Today marks the day that the new season of Villager puzzles are out there into the world and I wanted to share a little behind the scenes look at how my design “Plant Mom” came to be.
Firstly - Villager is a woman-owned small business founded in 2023 by self-professed puzzle snob Kelly Striemer, who lives and works on Vancouver Island. Her first collection features eight Canadian women artists, with a diverse range of styles and voices, and after the amazing success of her first launch, reached out to another batch of artists to join the amazing group of “Villagers”. And I was so luckily to be invited to join!
This season’s theme is “hobbies” - anything that brings us joy and calm - a perfect match for puzzlers. After chatting with Kelly, we moved forward with a design themed around “plant moms” - that sort of person whose home is more like an indoor jungle. The brief was a modern yet cozy space with “almost too many plants”. Firstly, I started with a sketch as always -
My first sketch was actually in a portrait format - but Kelly asked if we could try it in a landscape instead, which ended up being the winner. After we nailed down the sketch, it was time to start on the final illustration. I always keep the future puzzler in mind when I’m working on illustrations like this - I read feedback and critiques to makes sure I’m keeping things a little challenging but still fun. I’ve been known to overlay a grid of puzzle pieces over the art to make sure no parts are too boring - honestly, it’s come in handy. Once the illustration was ready, it was time to send it off to get printed and turned into a real life puzzle, which is always going to feel like magic. I even got to have my face on the box!
I’m very inspired by Kelly’s village spirit when it comes to how she works - she does much of the work herself, or with her friends and family. The beautiful product images on her website are styled by her and the photos are taken by her husband. I think you can really feel the love and sincerity that’s poured into her brand and I’m so glad I get to be a part of the Village.
The new season of puzzles are available for order now on her site here https://villagerpuzzles.com/ - please take a chance to look at all the beautiful art that my fellow creatives have contributed (it’s impossible to pick a favourite!).
Last year, I was approached by the good folks from Geordie Theatre to work with them on the posters for their 2023/2024 season. Geordie Theatre is a professional theatre company based in Montreal that has been entertaining audiences since 1981.
The programming for this season includes three unique shows - “Perfect Storm”, “Instant” and “Other Worlds”. I was provided with a summary of the plot and given a brief on what they were looking for in the posters.
“Perfect Storm” is a story about friendship and all the complexities that come with it - I was asked to design an image of two young girls sharing an umbrella. Initially I had them rather happily enjoying a stroll through the rain together, but then was asked to make their expressions more tentative, and then really play up the aspect of the stormy weather bringing them closer.
“Instant” follows three teens who find themselves navigating the harsh and lightning fast world of social media and instant communications in their quest for fame and recognition. One is an aspiring hockey player, the other a hopeful singer and one just wants to help her father. I decided to show the leads as facets of the same person through the frames of social media / apps.
“Other Worlds” focuses on two young people who find themselves at odds with land developers who encroach on their tiny island home. I was asked to visualize the characters with hints towards the play’s themes of neurodiversity and identity, and show the unique setting of the play as well.
It was wonderful working with the team at Geordie Theatre, and I’m grateful that I got to be small part of such a special season of plays!
I recently had the absolute honour to get to work with Stitch Media for two educational simulations that focus on patient and client-centred care in the medical and care sphere. It’s amazing to get to work on a project that is not only diligently organized and produced, but also focuses on something so important. I believe strongly in the continued integration and actualization of patient-centred care in all fields, and it’s humbling to get to be even a very small part of helping in the education of people who will be applying these concepts in real life!
One of the simulations was focused on working as a team in a high-stress situation, and the other was pediatric focused. For both, I produced a series of character sketches based on descriptions provided by the client.
After the characters were approved - including making sure the first-responders were looking spiffy and accurate - I was able to move onto the sketches for each scene. The way the simulations work are sort of like a click through “game”, so many of the illustrations exist to supplement an interactive text component. I was provided with the script and other contextual information in order to plan out and flesh out each scene.
Since many of the “frames” were variations of each other, it was vital that I work out the logistics of the scene based on the cues of the script and scene description from the first sketch as up to ten following images would be reliant on the composition of the first. For instance - the simulation about teamwork features a complicated scene that includes an unconscious patient and up to five first-responders at once, all performing various life-saving techniques.
Not only did I need to closely follow the provided reference to accurately reflect the technique (such as an IV insertion) but I also needed to make sure that it was clear what each person was doing. This meant using some unconventional angles and perspectives; and lots of Googling and pose referencing to make sure I was getting the anatomy and angles right. It was fun and interesting to learn about all the medical technologies and skills that the professional responders use to help their patients. It’s always a bonus to get to learn something while you work!
It was also important to get the emotion right in the illustrations as well - these scenes represent situations where emotions can run high; working to resuscitate a patient or an anxious young child. The scenes were being voice acted, too, so I knew it was important that the voice actor’s work could match the visuals. It was sort of like getting to live out my childhood dream of being an animator - just a little different! Since these panels were intended for educational purposes, I focused on making them clear and “true to life” - I particularly enjoyed creating a cozy, slightly messy home for the family in the paediatric simulation.
After everything was approved, the illustrations were sent off for the Stitch Media team to turn into a functioning, interactive bilingual and educational simulation to be used on the Simulation Canada website. I was so glad I was able to work with the amazing team at Stitch Media to make these happen - it feels great to know that your work could play a part in helping a real person someday!
