Disney display

Junior Katie Barber designs artwork for upcoming play

Liberty University’s Tower Theater will present Beauty and the Beast in the spring, but all the while, Liberty junior Katie Barber has been preparing for the show since last fall.

Barber studies in the studio art program and is designing the artwork for the production’s poster.

After being asked by the house and facilities manager for the Theatre Arts department, Jonathan Kafoure at the end of fall semester, she accepted the invitation to create the artwork.

“I’ve done work for other people before, but not for a production or anything like this,” Barber said.

Barber started working on the poster at the end of the 2015 fall semester. Barber is using designs from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast for inspiration to create her own artwork for the show.

“I’m going off of some of the costumes that they’re using for the play,” Barber said. “… but I also have been referencing screenshots from the Disney movie. I’m not copying it explicitly or anything like that, but I’m just trying to center it around that kind of feel.”

Barber spent many days during Christmas break researching and planning for the poster. She plans to include the character Belle, as well as woods and a castle for the background.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time studying photos of castles and landscapes,” Barber said.

Barber will create a traditional pencil piece that will be digitized and colored. The original poster, along with other pieces of her work produced throughout her career, will be shown at the Tower Theater.

“They’re going to raffle off the original piece of art and then I’m going to have a table set up over there so I can sell stuff like that,” Barber said.

Barber looks forward to the future and what this opportunity can bring to her art.

“I think it would be a really good thing to have kind of under my belt, just to say that I have done work for a theater production before,” Barber said.

Barber enjoyed art as a hobby, but over the past few years it has become much more to her.

“I just started doing art seriously when I was 16 and I’m 20 now, so it’s been about four or five years,” Barber said. “I mean I’ve always liked to do art but it was more of a hobby up until like 16, when I really decided I wanted to make it my career.”

Barber said she has many inspirations, but most are Disney artists.

“My main inspirations come from Disney artists,” Barber said. “Glen Keane is probably my biggest inspiration. I really like telling stories through pictures and creating images and experiences for
people like that.”

Barber hopes to continue her goals after completing the studio art program and work for Disney.

“I really want to work at Disney and do concept art; like design characters for their animated movies,” Barber said. “That’s the goal.”

Barber’s artwork will be displayed at the premiere of Beauty and the Beast Friday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Tower Theater.

Rutt is a feature reporter.