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We were invited by The Washington Post to create a series of editorial illustrations for their
Exploring a still-life style with 2D and 3D elements combined, the series plays with the themes of each article section in a different way but with a common thread running through.
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Whilst the elements are all created in 3D, we wanted to give a more tactile feel to them and hint of confusion to the illustration as to how it was created. Consistent texturing gives an almost oil-painted effect, while hand-drawn patterns are projected onto the 3D models to make them feel more tangible and playful.
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Each illustration in the series makes reference to the article in a more or less direct way. We particularly enjoy this example of the Books selection; our stack of books includes a magnifying glass and skull in a cup of tea for the murder mystery recommendations, while we have a bird sat atop the pile for a bird-watching guide, and the well-known character Bluey is tucked among the books.
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Before adding colour and texture, it helps to see the series in black and white and get a consistent feel across the lighting, composition and shapes.
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With this project in particular, having so many different elements with varied product designs, it's important to check that objects work together and don't feel disjointed.
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Hand-modelling every element with consistency in technique helped us to achieve the final look of a series of still-life illustrations.
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A reduced colour palette is always a challenge and in this case we wanted each image to feel definitive and self-contained while keeping in line with the series. We love balancing the colours and seeing the set of illustrations as a whole.
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As with every project, this one began with 2D sketches to get an understanding of the composition and how the illustrations work as a series. We worked to get the same perspective in each image and the arrangement and sizing of elements feels consistent across the set.
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The main illustration also started life as a rough sketch with the idea of a character arranging the products neatly, a hint to 'Santa's workshop' without any obvious reference to Christmas either in the colours or the style.
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