Human Kindness
What On Earth Books
Author: Dr. John Francis (The Planetwalker)
Published: September 2022
Illustrating Human Kindness for the renowned "Planetwalker," Dr. John Francis, was a deeply rewarding masterclass in character consistency and highly intentional portraiture. The book explores how compassion has shaped human history, tracking stories from ancient history right up to modern-day change-makers..
A Diverse Cast of Both Historical and
Contemporary Figures
Blending Realism with Playful Stylisation: The book features a wide array of globally recognised figures—ranging from historical icons like Harriet Tubman to modern cultural touchstones like Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga, and The Linda Lindas. To make these figures instantly recognisable to young readers without breaking the warm, inviting tone of the book, I developed a specific visual framework. I captured each person's core, defining facial structures and real features, but filtered them through soft geometry, expressive linework, and an illustrative warmth.
Capturing Diverse Human Emotion: Because the core theme is empathy, every spread relied heavily on character emotion. I focused on vibrant, joyful, and highly expressive character designs that instantly communicate warmth, vulnerability, and community spirit across different cultures, time periods, and age groups.
Creating Cohesive, Large-Scale Spreads: With dozens of distinct personalities sharing pages, I structured the layouts using rich color blocking and dynamic compositions. This ensured that iconic figures, everyday heroes (like travelling doctors or street hairdressers), and historical settings all lived harmoniously within the same vibrant visual world
Human Kindness highlights my ability to handle sensitive, real-world portraiture for children’s publishing. It demonstrates that I can honor the true-to-life likeness of famous figures while infusing the art with the playful energy and broad appeal required to captivate a young audience.
