A tiger’s face surrounded by leaves and birds, or a cheetah among brightly coloured plants: Mia Underwood’s puzzle illustrations give animal subjects a strong visual setting.
Mia is a fine artist, illustrator, designer and published author based in East Sussex. Her work extends across different kinds of creative projects, including publishing, packaging and large-scale props. Her own artist introduction describes a practice that brings design and illustration together.
Different projects, a recognisable interest in colour
Mia’s experience includes magazine covers, craft beer labels and work for opera productions. The brief and format change, but each asks her to think about how an image will work for the people seeing it.
For a puzzle, that encounter lasts longer than a quick glance. You spend time comparing small parts of the illustration before seeing how they fit into the whole.
You can compare her two puzzle designs in our Mia Underwood collection. They share a strong use of colour while giving you different compositions to work through.
The animal at the centre of Roar Power
In Roar Power, a tiger’s face sits within a dense arrangement of plants, flowers and birds. The central subject gives the composition a focus, while smaller surrounding details give you other areas to build.
Look at the contrast between the tiger’s markings and the surrounding colour. Those changes give you clues when sorting, but they also show how much the illustration contains beyond its main subject.
You can begin with a recognisable part of the face, then work through individual details around it. The completed design brings these smaller sections back into one composition.
A different setting in Wilderness Safari
Mia’s Wilderness Safari places a cheetah among colourful plants. Comparing the two designs is a useful way to see how the same artist can approach an animal subject differently.
Rather than judging only the piece count, notice where your attention goes in each illustration. Do you prefer a strong central subject, or spending time looking through its surroundings?
Spending time with the artist’s work
A puzzle gives you a close view of the small colour and shape decisions that can be easy to overlook on the box. As sections join, you can see how those details contribute to the composition.
Mia’s designs offer two ways to enjoy that process. Choose the illustration you’d like to keep returning to, and let the individual details lead you through it.
