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Don's Party cover art

This week's cover art for the Spectator was a whole lot of fun! The subject is the Australian playwright David Williamson, and his sequel to the classic Australian play (and movie), Don's Party. 'Don's Party' cover art by Anton Emdin

I chose to draw Williamson surrounded by all the characters from the film version. I also threw in Garry McDonald, who is playing 'Don' in the new play, Don Parties On.

A Quick Process

Thumbnail Roughs

A couple of quick layouts to choose from. The first had Williamson on set surrounded by all the characters, while the second was a little more in your face. It's easy to see why the editor chose the second.

'Dons Party' thumbnail rough by Anton Emdin

'Dons Party' thumbnail rough by Anton Emdin

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The Sketch

With the thumbnail rough approved, I move onto the sketch...

'Dons Party' sketch by Anton Emdin

... and with that good to go, I start on the inks:

'Don's Party' cover art inks by Anton Emdin

I actually really loved this as a black and white piece, but colour called.

I toyed with colouring it with a monotone background (please see below), but after consulting with Ash (as I always do when I'm stumped) we agreed I needed to go full colour to bring the party vibe.

'Dons Party' work-in-progress by Anton Emdin

So, full colour it was. I painted Williamson with dark, saturated colours, and the party-goers with less saturated and magenta outlines to push them into the background a little. Also, I wanted it to look a little retro - sorta like a 1970's movie poster, with a modern twist.

The result was the final art at the top of the page.

For some reason, the printing process sometimes bumps up the saturation, so a little of my effect was lost on the published cover, below:

'Don's Party' published cover art by Anton Emdin

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,
Anton
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