatevers, I still had rehearsals to go to too! So time management was a bit important to me.) I decided I wanted to do something a little more exciting than the simple pop-up I did for 12 Angry Men. And quickly the idea of opening a card to reveal a real Golden Ticket popping up at them became my focus and my goal.

My biggest challenge being a novice paper engineer was how to make it pop up! But a little trial and error building white model mockups aided me in figuring that out fairly quickly. Next up was designing the graphics for what would appear on the rest of the card, what would appear behind the Golden Ticket that popped up and what would the cover say to set up what they'd find inside. I was again able to save some time by re-using the gears from my Golden Ticket art to use in the background spread of the inside. And since this was coming from the reporter in the show who introduces himself to the audience by saying "This is Phineous Trout!", the concept for the cover arrived quickly too.

As the art was getting done, I printed them out to mockup some more white models to see how it was looking and also to make sure the placement of the Golden Ticket didn't block my text and message in the card. Once I signed off on my own graphic design, it was off to the local craft stores to find just the right kind of gold paper to print the Golden Tickets on, because Golden Tickets need to be gold (duh) and sparkly! (And because I could then print them as black and white art, it would save me a hell of a lot of money on toner too!)

Thank God for Scrampers, a scrapbooking supply store that was the only place I found with just the right paper I was hoping to find! I also bought a box of Avery 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" Note Cards for the base cards; pre-scored and perforated-to-size was another time-saver I banked on. And since I already had white card stock at home for the pieces going under the tickets to lift them up - card stock being sturdier than thin copy paper - I just needed toner - lots of toner - and I was ready to print, cut and score.

Below are images of my final artwork and shots I took during construction. I didn't have time to produce anything for opening night, so I was glad I got these done to hand out on before the show on closing night. I was very happy with the way they turned out. Thankfully, so were my very talented castmates and the backstage crew who worked hard throughout the production.

Check out my portfolio to see other paper engineering projects I've done for fun!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    All About Me

    A fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman, comic books, Blu-rays, Disney, soundtracks, taking pictures, theatre and...Barry Manilow!

