Southern California Native Plants: A Starter Guide from TreePeople
Our highly anticipated native plant guide is now available for free download! This beautifully illustrated book is chock-full of TreePeople’s favorite native plants and trees, garden planning tips, maintenance hints, planting requirements, and other helpful resources.
Book design by Bliss Parsons
Photography by Chris Imhoff, Adam Thomas, Jack Smith and EmilyTyrer
Because the success of this project relies on the accuracy of the information presented (as it is a guide), I had to make sure that the plants are carefully illustrated in a way that helps the viewer easily identify the plant once they see it in the real world. The guide already includes photographs so having the art completely resemble the real thing may feel redundant. To strike a balance between the perfect portrayal and being fun to look at, I experimented with an art style that's quite a departure from my usual style. The use of grain adds interest to a minimalistic base while at the same time, creating depth and bringing out the plants' unique characteristics.
These plant illustrations are now part of TreePeople's vast library of assets and are being reused in multiple promotional materials including flyers, posters, social media posts, etc.
