I had a little spare time the other day, and looked at Peepshow.org.uk for some successful illustration projects in the professional world for inspiration.

I found http://www.peepshow.org.uk/illustration#/university-college-hospital/ – this is a project done by the organisation to brighten up the University College Hospital in London. The walls in several areas of the building were printed with bright, uplifting illustrations.

It wasn’t in my style, but I thought that that was exactly why it would be good to try and fulfil the brief in a similar way.

I established visual motifs in the art across all of the walls. This included things like:

• Bright colours (hues, primary, secondary colours)
• Blocky, print-like designs
• Themes that children might relate to
• Basic, bold shapes and silhouettes

I created an illustration in Clip Studio Paint that attempted to fulfil the brief.

What do I believe was successful? I like the darker green wave over the green hill. It’s like stylised shading I stumbled across while experimenting. I also love the pink cactus-like plant in the background, and the white flowers on it.

What didn’t work, and how might I improve in another attempt? I feel like the teal and the purple just didn’t sit right together. I was married to those colours, and should have tried more out instead of being stubborn. It’s just a bit too much of a wacky colour scheme for how simple the image is: imagine it were more complex, I could have a purple creature in the top corner that tied in with the low purple hill and created a better composition. As it stands, it’s a bit naive and jarring.

If I’d had more time, I’d have created multiple illustrations exploring different aspects of the brief. But there’s a bit of a limitation on my time now I’m doing uni-set briefs; I just thought I’d include a post about this so it doesn’t get lost.