Hey, I'm Brad Samuelson.
Illustrator, Cartoonist,
and Storyteller
I can help make your projects more interesting with custom illustrations.
Case studies
Mascot for a massage studio
Editorial illustration
Character design
More work
Mascot design - Mueng Thai
Mueng Thai is a massage studio focusing on modern massage techniques. They were seeking a mascot to enhance their brand and show a fun side of their business.We created a character with roots in Thai culture. The elephant was depicted in a way that showed respect but also in a style that illustrated the modern, fun nature of the owners of the studio.
Scope
Character design
Illustration
As a startup massage studio working to build their brand from the ground up, Mueng Thai focuses on modern massage techniques and are out to create a clean, safe, and fun environment for working professionals in Vancouver, BC.To present themselves as a fun, yet innovative and unique massage studio, the owners of Mueng Thai wanted to incorporate a mascot for the brand in a clean, modern style, that could be used in marketing material as well as decorating the walls of the studio’s physical location.
The Process
To represent Thai culture, the owners of the studio knew they wanted to use an elephant as the mascot to convey strength, loyalty, and longevity. So I started sketching elephants. Lots of elephants. Starting from reference images, I then moved on to creating a series of sketches in different styles to narrow down the concept of the character design.
Once we settled on a style and an initial set of poses for the character, we wanted to push it a little more toward their brand. The client uses a lotus flower in their logo and wanted to see if there was a way to incorporate that with the character.
The Outcome
The initial set of images were created to be used in marketing material, with the expectation that more poses and images will be created as needed.
The Impact
As the studio brand continues to take shape, the owners loved the process of creating their mascot…
We were looking for something unique to help establish our brand, and Brad absolutely delivered! He’s super easy to work with, and his ideas are top notch.
Not only did Brad surpass our expectations, he’s created something wonderful and timeless for our new business. We’re happy beyond words, and wholeheartedly recommend Brad: he’s efficient, effective, and above all he’ll deliver a unique perspective.
At first, we were overwhelmed by all of the art possibilities, but we’re so glad we tried Brad’s services. We needed something to help our marketing ideas stand out and AI simply couldn’t deliver, but Brad nailed it. He’s great to work with!
Sivakorn Somnuek
Mueng Thai Modern Massage
Looking for an illustrator for your next project?
Editorial illustrations
Conveying ideas in written word can sometimes be difficult. Creating a visual element in the form of an illustration helps bring those ideas to life for the reader of an article, newsletter, or blog post. When I write or read an article, my brain already starts to process these stories visually, so it’s a natural progression to create an illustration to accompany the writing.
Scope
Illustration
The Process
This example is a personal project depicting an article about the impact of AI on artists and illustrators, comparing it to the adoption of photography.
When working on an editorial illustration, I’ll start by creating a series of concept sketches to find the best way to convey the main idea of the article. After deciding on the concept, I’ll then work out the composition and visual style that best fits.
For this illustration, the focus is on similarities between the introduction of photography and its impact on artists to what we're seeing now with AI technology. I also wanted to include photographers now being in a similar situation as artists.
When the main illustration is done, it can be helpful to create spot illustrations to be used throughout the article to continue to provide interest and carry the theme throughout.
The Impact
Studies have shown that including a color visual with an article increases the willingness to read by 80%. Research has also found that posts with graphic images have 650% higher engagement than content with just text.
Here's a sample of more editorial illustrations, both for personal projects and for online articles.
Have an article or post that could use some visual interest?
Character design and animation
A freelance instructional designer, working on a course to promote best practices for sickness prevention in a pharmacy, needed a character design and illustrations to make the course fun and engaging.I created a germ character (named Germy) to be a mischievous villain in the course, trying to get people sick.
Scope
Character design
Illustration
Animation
Creating instructional courses in the corporate world can be a difficult job. It’s a challenge to create an engaging course with, sometimes dry, content so the best instructional designers bring their creativity to keep their courses fun and enjoyable while still providing valuable information.I worked with a talented designer who had an idea to turn what could have been a boring course into a fun and engaging experience. The goal of the corse was to provide best practices for cold and flu prevention in a pharmacy setting. To achieve this, the designer had an idea to create a germ character to serve as the villain of the course.
The Process
After getting a good handle on the idea from the designer, I created a number of sketches for the character design along with a few scenarios in which he could be placed.
Once we decided on a style, several illustrations and poses were created to bring the character to life.
While working on the illustrations for the course, it became clear that a good way to push the project even further would be to animate the character so I created some simple animations that could be used within the course.
The Outcome
The final illustrations and animations added a level of fun to an otherwise mundane subject to help the designer create something that could be really engaging for the audience.
Need a character design or animation to push your project to the next level?