STRIVE: STAFF MAGE
Featured from “SYNDICATE XVI” 2025 Illustration MFA Visual Thesis Exhibition, FIT
This card rivals The Empress for the top spot in my heart. It was one of my most challenging cards to illustrate, going through a few iterations to get it just right. I had some great guidance from my classmate Roo, who is an incredibly talented illustrator who can easily create any creature or animal. As a part of our thesis class, I also was given the opportunity to get feedback from Armando Veve who really pushed me to make this illustration dynamic. Featured in the “SYNDICATE XVI” 2025 Illustration MFA Visual Thesis Exhibition.
Medium: Digital, Photoshop.
Process: The original sketch started digitally but after feedback the sketch below, on paper with pencils, was the one that moved forward.
The final digital piece came together from a digital sketch into a loose render in grayscale which gets multiple layers of gradient maps and overlays to get a sense of mood and color. Everything gets merged into one layer before focusing on the final render pass.
Sketch
Card