Illustrator breathes new life into Day of the Dead

We're big fans of Irish illustrator Steve Simpson at Creative Bloq, having previously featured his reinvented barcodes and spaghetti Western posters. So we had to share this brilliant children’s activity book he created, which celebrates the Catholic festival of Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muenas).

This beautiful and informative book is comprised of 16 pages filled with petrifying puzzles, morbid mazes, and of course, no shortage of skeletons - all illustrated in Simpson’s unique and colourful style, using pen, pencil and Photoshop CC.

Simpson's obsession with fine detail and vibrant colours shines through. One extra touch that most will over look is the simple but stylish borders that beautifully link the book together

Aside from the obvious influence of folk art Steve Simpsons influences come from Jim Flora, Mary Blair, arts and crafts pioneer William Morris and his uncle which Simpson talks in more depth about here. You can keep up to date with Steve’s works in progress on Behance or on his blog.

Words: Alex Williamson

Alex Williamson is an art and design student in London, who blogs about design, art and illustration. Follow him on Twitter.

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