PROJECT: BLUE PRESCRIBING
CLIENT: WILDFOWL & WETLANDS TRUST (WWT)

Blue Prescribing is an innovative nature-based health programme based at WWT wetland sites that aims to get people who are experiencing poor mental health outside to enjoy the benefits of wetland nature.

Developed in partnership with the Mental Health Foundation, and in consultation with participants, the courses are specifically designed to promote a range of mental and physical health benefits through facilitated wetland nature engagement.

Find out more about Blue Prescribing here

OBJECTIVE

To create a set of illustrations that would be animated as part of a short promotional film about WWT’s Blue Prescribing.

The intention was to clearly show the impact and benefits of Blue Prescribing on an individual’s mental health and the practicalities/features of a Blue Prescription, to key decision makers (those who make referrals e.g. GPs, and those who give advice/consult on referrals) working in the health and social care sector.

I was given a script, with specific sections highlighted for me to create illustrations for.

VO: Blue Prescribing offers so much more than just a walk around a wetland

PROCESS

I wanted to create a set of illustrations which had a sense of calm and the wide open space that wetlands offer. I developed the idea of a blue thread running through all the illustrations, which links the scenes together and also helps describe the journey of a participant on a blue prescribing course.

My illustrations are all created oversize, and as a wider format than the final animated image would be, to allow scope for there to be a horizontal, left to right, drift movement across each illustration, and with the idea that the focus would be on smaller/close up sections of each image, rather than the whole thing.

The various elements within each illustration were created on different layers, with the intention that at the animation stage, these could be positioned on different planes in a 3d space, to enhance the spatial feel, as we move across the image.

Pictured here are the master wide versions of each illustration, and then a selection of close-ups to show the images more clearly.

VO: As part of a structured six or eight week course, participants spend three hours a week in a wetland.

VO: They’re offered a range of activities that encourage a deeper connection with nature and the changing seasons, all designed to improve mental health, reduce anxiety and depression and encourage mindfulness. These can include: guided walks, nature themed arts and crafts like willow weaving, as well as introductions to bird watching and support identifying different species. . .

VO: Group sizes are kept small and are facilitated by professionals experienced in mental health and nature connection..

VO: Research by WWT shows structured health programmes in wetlands like these can have wide ranging health benefits, from reducing stress and anxiety to improving mental wellbeing. They can also reduce social isolation and increase physical activity...

There were a couple of versions of the promotional film created, some incorporating live action. This short edit features my illustrations. Animation by Tom Budd

Pictured below are my initial sketches for the project: