2006 Macy's Day Parade Poster

So as I promised friends and family I am posting the process of how I made this year's Macy's Day Parade Poster. The poster went through many "changes" as I'm sure you will all see.

This project started back in June when the art director for Macy's saw a parade illustration from my book  "The Guild of Geniuses" and wanted something similar. So I started with some really loose thumbnail sketches. (You can click on any of these images to see a larger version of them)

Their main emphasis was on a few things.
1. They wanted the Macy's info integrated more into the scene (apparently they were just laying nice type over a pretty image and they wanted to shift gears a bit)
2. There was a preferential order for licensed characters. Apparently the Snoopy people shelled out the most bucks for the biggest exposure on the poster and they are of of the two the newest floats in the parade this year (Sorry Pikachu)
I was personally a big fan of the Macy's poster with the Macy's sign on the drum but they just liked the feel of the one they chose much better.

After the decision was made on which direction to approach I then started revising the drawing and making it look cleaner.

and one more......

Now, the art director warned me ahead of time that I would be dealing with a committee of people rather than just one art director (which is always pleasant) and that we would most likely be going through MANY stages of changes and so it was requested that I work digitally and in layers.... MANY layers. (The end poster unflattened reached 2 gigabytes) Therefore, my next step was to draw each of the floats and characters in separate files and drag them each in individually onto the final poster layout....

From there, I then started laying in colors and merging them back into the file and slowly began tightening the poster as you will see in the various stages below.

one...

two....

three...(there were many more but I'll spare you the redundancy)

And here are what a few of the individual colored files looked like before being merged......

till finally I got to a final piece....

Basically, most of the changes came down to a few things... All the licensed characters had particular pantone colors and structure that I had to adhere to (With that said it was hard for the poster to really fully look like my style considering I had to follow strict restrictions) with that said, it's a pain in the neck to try and create any depth or separate objects from one another when all the colors have to be so saturated The Macy's banner was darker before as you could see earlier but there was a particular Macy's RED that I had to adhere to. Also, one of the last minute changes you will see is that they wanted the Energizer Bunny's head turned and they wanted me to move some clowns around.

Well from now on I'm a Duracell man.

So that's it!

If you happen to live in the New York area and happen to see this poster posted up anywhere in the city please PLEASE PLEEEASE take a snapshot of it and send it to me via email so that I can have it as a memory of this project that I had the honor and was so fortunate to do.

Take care!

Comments

[Jeff Champagne]

Nice work Dan!
Did you ever get a copy of the poster or pictures of it hanging in NYC?

Also, What is Macy's Pantone?

Love your work!

Best,
Jeff

Jeffrey Champagne
POWEROLL Marketing Executive for North America
www.transact-tech.com/poweroll

[Andrew Weissert]

Do you have any idea where I can find a poster and/or buy one or print one. My daughter danced in the opening number in front of Macy's with Camp Broadway and I want to frame the poster and put it up in her room. I can find past year's but not 2006.

Thanks.

[Melvis]

Dan, do you know of any resources that keep these posters archived? I'm looking for a replacement for one from 1982 for my wife. Sadly, it has faded pretty badly over the years. Thanks!

[Rosie]

These comments have been invaluable to me as is this whole site. I thank you for your comment.

[calan]

wow. you did an incredible job on this. i imagine the process was stressful, dealing with a committee and all. you really nailed it regardless. i hope someone sends you a photo.

[Michelle]

I love that poster! Snoopy is my favorite. I would like to purchase this poster to hang in my house. Where can I buy it?

[Tony Codfish]

By the way, it's "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, not "Macy's Day Parade"

[Courtney]

Great work! I saw it in person last wekend. Didn't think to take a pic but did tell my sister-in-law that I knew who the artist was via blogdom.

[ronald pd brandt]

this is a beautifully detailed illustration. congratulations on going through the ringer of the committee review and still coming out with a great piece. i enjoyed seing your working process, too. i'm a part-time tour guide for grayline, so if i see the poster around midtown, i'll make sure to snap a shot of it for you!

[Nate]

Thanks for showing us your process. I think having the wording on the drum would have been cooler, but with clients you have to please them instead of yourself. However, your final illustration turned out amazingly well even with all the restrictions. Congrats.

[constance]

wow!

[Michelle Lana]

Great work!

[andy]

wow! great documentation!!!

[Rick]

Nice! I did three of these with traditional media and one digitally. Working digitally was easier in some ways, but it made making changes WAY too easy for the folks at Macy's. They had me making changes on the day it was due in NY! And they had me doing a bunch of tiny floats with microscopic people all over them. It was fun, but what a hassle...I feel your pain. Would I do another one? You bet!

[Greg]

I always enjoy seeing the process of work of talented cartoonists like yourself.

I live in NYC, and I go shopping in Macy's often (or at least in the area). I'll gladly take a pic of the poster for you if I come across it.

[Fabián Fucci]

Very clear tutorial, good job!

[hartini]

Whoaaaaaaaa!! This is too beautiful! I need a moment to compute what I'm looking at. *LOL* I love the details - as always, your work is just awesome! And very inspiring.

[ChristinaF]

Very, very cool. Hey--I have a technical question for you: How big (inches wise) was your photoshop file? Just curious because i just got asked to do a poster myself...
thanks--great work!!!

[MrsB]

This is faboo!! Really fantastic! And, I guess we'll be seeing these around Chicago this year! ; )

[garth]

Committees are so hard to illustrate for, just because they end up taking the life out of an illustration to make sure everyone's happy. Ugh.

That being said, you did a fantastic job with all those restrictions. Great poster. Wish I was in NY to see them!

Congratulations!

[Doug]

awesome job! Thanks so much for letting us see the process.

[the enigma]

they are my favourite characters! superb illustration!!

[Geninne]

HOW cool R you?????
This illo turned out amazing!

[Eugene]

Freaking SWEET. I love the touch you gave the Walk sign.