Illustrator Roberto Blefari aka Hikimi dishes up bright illustrations to 'make us feel good'

If you're looking for something to make you smile today then please turn your attention to Roberto Blefari, a freelance illustrator from Turin, Italy.

Working under the name Hikimi, his joyful artworks are bold, fun and full of positivity: "I create bright illustrations to make people of all ages feel good, using mild colours and soft lines to convey calm and serenity," he tells us. "I also add a bit of irony to excite thoughts, smiles, and empathy."

Sharing a mixture of his works, you can see how his style and approach has been adapted for children's books, editorial illustrations as well as for design and communication. "My inspiration comes from everyday life. I can't help stop looking at the world with my inner child's eyes," he adds.

"I try to imagine what the people around me think and how they might react and change if placed in a surreal dimension. And so I play with proportions and contrasts, shapes, feelings, and desires."

We love his recent illustrations paying tribute to yoga, something he started practising during the lockdown. "It did me a lot of good, and I wanted to ironically represent the balance between fatigue and lightness of daily practice, as well as the clumsiness of my body standing in a difficult position," he explains. That's something many of us can relate to.

Yoga

Yoga

Yoga

Yoga

What scares you today could be the key for your happiness tomorrow. Illustration made for Futura (Corriere Della Sera)

What scares you today could be the key for your happiness tomorrow. Illustration made for Futura (Corriere Della Sera)

A map for the Graphic Days Festival

A map for the Graphic Days Festival

Mixed feelings: images from a short comic Roberto made to talk about people's behaviour on social networks.

Mixed feelings: images from a short comic Roberto made to talk about people's behaviour on social networks.

Illustration made for the Pride month celebrations

Illustration made for the Pride month celebrations

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