Animals

Poster Illustration / Character Art • 2023
Stylized illustration of six animals. Top-left: A Tyrannosaurus rex surveys the others from behind ferns & foliage. Top-right: A manatee holds a potion bottle as a wave curls around & over him. Middle: A Velociraptor peeks over the top of a graphical, pink TV displaying a beach scene; its claw grips one edge. A Ragdoll cat & puffin relax on a cushion in front of the TV. Bottom-right: Standing amidst ferns & cycads, a huge Stegosaurus looks up at the other creatures.

FOR
Undisclosed client, 2023

WORK
Concepts, illustration

TOOLS
Procreate, Clip Studio Paint

INFO
Six friends depicted as animals gather around a TV, among ferns, cycads and other foliage: a stylized Tyrannosaurus rex, manatee, Velociraptor, Ragdoll cat, puffin, and Stegosaurus.

One of my favorite recent projects. It was fun to work on something so different from the abstract, physical-sciences topics I typically take on: macroscopic, biological, and (mostly) non-spherical!

Sketches & process screenshots of a stylized illustration. Six animals gather around a TV among ferns, cycads, and other foliage: a stylized Tyrannosaurus rex, manatee, Velociraptor, Ragdoll cat, puffin, and Stegosaurus.

Sketches & process

Occasionally my process includes study sketches (like those of the manatee and T-rex above) to better understand a subject.

The T-rex was the most challenging. Rather than scientifically-accurate, the client requested a more pop-cultural take. Stylizing a real animal based only on artistic interpretations (with varying degrees of accuracy), and no living / photographic reference, is like a visual game of telephone.

© Olena Shmahalo