Max and Coco

Cute Characters and Simple Scenes Showing the Scientific Process

Discipline

Children's Book Illustration

Tools

Affinity Designer, Affinity Publisher

Objective

Max & Coco’s Perfect Banana Bread is a story that follows a young boy and his pet monkey as they use the scientific process to bake a delicious dessert! The book was created to teach kids aged 3 to 6 about scientific tools in a playful and relatable way, and it was published by the Public Health Agency of Canada as a free E-book and printable PDF resource for parents and teachers.

Illustrations of boy and monkey, Max and Coco

Process

I chose to use a friendly vector style so that I could build the character with basic shapes, allowing for quick manipulation of poses and expressions within the tight project deadline. Soft, desaturated backgrounds create a cozy home setting that keeps focus on the richer foreground.

Illustration of characters with tools in kitchen

Illustration of character pulling bread out of oven

Illustration of characters playing on monkey bars

Children's book spreads with illustrations

Appliances and tools were simplified to support the target age group's learning, highlighting what makes them identifiable in appearance and purpose. I also used spot illustrations on the text pages to increase visual interest and reinforce the role of certain scientific tools as children move through the story.

Illustration of chracters baking with science tools