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We were invited by The Washington Post to create a series of editorial illustrations for their
2023 Holiday Gift Guide.
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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The idea behind the approach was to illustrate the article directly and portray the gift ideas in a novel way; some are more obvious recreations, some more abstract, but each theme is immediately identifiable; Books, Food, Home, Self Care, Tech, Toys, Travel, Video Games.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/a6f341acd4671fd4083a18cd59ca5cd0/4702a142-0e04-4486-a8cc-acf16af1297f_rw_1920.jpg?h=cac6a31966ad4168eba6b6330806ad89)
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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.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/a6f341acd4671fd4083a18cd59ca5cd0/586c693f-b277-451c-be83-ae77cb834169_rw_1920.jpg?h=529f0d67330f98cfeeea4068bab454e5)
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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