Vulfpeck Sleepify Tour Map
11" x 17"; digital; 2024
I was tasked with creating an open-subject, illustrated map for a class project, and chose to depict the 2014 Sleepify Tour journey made by my favorite band, Vulfpeck. Drawing from the quirky nature of their music and the limited palettes of 70s band posters, the final map is a whimsical homage to the venues where the band preformed.
I included aspects of the band's visual identity, such as the prominent light blue and the monospace typewriter font, to make the poster feel as "real" as possible. The story behind the tour, references to the popular songs, and caricatures of the band members aid in this as well.
The Pink Lady Cocktail Spread
11" x 8.5" spread; digital & watercolor; 2024
The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design contributed illustrated cocktail books as freebies at the 2024 ICON12 Illustration Conference, using spreads designed by the then-Junior class. These designs needed to have an illustrated wordmark, historic recipe, and a full-page illustration using MIAD's colors (magenta, red, orange, and blue).
I was fortunate enough to be one of the 16 students selected for the final booklet.
The Pink Lady is a Prohibition-era cocktail. Though some debate remains about its specific namesake and origins, its bright pink, grenadine-fueled color is unquestionable. I created an anthropomorphic Pink Lady to represent the drink, taking inspiration from American 20s fashion. The wordmark on left is a modern twist on 20s sign lettering.
Serpent's Gulch Map
12" x 9"; pen & ink (lines), digital (color); 2023
A map of a fictional Wild West town, created for a TTRPG campaign I ran for my friends.The linework was done traditionally with a dip pen, which I then scanned and rendered digitally.
For the colored version, I tried to balance the rough, weathered feel of old-timey posters while also matching the goofy atmosphere of the campaign.
The illustrated border features symbols representing the magic system, key items, and player characters. Recurring monsters (such as a giant landworm and a sentient cactus) are hidden around the composition in a nod to Medieval maps. All text was hand-rendered and refined digitally.
I developed the final map from a collaborative map made in Roll20, an online TTRPG software. The town started out quite sparce, but as the story continued, my friends and I added more and more features (and silly doodles!)
Saint George's School Fundraising
3 8.5" x 11" full page illustrations; digital & watercolor; 2024
Saint George's School (Spokane, WA) hired me to create three full page illustrations to use in fundraising efforts for the 2024-25 school year.
I used their motto, "Inspiring scholars, athletes, and artists to serve and lead others", as direction for the set. They also requested to see a student from each of their three schools: Lower (K-5), Middle (6-8), and Upper (9-12). Otherwise, I was given free reign to do as I wished.The consistent red and white outfits align with the school's main colors. I also included lots of light blue, as it was historically used by the school for sports uniforms.
I chose to make the scholar a 2nd grade student to show off the prominence of the chess club in the Lower School. The athlete became a 12th grade volleyball player, in order to advertise the school's fundraising efforts for new volleyball uniforms. Instead of a traditional visual artist, I depicted the 7th grader as performance artist as a nod to the growing popularity of musical theater and choir in the Middle School. I kept the backgrounds loose and splattery to emphasize the fun each student is having.
Splash of Color
3 2.5" x 2.5" x 8.75" cans;
pen & ink, watercolor, & digital; 2023
A packaging design system for Splash of Color,
a fictional brand of children's bath bombs.Each can features a unique wrap-around illustration that corresponds with the color of bath bomb contained inside. These illustrations were lined traditionally, before being rendered digitally with custom watercolor textures. The logo is a hand-rendered, vectorized wordmark that draws from the fun and chaotic nature of playing in a bath.
Saint George's School Birthday Postcards
7" x 5"; pen & ink (lines), watercolor; 2022-2024
Originally a personal card design given to one of my former teachers, I later worked with Saint George's School to turn this illustration into their official 2024 birthday postcards for students and faculty.
Ride & Wrench Trek Collaboration
24" x 36"; digital; 2023
Created for a collaboration between Trek Bikes and the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. This piece was one of 20 finalist poster designs in a student competition to create promotional posters for Trek sponsored bike rides. I was assigned the theme "Ride & Wrench," a dual ride and bike maintenance event targeted towards new and younger riders.I was inspired by the limited color palettes and color blocks of mid-century modern illustration. This stylistic direction helped unify the piece, even as I distanced the "Ride" and "Wrench" aspects of the event with different hand lettering and accompanying images. The linework and background were given a gritty texture to mimic the grubby nature of bike riding and repair.
Each participant in the collaboration took two poster concepts to a colored, tight-comp stage to send to the client. Trek selected my left concept, which I took to completion.Edits between my tight-comp and final largely focused on the layout of the "Wrench" text, as well as some refinements with form and color on minor elements.
Make an Impact, Have an Impact
26" x 40"; digital; 2024
Created for a collaboration between Trek Bikes and the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. This piece was one of 20 finalist poster designs in a student competition to create promotional posters for Trek sponsored bike rides. I was assigned the theme "Ride & Wrench," a dual ride and bike maintenance event targeted towards new and younger riders.I was inspired by the limited color palettes and color blocks of mid-century modern illustration. This stylistic direction helped unify the piece, even as I distanced the "Ride" and "Wrench" aspects of the event with different hand lettering and accompanying images. The linework and background were given a gritty texture to mimic the grubby nature of bike riding and repair.
Jelly Sammie
Vectorized Typeface; 2023
Jelly Sammie is a hand-rendered, 3D typeface created for a class project. Its round, wobbly, bottom-heavy forms were inspired by its namesake. It is best used off the baseline and with bright, vibrant colors.My letterform sketches were done freehand with a .7 sized pen, before overlaying a second sheet of paper, retracing, and shifting the base layer to create a uniform, 3D effect. I then scanned, vectorized, and rendered the forms in Illustrator.
How Lucky Am I?
Vectorized Type; 2023
For a class project, which asked us to create a typographic design in a ransom-note style where no two letters could be similar. I chose to use lyrics from How Lucky Am I by The Toxhards, whose alt rock music and punk personality meshed well with the inherent chaos of the project.
Inoptimum Security
21.5" x 9.5" wrap-around dust jacket; digital; 2024
Inoptimum Security is a (fake) Young Adult sci-fi novel about a group of interstellar art thieves. I wrote up a fictional summary, set of reviews, and author blurb to set into an illustrated dust jacket. I hand-rendered the title and subtitles in sketchy, quirky letters to emphasize the funny, fast-paced nature of the book. The trail of the main flying saucer spins out across the front cover, highlighting the author's name on the spine and the summary on the back cover.
As part of ideating for this project, I designed the four main characters: three aliens and the protagonist, a poor, abducted human security guard named Rico. They are visible in the flying saucer on the front cover. I designed each to be visually distinct at a distance while still sharing similar colors (blue and green, as well as red and yellow for the alien characters).
Selected spreads from my recent sketchbooks. (Not all of them are this pretty!)
I typically work in a 5" x 8.5" journal, using ink, watercolor, colored pencil, or anything else I can find.
Hey, I'm Sydney!
I’m a senior at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, where I major in Illustration and minor in Communication Design. I work with ink, watercolor, and digital methods to make bright and whimsical pieces. Cryptids, maps, and fun outfits are my favorite things to draw! I also enjoy tackling type-based design projects, whether it's a hand-rendered T-shirt design or a full editorial booklet.When I’m not working, I’m usually reading, playing D&D with my friends, or poorly strumming ukulele chords while “singing” (I’ve also heard it described as “screeching”, “calling whales”, and “summoning banshees from the pits of hell”. I suppose it's up to debate!)Check out my Instagram or send me an email at: