This illustration by Brian Raszka weighs in on the human brain and its fragile nature.


About 60 percent of the body is water, so images like this naturally imply nutrition, and are also thought to sooth and refresh.

Natural light, soothing melodies, and peaceful meditation are synonymous with a healthy, spiritual lifestyle. Also related to a nourishing, organic environment are cool, neutral colors such as blues, greens, and browns. With growing emphasis on a fit body and mind, a healthy color palette may be just what your project needs.

Illustrator, fine artist, and graphic designer Brian Raszka often focuses on a nature theme, or the bal-ance between man and nature, in his work. He has done many illustrations for magazines, this one (top right) for a feature story in the NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) California Connection medical journal. The story focuses on the human brain and its hold on reality, which Raszka conveyed with a flower to signify fragility, maps to reflect information, and clouds to denote the challenges of human understanding.

Raszka usually uses the article he’s illustrating as a starting point, lending a personal touch in his work rather than translating the story literally. “I like to use natural elements as metaphors in an illustration—clouds, leaves, sun, water,” Raszka says. “These things can have different meanings depending on the context they’re in.”

Working with muted, neutral tones, Raszka will add a bright shot of color to direct the viewer to the most important part of the piece and add energy. He also infuses texture in his work: “I like to make illus-trations look like they have been out in the weather for a while,” he says. “It gives depth like one would see in nature.” Raszka uses mostly Photoshop and sometimes Illustrator, along with several types of media (photos, old line art, drawings, painted textures, found imagery) to achieve his unique look.