Susan Bissonette said, “An optimist is the human
personification of spring.” It’s an apt analogy. Against
the backdrop of a cold, gray winter, nature battles
and finds hope in spring. People filled with optimism
share the same mind-set, believing in the best possible
outcomes. So fill your projects with a lush, green
spring palette to express hope and renewal.
Recently, illustrator Daniel Baxter has been
looking at famous quotes to draw inspiration. From
Bissonette’s aforementioned quote, Baxter created
“The Bloom” shown below. Baxter says his
favorite person to turn to for inspiration is Albert
Einstein: “He had real wisdom, and the soul to go
along with his genius.”
Baxter is currently composing more commercial
work, but always tries to give the work emotional
impact. “Whenever I travel,” adds Baxter, “I hand-draw
postcards, which I send to family, friends and
clients. There’s nothing more relaxing than drawing
from life—just drawing for the heck of it!”
Baxter starts his illustration process by drawing
lots of thumbnails, exploring ideas and compositions.
He scans the selected drawings, as well as potential
patterns and collage materials. Once the image is put
together, he adds color in Illustrator and finesses the
final image in Photoshop.
In his work, Baxter tends to use bright colors in
conjunction with white. “Whatever drives the idea is
the most important color,” says Baxter. “I’ve always
used black line in my work, but I’ve been trying to
get away from that. For the bloom illustration, I
wanted a burst of green to dominate. The contrast of
white with bright colors helps the drawing to really
pop, as well as breathe. This dynamic helps give the
concepts urgency.”
Raw materials
Plant a seed
Save more than a tree
