This was the one of three creative briefs for a 28-Day Editorial Illustration Challenge hosted by Inkygoodness Collective.

Creative Review had presented a brief for a half-page illustration which was devoted to the theme of Creative Leadership. The task was to capture and present the big picture, not just summarizing an angle or or single argument.

This was a really wonderful exercise, and I focused on breaking down notions of a single authoritative leader. I used the idea of a bike being powered from the middle, rather than someone pulling others along in the front.

To me, a creative leader's challenge is to know when to push people and when to pull, to creating a harmonious movement forward for the entire team. And of course, with pretty much all of the creative teams I've been a part of, there was always at least one office dog.

Below are a couple more colour tests and character studies for the leader in the middle.