Inky Lantern Studio

Themed environments and experiences for small attractions and venues: the story, the layout, and the look.

Inky Lantern Studio is led by Julia Bilenko, founder and creative director.

See the work
Concept painting: the iron gates of Thornwick Academy at night, lamplit windows and violet mist

Ten years designing theme parks. Now whole spaces for smaller venues.

I've drawn land concepts, props, attraction assets and characters for the studios that build them. At Inky Lantern Studio, we bring that craft to bars, family entertainment centres and attractions without an in-house creative team: a story, a plan, and pictures a fabricator can price and build from.

Small budgets and awkward buildings are the normal case, not the exception.

Family entertainment centres and indoor attractions; immersive dining, themed bars and hospitality; visitor attractions, seasonal events and pop-ups; themed areas within larger parks.

Selected projects

A Night at Thornwick

Immersive dining concept, Inky Lantern Studio

Isometric venue sketch (open full size)
Isometric venue sketch

An immersive dinner in an old school of witchcraft: 96 guests, a seven-act story timed to the courses, a talking cat who travels through shadows, and something under the building that wakes up. Designed as a complete package: story, characters, zoned venue plan, guest flow, menu outline and physical effects.

Drawn by Julia Bilenko
Client
Original IP, seeking a venue partner
Year
2026
Status
Concept, pitch-ready
Role
Author, concept and spatial design
Delivered
Story bible, concept art, venue sketch and plan, run of show, menu
Zoned plan with guest flow (open full size)
Zoned plan with guest flow
Umbra, built from projection and light (open full size)
Umbra, built from projection and light
The Choice (open full size)
The Choice

© 2026 Inky Lantern Studio. The full concept deck is available under NDA: ask for it by email.

Eurosat “Artist Studio” facades, Europa-Park

From concept to fabrication drawings

Street-side facades: elevations with material call-outs (open full size)
Street-side facades: elevations with material call-outs

Facade schematics for the Artist Studio scenes: elevations with materials, colours and fixings called out so the scenic contractor could price and build from the sheets. The same drawings carried the look from concept renders into the workshop.

Drawn by Julia Bilenko
Client / venue
Europa-Park, Eurosat
Year
2018
Status
Built
Role
Scenic elevations variants
Delivered
Facade elevations, material and colour schedules, detail views
Side elevations and detail views (open full size)
Side elevations and detail views

Concept art by Julia Bilenko for Scruffy Dog Productions Ltd. Project © Scruffy Dog Productions Ltd and its clients. Brands belong to their owners.

LEGOLAND California: Dino Valley map

Park-scale illustration

Dino Valley guest map, LEGOLAND California (open full size)
Dino Valley guest map, LEGOLAND California

An illustrated land map for the opening of Dino Valley: every ride, path and planting bed drawn to read at a glance, in the LEGOLAND house style. Also shown: land-entrance visuals for LEGOLAND Deutschland.

Drawn by Julia Bilenko
Client / venue
LEGOLAND California Resort (Merlin)
Year
2023
Status
Published
Role
Illustration and visual development
Delivered
Guest map artwork, entrance visuals
Land entrance visual, LEGOLAND Deutschland (open full size)
Land entrance visual, LEGOLAND Deutschland

Concept art by Julia Bilenko for Glen Chambers design and Scruffy Dog Productions Ltd (entrance visual). LEGOLAND® is a trademark of the LEGO Group.

I’m A Celebrity… Jungle Challenge

Indoor visitor attraction

Arrival hall: the jungle canopy and show letters (open full size)
Arrival hall: the jungle canopy and show letters

Concept visuals for an indoor jungle attraction built on a TV format: the arrival hall, wayfinding and trial signage, the high-ropes trials and the themed refreshment shack that turns the exit into food and drink revenue.

Drawn by Julia Bilenko
Client / venue
ITV
Year
2018
Status
Built
Role
Concept visuals and signage
Delivered
Key visuals, signage family, F&B unit concept
Trial signage family (open full size)
Trial signage family
High-ropes trials (open full size)
High-ropes trials
Refreshment shack (open full size)
Refreshment shack

Concept art by Julia Bilenko for Scruffy Dog Productions Ltd. Project © Scruffy Dog Productions Ltd and its clients. Format and brand belong to their owners.

Themed food units, props and scenic dressing

Props and scenic packages

Food carts and ship-fronted kiosk (open full size)
Food carts and ship-fronted kiosk

Prop and scenic sheets from themed lands: food carts and a ship-fronted kiosk, lantern and banner families, a bamboo canopy, hero trees, glowing planting and interior set pieces. Each sheet is drawn so a fabricator can quote from it: front, side, scale and finish.

Drawn by Julia Bilenko
Client / venue
Various themed lands
Year
2017–2019
Status
Built and concept
Role
Prop design and art direction
Delivered
Prop sheets with scale, finish and reference
Lantern and banner family (open full size)
Lantern and banner family
Bamboo canopy structure (open full size)
Bamboo canopy structure
Hero trees (open full size)
Hero trees
Glowing planting (open full size)
Glowing planting
Interior set pieces (open full size)
Interior set pieces

Concept art by Julia Bilenko for Scruffy Dog Productions Ltd. Project © Scruffy Dog Productions Ltd and its clients. Brands belong to their owners.

Atmosphere: after dark

Night shows, dark rides and park visuals

Illuminated park masterplan (open full size)
Illuminated park masterplan

Key visuals for evening programmes and dark-ride scenes: a park-wide illuminated masterplan, a fireworks finale, a glowing forest walk, a dark-ride laboratory. The pictures that get an evening programme approved.

Drawn by Julia Bilenko
Client / venue
Various
Year
2017–2020
Status
Mixed
Role
Key visuals and mood development
Delivered
Concept paintings and night-time masterplan
Fireworks finale (open full size)
Fireworks finale
Glowing forest walk (open full size)
Glowing forest walk
Dark-ride laboratory scene (open full size)
Dark-ride laboratory scene

Concept art by Julia Bilenko for Scruffy Dog Productions Ltd. Project © Scruffy Dog Productions Ltd and its clients. Brands belong to their owners.

From story to something you can build

  1. Stage 1

    Concept and story

    A clear idea and a world to build it in. Written first, drawn second.

  2. Stage 2

    Layout and guest flow

    Zoning, sightlines, capacity and the route from arrival to exit.

  3. Stage 3

    Key visuals

    Mood and views that sell the idea to a board, a landlord or a lender.

  4. Stage 4

    Assets and props

    Elevations, prop sheets and material call-outs ready for fabricators to price and build.

Let’s build extraordinary places

We’re open to design projects for small venues, and to partnerships with fabricators, builders and operators. Julia leads concept and design, and we bring in illustrators, technical designers and fabricators as a project needs them.

Email Julia

julietbilnko@gmail.com