Midwest to Infinity

Notes on the design

Monoline pen illustration done in Procreate.

This started as a concept sketch for a client that was eventually rejected, so I took the line drawing of the 'Westside' W hand and added the M to rep the flyover states where I'm from.

My little spin on this iconic hand gesture was making the crossed fingers into a loop, mainly just for something goofy and to provoke the viewer with a subtle illusion.

Given the rough, inky lines of the hands, I added the 'Midwest' lettering in a similar, loose, loopy handwriting style, then a drop shadow to pop the letters off the artwork a little more.

After combining the lettering and illustration, I played around with color fills and decided to add the starry badge and 'Saved by the Bell'-inspired confetti.

The story behind the piece

Since it's currently below zero and snowy up here in the Midwest states, I wanted to evoke a warm, sunny state of mind with an 80's-90's party vibe.

Since we lack the major media markets and cultural gravitas of the coasts, self-deprecating humor about our complex of trying too hard to be cool is worth poking a little fun at.