Color: The palettes are intentionally restricted, favoring soft, desaturated warm tones like beige, dusty pink, pale orange, and muted blues or greys. This limited use of color creates a cohesive, calm, and slightly nostalgic atmosphere, emphasizing form and composition over vibrant hues.
Lighting: Lighting is typically soft, diffuse, and flat, mimicking overcast daylight or neutral studio conditions. There's a distinct lack of harsh shadows or dramatic highlights, contributing to the simplified, graphic quality and focusing attention on the subjects and their arrangements. It feels unobtrusive and observational.
Design Technique: The styles employ a clean, painterly technique with simplified forms and often feature isolated figures or small groups in sparse environments or staged interiors. Anthropomorphism (cats, pandas) and unexpected juxtapositions (astronauts at a birthday party, diverse figures watching TV) are common, creating a subtle surrealism or narrative ambiguity. Compositions are often balanced and deliberately understated.