Julie’s Rookie Award 2022 Entry

For a college assignment, we were tasked with creating a world and breathing life into it’s inhabitants through design and colour. Establishing the bleak world of Philautia was a creative journey that took an entire semester. 

My creature design, known simply as The Dream Bee, is a benevolent behemoth who guards the innocent dreams of children. It’s design was based on the mason bee which is known for its hardworking nature and brilliant blue colour. To give it a softer appearance, I gave it white feathered wings to denote an angelic gentility as well as a glowing thorax like a firefly to light the way in the darkness. 

I was also assigned to design the orphanage our main character, Mason, was to live in. I wanted to give it a rundown and bleak appearance in accordance with Mason’s lack of hope in his future at the beginning of the story. Dusty windows and weathered bricks show the building’s age and possible neglect, with lichen and moss growing around the concrete to emphasise this. The dimly lit entryway also serves to make it appear ominous to all who enter.