Hello Creators! You may, or may not have seen that we’ve recently launched a really exciting collaboration with Mr. Men Little Miss.
When Mr. Men Little Miss knocked on our thortful door, the question was: how can we make this collaboration bigger and better than what’s been done before? The answer was in selecting some of our top Creators and seeing how they would put the ‘thortful twist’ on them! We speak how the nation speaks, so how could the characters reflect that in their own style?
It’s been an amazing project and we couldn’t be happier with what the bunch of incredibly talented legends have done, starting with a special collection for Father’s Day. We caught up with three Creators who were involved, Fliss from Macie Dot Doodles, Ian from Folio and Dina from The Playful Indian on what designing for the range meant for them.
What is it about Mr. Men that you love?
I love that there are so many characters all with their own unique personalities. As a kid, I adored the fun stories with their happy endings and can see why they are still so popular with families. Plus, Roger Hargreaves being from near my hometown makes them even more special!
Ian – Folio
What is it about Mr. Men that you love?
Mr Men is something everyone’s grown up with, it’s nostalgic and fun and I think for everyone who looks at them it will bring back a memory of the characters they had sat on their shelves as a kid. There’s something very relatable & timeless about the personalities of all their characters that’s translated across generations. Who doesn’t have a Mr. Men alter ego?
Dina – The Playful Indian
What is it about Mr. Men that you love?
The nostalgia! I grew up reading and loving Mr. Men books and it’s actually really nice to know that they’re still so loved by kids (and adults) today.
Do you have a favourite character?
Fliss:
Definitely Mr. Tickle… he’s playful and I love his long wiggly arms.
Ian:
For me my favourite has got to be Mr. Tickle, he is a lot of fun and has always made me smile.
Dina:
Mr. Bump I think has to be my favourite, because I think he’s just the most relatable to me and who I am!
Did you find it easy or tricky to add your own twist to the Mr. Men world?
Fliss:
It wasn’t too tricky. I kept the characters’ classic style but played with their placement and added my signature hearts and titling, which usually highlights the recipient.
Ian:
There’s a lot of pressure to adapt such iconic designs into my own style, they are such well known illustrations and I wanted to make sure I balanced capturing everything that makes them feel familiar whilst also giving it a Folio twist. But once I’d started working on each character it was a huge amount of fun.
Dina:
I think the hardest part for me was picking the right character that reflected the right wording and message on the card. With such wonderful characters, you can’t really go wrong!
What steps did you take for your own style to also come through in your designs?
Fliss:
I feel the Mr. Men style sits alongside my other designs quite well as they are also colourful, bold and have a cute simplicity, which appeals to the children sending them.
Ian:
Typically my illustrations are very detail orientated so it’s been a great creative challenge to work with Mr. Men’s more simple character drawings and harmonise the two styles. I decided to focus on the digital brushes that I always use to allow me to build textures into the colours and some signature scribbles that regularly show up in my own drawings.
Dina:
I think people would recognise my style with the outlined characters and smaller, more round eyes. My puns or adding that ‘Indian twist’ probably give it away more.
Can you describe the creative process behind your work for Mr. Men? How did you approach the designs?
Fliss:
I started by reviewing all the characters and choosing some that fit the occasion, then thought about the message I wanted to convey. After that, it was all about playing with character placement and working with the titles to complement the characters and message.
Ian:
When I found out about the opportunity to work with Mr. Men my first instinct was to research the many ways they’d been drawn before. I decided that staying close to the classics with the artwork speaking for itself was the most authentic way for me to put my twist on this collection. Having picked a creative direction and a style for the cards it was then simply a case of playing until I had a method for layering up the colours & shapes that I could replicate across multiple characters. I was lucky enough to be sent an amazing catalogue of Mr. Men illustrations to inspire my own drawings. So for me it started with selecting poses for each character that felt the most relevant to Father’s Day. Once I’d settled on my characters and their poses it was a case of staying as true to the originals in terms of scale & proportions to keep them familiar and then layering colours and brushwork, changing the style for eyes, small details that allowed the final images to have my own stamp on them.
Dina:
I wanted to add a bit of an Indian twist to the designs to make the characters appeal to an Asian audience. It’s nice when you see something that is a bit more relatable to your own background and I hope those particular designs do well. I also really wanted to include designs for the not-so-ordinary Dads to make them feel special.
Which is your favourite design and why?
Fliss:
“Relax Daddy, it’s Father’s Day” is my favourite. It’s got a cheeky vibe that reminds me of my own childhood antics – and my daughters. That’s where the inspiration behind this design came from.
Ian:
Id probably say Mr Grumpy is my favourite from this collection. He is such a character and I had a lot of fun drawing him, putting my stamp on the floral armchair and I’m just really pleased with that final image.
Dina:
Do you even have to ask!? Life would be so DAAL without a dad like you. That’s my favourite. It’s pink, it’s got Mr. Happy (which I think really reflects my own dad) and there’s a good dad joke/pun there. It’s perfect!
If you were a character, which one would you be?
Fliss:
I’d be Little Miss Fun, as I’m always up for a bit of fun!
Ian:
Seeing as I’m the mayor of introvert-ville, I’d say if I was a Mr. Men I would be Mr. Quiet!
Dina:
If it’s a character that’s already exists, then Little Miss Giggle because I ALWAYS get the giggles. If it was a character that I make up then Little Miss Ate All The Samosas!
You can shop the full range of the Mr. Men Little Miss cards here. We can’t wait to see what’s next for the collaboration!
Team thortful
