In this exercise, I produce illustrations for the packaging of organic biscuits for children. There are three varieties, Raisin, Choc Chip and Ginger. The series of illustrations should feature extinct animals interacting with a biscuit in a fun way. The drawings should be in full colour and reflect the “flavour” of the biscuit.

I have decided to use dinosaurs for this illustration. Once I flipped through pictures of extinct animals, I realised that dinosaurs are most popular among children and recognisable as extinct animals and should produce a fun illustration for a product like biscuits. My goal is to appeal to both adults and children as it will probably be an adult who makes the purchase. I am using the original colour of the biscuits to give the buyer an idea of what the biscuit looks like, but this packaging will have transparent sides to view the biscuits inside. I am using hand-drawn typography for this exercise.

First, I went to the shops to research the market. Bakers seems to be the market leader in biscuits in South Africa, and they make two varieties of children’s biscuits, Jolly Jammers and Zoo Biscuits. I liked the packaging of Choc-kits and have decided to use the same packaging for my design. I considered using the same method as Simple Truth’s Coconut Cookies by displaying the nutrition information in a fun way as part of the packaging design, but I decided against it as I think it is too much text comparing the other packaging designs.

Next, I made a list of all the information I would like on the packaging—a description of the product, the flavour and a catchy phrase.

Figure 2 List of the product information on the packaging

I then decided on a dinosaur for each flavour. I liked the Stegosaurus with its spikey back for the chocolate chips and the Tyrannosaurus Rex with its more aggressive nature for the ginger biscuits. The Brontosaurus as a plant-eater could work well for the raisin biscuits. I collected pictures to see what the dinosaurs looked like from all angles and then drew my own version that is right for the shape of the packaging and the composition of the illustration.

Figure 3 Collecting references of dinosaurs

I also collected lettering images to draw inspiration from and spark ideas for the typography and created a second mood board to establish the tone and mood of the illustration before starting with the thumbnail sketches.

I considered using three-dimensional lettering, but once I sketched it, I realised it will not work well with this illustration. I drew my thumbnail sketches to get ideas down and then scanned them into the computer to edit them further and play around with composition and size.

Once I established the size and shape of my packaging, I drew it in Photoshop to use it as a “canvas” for the illustration and lettering.

Figure 7 Digital editing combining all the elements

Next, I decided on three sketches for the series; I cleaned up the drawings, added more detail and completed the illustration as outlines. I then copied the outlines next to each other to compare colour studies and determine the colour palettes.

I decided on the colour for each piece and finished the illustrations.

Figure 9 Raisin biscuit illustration – the finished piece

Figure 10 Chocolate Chip biscuit illustration – the finished piece

Figure 11 Ginger biscuit illustration – the finished piece

In conclusion, it has taken me a lot of time to do this exercise, but my workflow will be much smoother if I do it again. I noticed that each illustration had a better workflow than the previous one. It comes down to small things like grouping and naming your layers. I also organised my colours better for easy access. The lettering also takes a lot of time, but that will improve with practice. I enjoyed this exercise and would love to do a similar project in the future.

Research that informed this project

I appreciate the work of Lisa Perrin and researched her creative process and methods by watching her videos on Domestica. (Domestica, 2020)

Lisa Perrin is an award-winning illustrator, designer, and educator. Her work is recognised by The Society of Illustrators, American Illustrations, 3X3 Magazine and Print Magazine. Perrin earned her MFA in Illustration Practice from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is a full-time professor in the Illustration department at MICA. (Perrin, 2020)

I especially like how she incorporates hand-lettering as part of the illustration, and I want to develop that skill in my own practice.

Figure 14 Lisa Perrin’s work and creative process

Comparing my finished piece to Lisa Perrin’s packaging designs, I think improvement can be made to my design by practising and experimenting with hand lettering. Overall, I am happy with the finished designs.

Refining my packaging illustrations

I have decided to refine my illustrations for this exercise to achieve stronger diffraction between each flavour. I added a close-up window of each dinosaur interacting with the biscuit by eating it and used the window to bring the flavour descriptor more upfront.