skeleton

Skunch | Lexington, KY

My band Sempervivi had to take long hiatus from playing out, due to me breaking two fingers in 2023. Since we could not perform live, I was not designing any flyers for shows. I got back in the game big time with this punk concert poster design, for our gig at the Euclid Avenue institution, The Fishtank.

Punk Concert Poster Design for Lexington, Kentucky Bands

I went into this project with intention of making it portfolio worthy. Also, I decided to try something new. This is the first print design I drew completely using the Procreate app on my iPad. I knew from the jump that I wanted to depict a skeleton performing a skateboard trick. What could be more punk rock than that?

After selecting the perfect skate trick photo to model from, I experimented with a few different pens and brushes. I outlined the skateboarder’s body, then studied images of skulls and bones to complete the skeleton figure. After sketching out the board and the skatepark, the black outlines were complete.

I then hand drew the text, listing out the show information. Rather than just copy and paste the band logos, I freehanded them in order to continue the “DIY” feel of the punk concert poster design.

Color And Finishing Touches

Once I was finished with drawing the black outlines, I imported them into Photoshop to complete the flyer. I employed a few more brushes and effects to color it in. The show date is warped into an arch at the top, colored in with a green to yellow to green gradient effect. I repeated that gradient on the skate deck, then added “stickers” referencing each of the bands to it. A “grunge” eraser brush gave the appearance of scuffs on the deck, as well as rips and fading on the stickers themselves.

After coloring in all of the foreground elements, I used a sponge brush and a few gradient and overlay effects for the cloudy sunset. I also blended the brush in faintly with the faded concrete of the skatepark, creating a watercolor feel. The outlines of the skatepark stayed lighter than the foreground elements, adding further depth.

Once I had colored in all of the elements, I felt like something was missing. I added some black splatters to the top and bottom of the punk concert poster design, which added weight and helped the show information stand out.