Case Study: The Wonderful Day a Griffin Came to Stay

​A few weeks ago I was commissioned to create a piece of art that would spark the imagination of a new baby girl (soon to arrive) for years to come. 

The Brief

​Having a keen interest in fantasy, her parents wanted a Tiny Grey print that featured a magical griffin. They weren’t sure of the best direction so they gathered a few pictures of existing art that they liked, along with the colour palette of the new nursery.

Here are a few images the couple sent me. They loved the colours and playfulness of juxtaposing quirky objects, like an ice cream with a griffin. The deer was chosen as the exaggerated eyes give additional cute-factor! The contrasting colours used for the mountain print was also something they liked so I planned to utilise similar shades to pick out detailing.

Planning Composition

​The biggest hurdle in creating a large scaled scene is to create balance. This doesn’t mean symmetry, but if the majority of detail is on one side, the other side would seem empty and therefore would create imbalance (not pretty).

​Adding Line and Colour Experimentation

​​​Once a loose layout was locked down I began using the original sketch to experiment with a colour palette that would be vibrant enough to engage a baby, while still complimenting the muted tones of the nursery. Next I drew carefully around the pencil sketch with a fine ink pen to pick out the details that I wanted to remain in the final digital composition.

​After experimenting with colour, I settled on a pastel ice-cream inspired palette with flashes of darker blue to pick out the topsy-turvy sky pools in the ground; this made the stars really vibrant. I also added a moon character to the right to both balance the panda, and emphasise that the sky was below ground.

Shadows and Highlights

​​Once the colours were confirmed with the client, highlights and shadows were added to give the scene a greater sense of realism and three-dimensional form. This was important as I wanted the little girl to really feel like she could enter the world and imagine interacting with all of the Tinies on the canvas.

Delivery

​The proof was signed off and the canvas was printed using giclée inks on gallery quality cotton canvas, which really made the colours sing. When hand signed and tightly packaged in bubble wrap, with the addition of a Tiny Grey Certificate of Authenticity, I delivered it to the clients' home. Both parents were over the moon with their baby’s first artwork and couldn’t wait to get it hung on the wall ready for their new arrival.

The Client Vertict

"We are over the moon with our baby mural from Tiny Grey, it looks perfect hanging up in our nursery. Sophie took our initial brief and brought it to life and with her keen eye for detail she produced something spectacular. Thank you so much!" - Jen
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​If you would like to commission your own Tiny Grey artwork (whether it's a family portrait, or playful scene), for your home, or as a gift, and don't know where to start, please contact me for ideas and a quotation.

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