Map Icon

Map Icon Illustration - Puppet

Map Icon Illustration - Puppet

CLIENT

Archer Malmo, Inc.
Memphis, Tennesee

OBJECTIVE

The agency, Archer Malmo required some small “fun” cartoon images to use as spots relating to the poster size map illustration for the Memphis Arts Council (See Map Illustration section).

SOLUTION

Randal Birkey created several cartoon images to stand alone and separate from the illustrated map. These were used to highlight other areas of copy and information on the fold out map poster.

Contact BIRKEY.COM for all your digital icons and illustration needs.

Deep Tunnel Project Entrance Rendering

Randal Birkey was contracted by an architect to prepare a rendering of a proposed entrance structure design near a Chicago “Deep Tunnel Project” location. Randal went on site and took reference photos. He then inserted the architect’s entrance design–based upon scale design drawings–into the scene and rendered it in a line and watercolor style.

Deep Tunnel Project Entrance Design

Deep Tunnel Project Entrance Design

Aerial Perspective of a Milltown

An educational textbook publisher contracted Randal for an aerial perspective map of a typical mill town for use in a textbook. Randal made up the view based upon elements required by the publisher in order to visually illustrate the textbook lesson.

Randal used Fractal Painter software on a Macintosh computer using a Wacom tablet to digitally illustrate in a line and watercolor style. The final illustration was delivered via file transfer protocol as a digital file.

Milltown Aerial Perspective Illustration

Falling Water Master Site Plan

This site plan map was done for Lipman-Hearne, a Chicago design firm that was designing print materials for a residential development for Pacific-Sakata, in the 1980’s. The development was called Falling Water, similar to the name of a famous Frank Lloyd Wright house in Pennsylvania. The design firm entered the printed piece in a design contest and won a design award. The illustration is pen and ink line art on illustration board and shaded with color pencil.

Fallingwater Development Master Plan

Falling Water Development Master Plan

Chicago Area Map Illustrations

I’ve done so many map illustrations in my career, I’ve lost count. Many of them are of the Chicago area. The one on the left I did in 1995 of the Chicago area, featuring all the main Interstate highways, Lake Michigan, the outline of Chicago and border counties. It was done in color pencil, probably on 100% rag drawing vellum. I just found it looking through archives on my hard drive.

The other one is an aerial map done in the same color pencil style. I did it for myself initially, then Rand McNally found it on my BIRKEY.COM portfolio website, and used it on the cover of their Chicago Streetfinder Map edition. The University of Chicago also found it on my portfolio site and used it for an event poster.

Chicago Aerial Map

Chicago Aerial Map

Chicago Area Map

Chicago Area Map