Illustrator Andy Ward has created a series of posters for children to learn about animals of the world and the alphabet. Leo the Lion was originally done for a children’s book but was set aside for almost 10 years. Ward rediscovered Leo and along with fifteen more animals developed a poster series that started with Animals of Africa. The posters that followed were Animals of the Arctic Circle and Animals of Amazonia. The final poster Animalfabet, features every letter of the alphabet.

The playfully illustrated posters feature the animal sitting above their scientific name and their more common name. Ward looked to the real life animals for detailed research, which he then sketched out in this playful and inviting style for a younger audience. The posters are designed so that children and adults can learn about animals of a particular region together.

“The animal characters are stylized but in no way do I intend on mocking the animals I’ve drawn. The series is intended to be a celebration of the variety of life and the myriad of innovative specialties evolved in order for each species to carve a niche for itself in it’s environment.”     Andy Ward