No fantasy meal is complete without dessert! If you're a fan of apples, baked pastry, and cream to top it all off, you're going to love our field mice and their scrumptious offerings!
For some added context, check out the previous Art Blogs from this line, covering our Rosemary Pork Pies and Stout & Mapled Oats visual development! We completely understand, though, if you skipped ahead to get some behind-the-scenes on Miss Penelope, drawn by artist Anna Lark (@thebeanbaguette x/twitter, instagram)!
Miss Penelope's Apple Tarts & Cream
Mice were almost immediately decided on at the project's conceptual stage. They're classically adorable, and also classically protagonists in so many of the animal stories of our childhoods. From Martin the Warrior of the Redwall series, to the young Fievel from An American tail, or the small protagonist from the Tale of Despereaux, mice are practically anthropomorphic staples. So we leaned into that, and gave Anna the prompt of peasant mice in a humble kitchen!
We fell in love with these concepts right away! Rambunctious, hungry youngsters eager for a bite were instantly relatable and approved. How can you say no to those faces? Seeing the design process here was so delightful, and essentially cemented the fact that we wanted to use them elsewhere (hence the ultimate looks for our tuck boxes).
In the second check-in label for Miss Penelope's Apple Tarts & Cream, you'll notice a couple key differences from the first! Some composition adjustments to show off more of the food, and our titular Miss Penelope is now turned and looking on! Leading into the final illustration:
This label had what felt like the most changes to it ultimately, with the colors on the mice changing as well to be truer to field mice coloring, as well as an emphasis on the apple tart! You'll notice the left mouseling moved positions as well, changing up the composition further!
And honestly? We are so in love with this one. The cute little outfits, the obvious happiness and care, and that delicious tart... Why don't you help yourself to a slice?
Check out our other FEAST blogs to get more behind-the scenes looks at the delicious scents that make up the collection!
And check out artist Anna Lark's work while you're at it! 👀🍎🐭