MIHIR LELE
ILLUSTRATIONS
Art Direction | Illustrations
A round-up of some illustrations from this year.
Will keep updating as and when new ones are produced.
A small comic to encapsulate 2 months of being married.
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Anniversary Illustration
Wedding Invite illustration
An illustration for my friend's wedding card.
A quick illustration for my wife's hectic schedule wrt work, train travel in the Mumbai heatwave and medicine timetables for PCOD!
First illustration of the year
As a routine event to kick off the year, I try and make some artwork on the 1st of Jan- I believe it sets the tone for the whole year and keeps me motivated.
This year I decided to start a comic book- Presenting "CATO and I" 🐾 🐱
Inspired by real life events of course, which is why, I'm a day late in posting this :P
Trying to make this into a comic book series, let's see where it goes. 🤞
(Click on the image to go into full screen mode)
Birthday Illustration
A birthday illustration for my mother, who is going on a three week long vacation to Europe- her LONGEST vacation yet, away from home and work. She's been shopping, packing her bags, weighing them and then shopping some more- but also constantly worrying about what will happen back home wrt food, work and medicine routines- in her absence. A small illustration I made to help her relax a bit and enjoy her vacation.
Jamai Shashti is a day, devoted to the son-in-law. This festival is predominantly celebrated in West Bengal. On this day, the mothers-in-law perform 'Sasthi' puja to make Goddess Sasthi happy and seek her blessings for the prosperity of their sons-in-law.
My mother-in-law decided to fly down from Kolkata, all the way to Mumbai, where my wife and I currently reside, to celebrate the day with us, bringing with her all of the food, decoration and mithai setup (a must, especially if the festival originates from the city of sondesh). A Yoga trainer and an ardent lover of animals and plants, I designed a small illustration for her with with all of her favourite things and a bunch of inside jokes.
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Anniversary Illustration
An illustration I made for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, with all of the things they love, namely (L to R) reading books, doing a thorough research of all geographical locations, studying astrology, mathematics* and making the exact tasting laddoos for me for the last 25 odd years!
*Fun fact, my grandfather taught me math during my board exams, over the phone. With him based in Pune and me in Bombay, he would teach me for an hour everyday as we would solve equations and sums from the same workbook. I would then scan my homework and send it to him on his email, which he would check and discuss with me over call the next day! This was in 2008 and I secured a solid 75/100 in my boards, after having almost failed in my prelims, all because of him!
Swipe ➡️ to see the reference image for their caricature
Anniversary Illustration
An illustration I made for my other set of grandparents' 50th anniversary.
Birthday Illustration
An illustration of a family portrait as my gift to my friend.
"Paani" Invite Design and Illustration
An illustration design for a friend's "Paani" ceremony invite! "Umbracha Paani" is a cute East Indian pre wedding ritual, where the entire bride squad sets out in a procession with song and dance, to fetch water from a well in the vicinity for the bride to bathe in, before her wedding day! I had the best time illustrating this. We incorporated the traditional drape of the saree in the illustration and even matched the color of the saree to the bride's saree on the day!
Christmas Illustration
Made this illustration for my wife with all her favourite things - Cocoa, our cat and sitting pretty for pictures while I decorate the tree. (Click on the image and scroll to the other images in the carousel in the full screen mode)
First illustration of the year 2024, as is tradition!
Every year, I illustrate something to kick off the new year, in an attempt to set the tone for the whole year. This year I have illustrated a simple routine from my home- we lay out cardboard boxes to play with our cat while watching something on the television, as our tortoise attempts to eat the cat's food. Also, this year, as we are fostering a kitten, I decided to include her in the scene as well.
(Click on the image and scroll to the other images in the carousel in the full screen mode)
Commissioned Anniversary Illustration
An illustration commissioned by my friend as a gift to her husband on their first year anniversary. We tried to add as many life events and elements as possible for it to be a truly unique illustration. (Click on the image and scroll to the other images in the carousel in the full screen mode)
Birthday Illustration
Had a lot of fun making this little illustration for my uncle's 50th birthday! We even used the illustration on a standee for his party's entrance!
(Context for the illustration is that it's been a year and a half since he's moved to Dubai)
Birthday Illustration
I created this illustration for my mother-in-law, featuring her as a cat—her favorite animal—engaged in activities she’s deeply passionate about. The artwork aims to capture the essence of her living life to the fullest and inspiring others through her pursuits. It’s a tribute to her vibrant spirit and the joy she brings to those around her.
New Year 2025 Illustration
First illustration of the year, as is tradition! Every year, I illustrate something to kick off the new year, in an attempt to set the tone for the whole year.
