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InspirationIllustration

Abstract graphical artworks that play with shapes and shadows by Richard Keeling

When London-based graphic designer Richard Keeling wants to challenge himself, he likes to come up with a project that will really push his creativity to the limits. With his Three Shapes series, he allowed himself just, you guessed it, three plain shapes – a square, a circle and a triangle – to create simple yet abstract graphical artworks, all under the guidance of a muted colour palette.

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Bright geometric pattern of repeated chevron shapes in blue, yellow, navy and red, with coloured squares and rectangles creating shadow effects throughout

Taking things to another level, his Shadow Shapes series uses more complicated shapes while taking into account the shadows they might cast over their surrounding environments. Here, Keeling adopts brighter hues to make everything pop and contrast pleasingly. Doesn't it just remind you of Sesame Street's pinball number count, or am I showing my age? It's an ongoing experiment that you can follow via his website.

After six years working in-house for bowling alley chain All Star Lanes, Keeling has just turned freelance and is available for both graphic design and illustration projects. Check out more of Keeling's work via www.richardkeelingdesign.com.

Isometric abstract composition featuring a grey sphere with coloured geometric shapes and shadows in bright greens, pinks, yellows and reds
Brightly coloured 3D geometric shapes including a red cone, yellow rectangle and striped plane cast shadows on a green and orange background
Isometric 3D blocks in red, orange and yellow arranged in repeating diagonal rows against a teal background, creating an optical illusion of depth and shadow
Abstract composition with a coral circle, teal triangle and peach rectangle on a beige background by Richard Keeling
Magenta circle overlapping a dark red triangle with bright orange triangular shapes at the base against a grey background
Abstract composition featuring a dark triangle centred within layered geometric shapes in muted greens, yellows and browns against a cream background, by Richard Keeling
Yellow and olive circle overlapping a pale green rectangle with a dark grey triangle below, against a cream background
Geometric artwork featuring a sage green circle above a dark brown trapezoid overlapping a red square and inverted triangle on a cream background
Tall yellow rectangle with red base casting a shadow against a bright pink and teal background from Richard Keeling's Shadow Shapes series
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