SNAPSHOT
This children’s book is a journey about an endangered red panda who eats its way through the world, meeting other animal friends and trying food that is unique to their countries. It is a celebration of food, animals, and art, promoting biological diversity, cultural diversity, and belonging. (synopsis via Laughing Squid)
You may not think you have come across the beautiful artwork of San Francisco-based self-described “Artpreneur” Yiying Lu but the odds are good that you probably have.
The supremely-talented artist is the creator of the “Twitter Fail Whale” which she originally christened “Lifting a Dreamer” when she created the piece back in 2009 and so, if you have been active on the platform, even in passing, you may have come across the best thing to happen, visually at least, to unwanted downtime probably ever.
Now, she has turned her attention to something else entirely as Laughing Squid explains:
“[Yiying Lu] has created a series of wonderful illustrations of endangered animals, including an orangutan, a wolf, an elephant, a lion and a clouded leopard. These colorful images will be featured in a children’s book she is working on in partnership with the Adobe Residency Creative Fund called The Very Hungry Red Panda“.
The artwork is a vividly-realised joy that entrances all on its own but the fact that it has an even more important purpose of creating awareness about the dangers many animals around the world are in makes it all the more rewarding.