A Japanese artist has created a series of animal characters for a country estate.

Hideyuki Sobue, who has lived in the Lake District for two decades, was commissioned by Wild Boar Estate near Windermere to design the artwork.

His creations are inspired by the area's wildlife and famous authors, including Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth.

The project features some of the Lake District's most recognisable animals, portrayed with distinct personalities.

These include a newt for the estate’s microbrewery, a wild cat to celebrate its whisky offering, a pheasant for its private woodland, and a queen bee for its hives and honey.

Other characters include squirrels, foxes, owls, and the estate's namesake, the wild boar, which has been used for the estate’s new logo.

Mr Sobue said: "This has been an exciting project to help give Wild Boar Estate a more distinctive style, character and personality.

"I aimed to blend traditional and historical Lake District themes with a contemporary take on storytelling using memorable characters across all areas of the estate."

Hideyuki Sobue with character drawings for Wild Boar Estate (Image: Supplied) His artwork is created using a brush hatching technique with Japanese sumi ink, a method originally adopted from ancient China.

It is also underpinned by a linear structure and oriented lines for each drawing, inspired by the early Renaissance period's 'disegno' concept.

Colin Fox, group marketing manager of English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues, said: "Hideyuki Sobue is a wonderful artist who we have known for many years.

"We really loved his Allan Bank portfolio in particular, and I felt it would work fantastically well for the Wild Boar Estate to build on our company mantra of respect, creativity and fun.

"We loved the idea of these character drawings of woodland animals, and using their individual home names like squirrel’s drey, fox’s den and owl’s nest for our new room categories, signage, and overall rebranding for the estate."

Mr Sobue's previous projects include 'A Letter to the Earth from Beatrix', a tribute to Beatrix Potter's creativity and legacy, and a portrait of William Wordsworth displayed at Rydal Mount.

Both projects received critical acclaim.