    Archives

    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012

    Categories

    All
    007
    12 Angry Men
    50th Anniversary
    70mm
    Action Comics
    Adam West
    Adventureland
    Alex Theatre
    Alien
    Amazon
    Amy Adams
    Andrea Romano
    Andrew C Robinson
    Andy Griffith
    Angela Cartwright
    Applause
    Aquaman
    Arclight Cinemas
    Ariel Winter
    Artoo Detoo
    Avengers
    Barrie Chase
    Batcave
    Batgirl
    Batman
    Batman80
    Batmobile
    Batwoman
    Beatles
    Bespin
    Best Buy
    Bill Conti
    Bill Finger
    Bill Mumy
    Billy Crystal
    Birds Of Prey
    Blaster Beam
    Blu Ray
    Blu-ray
    Boba Fett
    Bob Kane
    Book Review
    Brad Meltzer
    Brent Spiner
    Brian Epstein
    Bronson Canyon
    Bruce Timm
    Bryan Hitch
    Camp Hollywoodland
    Carl Reiner
    Casino Royale
    Castle
    Christmas Card
    Christmas Carol
    Christopher Reeve
    Cloud City
    Club 33
    Comic Books
    Comic-con
    Comicon
    Crafts
    Craig Huxley
    Creature Features
    D23
    Daniel Craig
    Danny Elfman
    Dark Horse Comics
    Dark Knight
    Dark Shadows
    Darth Vader
    Dave Avanzino
    David Goyer
    David Newman
    David Selby
    Dc
    Dca
    Dc Comics
    Dc Comics
    Dc Guy
    Death Star
    Delta Shield
    Detective Comics
    Dickens
    Dick Shawn
    Digibook
    Disney
    Disney 50th
    Disney California Adventure
    Disney Juju
    Disneyland
    Disneyland60
    Disney Parks Blog
    Diy
    Dr. No
    Dvd
    Earth One
    Egyptian Theatre
    Endeavour
    E.t.
    Fifth Beatle
    Film Music
    Film Score
    Fiona Huxley
    Firefly
    Firehouse Five Plus Two
    Flash
    Flash Gordon
    Floating Cloud City
    Folk Song
    Foodie
    For Your Eyes Only
    Francesco Francavilla
    Frank Miller
    From Russia With Love
    Frontierland
    Gary Frank
    Gene Roddenberry
    Geoff Johns
    George Barris
    George Lazenby
    George Lucas
    Golden Ticket
    Goldfinger
    Graphic Novel
    Half Marathon
    Hall H
    Hawaii Five-o
    Henry Cavill
    Henry Mancini
    Henson
    Hfr
    Hiking
    Hobbit
    Hogan's Heroes
    Hollywood Sign
    Hunger Games
    Ian Fleming
    I Love Lucy
    Imagineer
    Indiana Jones
    Infographic
    Insignia
    Invitations
    Iron Man
    Irwin Allen
    James Bond
    James Horner
    Jeff Bond
    Jeff Heimbuch
    Jerry Fielding
    Jerry Goldsmith
    Jim Aparo
    Jim Henson
    Jj Abrams
    J. Michael Staczynski
    John Barry
    John Javna
    John Williams
    Jonah Hex
    Jonathan Winters
    Julie Andrews
    Justice League
    Kermit
    Kirk
    Kyle Baker
    La La Land
    Leap Day
    Leap Year
    Leonard Nimoy
    Letthewookiewin
    Logo Design
    Lois Lane
    Longlivethebat
    Long Live The Bat
    Looney Tunes
    Lost In Space
    Lucasfilm
    Mad
    Mad World
    Magic Cube
    Main Street Usa
    Man In Space
    Man Of Steel
    Marketing
    Marshall Rogers
    Marvel
    Marvel Comics
    Marvin Kaplan
    Marv Wolfman
    Medal
    Men Of War
    Michael Keaton
    Michael Piller
    Mickey
    Mickey Ears
    Mickey Mouse
    Mickey Rooney
    Middle Earth
    Millennium Falcon
    Minnie
    Monstrous Summer
    Morton Stevens
    Mouseadventure
    Mouseplanet
    Movie Review
    Muppets
    New 52
    Newsarama
    New Year Resolution
    Nine Old Men
    Noir
    Norman Rockwell
    Norm Breyfogle
    Note Cards
    Ohmss
    One More Disney Day
    Paper Engineering
    Patrick Stewart
    Pbs
    Peter Gunn
    Peter Jackson
    Peter Weller
    Pierce Brosnan
    Plush
    Poison Ivy
    Popup
    Pop Up
    Princess Leia
    Prometheus
    Promotions
    Props
    Qmx
    Quantum Mechanix
    Radio Drama
    Relay For Life
    Resolution
    Retailer Exclusive
    Review
    Rick Berman
    Roald Dahl
    Robert Iger
    Robert Wise
    Rocketeer
    Rod Serling
    Roger Moore
    Rolly Crump
    RPG
    Rundisney
    Running
    Sally
    Sam J Jones
    Samuel Goldwyn Theatre
    Scavenger Hunt
    Science Fiction
    Scotty
    Screenplay
    Scrooge
    Sean Connery
    Secret Origin
    Seth Macfarlane
    Shane Davis
    Sheena Easton
    Sideshow
    Skywalker Ranch
    Soundtrack
    Space Shuttle
    Spider-man
    Spielberg
    Spock
    Stan Freberg
    Stanley Kramer
    Starfleet
    Star Trek
    Star Trek Insurrection
    Star Trek The Next Generation
    Star Wars
    Steelbook
    Superman
    Taco Bell
    Target
    Ted
    Thank You Card
    Theatre
    The Black Beetle
    The Case Of The Chemical Syndicate
    The Dark Knight
    The Dark Knight Returns
    The Flash
    The Life And Times Of Ward Kimball
    Theme Song
    Thunderball
    Tim Burton
    Time Tunnel
    Timothy Dalton
    Todd James Pierce
    Tomorrowland
    Tom Skaggs
    Toot Whistle Plunk And Boom
    Top Five List
    Torrance Theatre Company
    Toy
    Trail
    Trivia
    Tumbler
    Tv Theme Song
    Twilight Zone
    Unboxing
    Universal
    Vampire
    Vinyl Record
    Vivek J Tiwary
    Voodoo
    Walmart
    Walt Disney
    Ward Kimball
    Warner Bros
    William Shatner
    Wonder Woman
    Wonka
    Writing
    Yoda
    Zack Snyder

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • Portfolio
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Contact Me