Rava productions
In late 2020, RAVA Productions reached out to me to create illustrated characters for their upcoming children’s play of Wind in the Willows commencing in early March, 2021.
During this project, I created a illustrations for the characters of the show including Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger for their production as well as promotional materials leading up to the shows.
Final illustration of Badger, Mole, Toad and Rat all together
Being a beloved children’s story, each of the protagonists needed their charm and character to be easily recognisable for a younger audience who may have grown up with the book.
During exploration, three possible design choices very evident.
Pay homage to the traditional style of the 1900’s classic - incorporating the vintage/classic style clothing of the era and previous adaptations of the play.
Incorporate more of the style of the actors of the show.
Design the characters as if they were from Australia to better reflect where we live.
Ultimately, combining options 2 and 3 had the most successful outcome to the project. Not only does it bring these lovable characters to the present and reflects Australia today, but also to better reflect the style of the actors of the show.
Developmental Sketches
During the developmental sketches, I did find a very strong colour scheme from past adaptations and illustrations of the characters making them clear who was who. Using these colours, I incorporated secondary colours that are seen from the other characters to show which characters have similar tendencies to one another, like Mole’s hint of red on his scarf is to Toad’s boisterous pop of red against the greens.
Overall, these initial designs where not in the direction that the production was incorporating into the show - adopting more modern techniques into the show rather than having it be more traditional.
With the cast finalised, the decision to incorporate more of the style and energy of the the actors would make the characters stand out and better reflect the uniqueness of the show. Not only that but incorporating more Australian type clothing rather than the British inspired wears would be more relatable and keep an unique identity. From this, Badger became looking more disheveled with a wild tuff of hair, Rat became tall and orange haired, Toad became more flexible and playful, while Mole was made female and sweet to reflect the actress.
Mole
Badger
Rat
Toad