• Illustrate a set of 4 stamps which commemorate or celebrate some aspect of British history or culture
  • 40x22mm
  • The stamps should include the monarch's profile
  • The stamps should include their monetary value
British Sports
  • Football -  originated in Britain
  • Cricket - originated in South-east England
  • Golf - originated in St. Andrews, Scotland
  • Rugby - originated in Warwickshire, England
  • Tennis - originated in Birmingham, England
For this project I decided to commemorate sports that originated in Britain as sport is a huge part of British society and unites communities. I started by researching the various sports, along with what city or region it happened in. I then looked for visual inspiration by looking at other commemorative stamps to get a feel for the tpe of illustration commonly used as well as the typical layout and composition. 
Divulging from purely stamp illustrations, I went on to look at vintage sport illustrations as I wanted to capture the feel of the game, the excitement and movement. I also looked at artists that I visually like the style of, those that used large and rough brushstrokes in addition to vibrant colour.
Alexis Guenier
Holden Bradford Willard
Vincent Van Gogh
Laurent Dauptain
For each sport, I wanted to include a famous landmark from the city it originated to unite the country with the sport.
St. Andrew's Landmarks:
  • St. Andrews Cathedral
  • The Swilcan Bridge
  • St. Andrew's Castle
Warwickshire Landmarks:
  • Charlecote Park
  • Warwick Castle
  • Collegiate Church of St. Mary's
  • Holy Trinity Church
Birmingham Landmarks:
  • ​Aston Hall
  • Brindleyplace
  • Town Hall
Wealden Landmarks:
  • Herstmonceux Castle
  • Seven Sisters
  • Pevensey Castle
  • Bayham Old Abbey
Golf - St. Andrews, Scotland
Initially wanting to focus on the equipment and landscape, I researched all the components used in each sport.
A quick gouache experiment with colour and loose brushstrokes. I wanted to capture the lighting and feel of James Gurney's work as seen pictured to the left.
Rugby - Warwickshire, England
I looked at vintage sport illustration again, this time ones that used colour. I liked the natural look with an added vibrancy that drew the eye. They also capture movement and fluidity well.
Bob Peak
Bernie Fuchs
I wanted to capture the unique compositions of Peak and Fuchs, as well as the roughness of their dynamic movements.
After getting feedback on my thumbnails, I wanted to focus more on colour and how to make the stamps more visually engaging.
After a failed experiment of using gouache on a shiny surface to create a pooling texture, I experimented with various digital brushes to create texture and play around with creating visual motion.
Katherine Lam
Mark Oliver
Unhappy with how my illustrations were looking, I decided I needed to restart and take a more refined approach, using sharp angles and a watercolour textured brush to create a more printed look.
After receiving feedback about my realistic use of colour not being viually interesting, I decided to completely restart my stamps yet another time and go really vibrant with my colours. 
Dominik Mayer
I think that these stamps turned out much more successful that the previous iterations, and better captured the exciting nature of the sports.