the last flight

Just the mention of "special glow ink" for the light blue color in this design is enough to make me squeal in delight—and I'm not a squeal-y person.

This is one of my favorite designs. The colors are perfect, the detailing is beautiful, and the idea is neat and well-executed (whatever that means), but what really hooks me is the story. Because there is a story, and it is amazing. What's going on? Are the people tiny, or is the bird giant? Why is the boy dressed in protective racing gear, and the girl not? Where are they flying from? To? And why, why,why is it "the last flight"?

I feel like a fool typing all those questions out, of course, because no one really asks those sort of things out loud. But there's a strange, sweet sadness that I see in this picture, and I love it very much.