This time, my younger cousin asked that I make something for her. So here's a comic strip showing her Ultra GEN-Z way of ringing in NYE'24—by making a vision board. 💫
Of course, it's all in good humor, I wish her the best!
Anniversary Illustration
I created this illustration for our 3rd marriage anniversary, featuring our two cats, Cato and Chotto. With the help of ChatGPT, I also wrote a small poem that captures the essence of our life together.
Birthday Illustration
I created this illustration to celebrate my mother’s 57th birthday, capturing all the new passions she’s embraced at this stage in life. With a little help from ChatGPT, I also wrote a short poem that reflects her spirit and zest for living.
Birthday Illustration
I created this illustration for my friend, the incredibly talented Vinnie Ann Bose, featuring her alongside characters from her poignant and beautifully crafted film, Sulaimani. This piece was made in celebration of her birthday. I'm deeply grateful for the chance to witness her journey up close, especially as Sulaimani makes its way to Annecy this year.
Birthday Illustration
An illustration created as a birthday gift for my wife, celebrating her world and the people (& animals) closest to her. The artwork features her family — each captured through a characteristic gesture: her mother suggesting sarees, mother-in-law offering flowers, her father presenting rasgullas, and me participating in our shared animal-rescue efforts.
The composition also includes all the cats and dogs we’ve cared for, fed, rescued, and found homes for over the past year, illustrated with their unique colors and markings.
Chaman Chatora- Title and Poster Design
Had the absolute privilege of working on the poster series for Gaurav Kapoor's special 'Chaman Chatora'. We took on the responsibility to design the key art along with its adapts for his India, USA and Canada live tour. The USA and Canada posters have their headings tweaked to 'Gaurav Kapoor live' instead of the niche Hindi title, to cater to a wider audience, with the same aesthetics.
(Click on the image and scroll to the other images in the carousel in full screen mode)
Some explorations we tried for the poster design before we finalised on the design in the previous post. Gaurav Kapoor wanted the backdrop of the poster to be a typography collage of all his jokes and setups (which we have tried here in the second post, which finally got approved).
(Click on the image and scroll to the other images in the carousel in full screen mode)
Polite Provocation- Title and Poster Design
Poster Design for Anirban Dasgupta's stand up tour.
The illustrations are joke setups from his set. We released another version with lesser illustrations.
(Click on the image to go into full screen mode)
Anirban Dasgupta- Cry Daddy - Title and Poster Design
I designed the key art and visual identity for Anirban Dasgupta’s live stand-up comedy show, Cry Daddy. The central image—a photograph of Anirban on a children's roundabout in his residential playground—captured the tone of the show perfectly and became the focal point of the poster.
The word “Cry” in the title gave us the opportunity to incorporate the sad face emoticon :( directly into the design.
We kept the overall aesthetic stark and eye-catching, using just the title and key image to make it stand out as a touring poster.
Adaptations were also created for Instagram posts and ticketing website thumbnails to maintain visual consistency across platforms.
Original Image
Instagram Post (3/3)
Wellness Wisdom- Cover Illustration and Design
I illustrated and designed the cover for my friend Abhishek Maheshwari’s book, which challenges the conventional health narrative that focuses only on diet and exercise. Instead, he presents a holistic approach to well-being built on seven interconnected pillars: Nutrition, Movement, Sleep, Meditation, Emotional Balance, Human Connection, and Joy.
The cover design features a tree—a timeless symbol of growth and wisdom—with seven flourishing branches, each representing one of these essential pillars.
Mahakumbh- Cover Illustration and Design
I illustrated and designed the cover for my friend, Abhishek Maheshwari's book about his experiences from the recently concluded Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The e-book is available on Amazon.
Foundation for Conscious Living – Commentary on Patanjali’s Yogasutras
I designed the covers for this 3-part series “Foundation for Conscious Living – Commentary on Patanjali’s Yogasutras” by Abhishek Maheshwari
The books simplify Patanjali’s teachings for modern life — guiding readers to live with intention, focus & integrity.
For the cover design, I drew inspiration from the concept of chakra alignment — the energy centers in our body that represent different aspects of our consciousness.
🌀 Book 1: The chakras appear scattered — symbolizing the beginning of the journey, where the seeker is just becoming aware.
🌿 Book 2: A sense of structure begins to emerge — as understanding and self-discipline grow.
💫 Book 3: Full alignment — representing clarity, integration, and inner harmony.
The visual flow across the three covers mirrors the internal transformation offered by the Sutras — from chaos to coherence, from Self to Samadhi.
