Randal Birkey Illustration Portfolio
Aerial Perspective Illustration
Milltown Aerial Perspective
This aerial perspective of the Atlanta area showing some points of interest was done for Kodak, who was a sponsor of the Summer Olympics there in the 80s.
Michigan Avenue Bank Aerial Location Map
This aerial perspective of the Atlanta area showing some points of interest was done for Kodak, who was a sponsor of the Summer Olympics there in the 80s.
Memphis Arts Council Aerial Map
This aerial perspective of the Atlanta area showing some points of interest was done for Kodak, who was a sponsor of the Summer Olympics there in the 80s.
Summer Olympics Aerial Map
This aerial perspective of the Atlanta area showing some points of interest was done for Kodak, who was a sponsor of the Summer Olympics there in the 80s.
Spanish Mission
This aerial perspective of a Spanish style mission was done for a textbook publisher. The ideas came from furnished historical references. The original digital art was done using Corel Painter, a Wacom tablet and a Macintosh computer.
Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago, Illinois
I have a friend named Linda VanderWeele, who did a lot of graphic design in the 1980s for various Chicago area firms. One of her clients was the Chicago Board of Trade. They commissioned her to design a coffee table piece on the architectural history and interest of...
Architectural Illustration
American Invsco – Delaware Place – Chicago, Illinois
OBJECTIVE A leading US condominium developer, American Invsco, required a marketing map and new condo building illustration of a new development in Chicago called Delaware Place. SOLUTION Randal Birkey created a street level detail map of the neighborhood around the...
55 W. Wacker Drive Architectural Illustration
The Customer's Need The office of the building at 55 West Wacker Dr. in Chicago, Illinois required an illustration of their building for use on printed note cards in order to extend the branding and image of their building property. Randal's Solution Randal Birkey...
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...
John Franke House Illustration – Ft. Wayne, Indiana
Francis Barry Byrne designed this home in the Prairie School style of architectural design for John B. Franke of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Randal did this line illustration of the home-based upon a visit to the site in the early 1980's.
Corinthian Column Diagram
Randal Birkey created this line drawing of a Corinthian-style Greek column, as a diagram for a book on architecture. The original was done by hand with Rapidograph ink pens on drafting mylar film using architectural drafting techniques.
Citibank Center Bank Entrance
Randal Birkey was commissioned to render an updated design for the Citibank branch location in Oakbrook, Illinois. The perspective view below was developed from architectural blueprints using 3D modeling software on an Apple Macintosh computer. The perspective view...
Automotive Illustration
Renault Elf Formula 1 Race Car
This pen and ink cutaway technical illustration was done by the illustrator based on his personal knowledge of the Renault Elf Formula 1 race car. The color version was done with color pencil on drafting vellum at approx. 24" x 36"
1972 Datsun 240z Cutaway Diagram
This pen and ink cutaway technical illustration was done by the illustrator based on his personal experience and knowledge in owning, driving, and rebuilding a 1972 Datsun 240z.
Automotive Engine Piston Pin Sketch
This quick pen & ink sketch was completed in the process of generating illustration and layout ideas for an automotive aftermarket manufacturer.
Amtech Automotive Cutaway
This is a pen & ink illustration of a generic auto was completed for an automotive aftermarket manufacturer.
1955 Ford F-100 Pickup
This is a pen & ink illustration of a 1955 Ford F-100 owned by the illustrator. It was composed and conceived from reference photographs and first-hand knowledge of the truck from the restoration process. The original was done on 20" x 30" cold press illustration...
4-Cylinder Ford Engine
This is a cutaway illustration of a Ford 4-Cylinder engine back in the days of the Ford Pinto (circa 1970's). It was done by hand with pen and ink on illustration board from technical references.
Cartoon Illustration
Ameritech Mobile Cartoons
The illustrator did many simple line cartoon-style illustrations for Ameritech Mobile in the 1980s when mobile phones were large, and called "cell phones."
Man and Woman
A line and watercolor cartoon illustration of a man and woman.
Crazy Car
A quick sketch of a crazy car by the illustrator using a standard pencil on sketchbook paper.
Cutaway Illustration
4-Cylinder Ford Engine
This is a cutaway illustration of a Ford 4-Cylinder engine back in the days of the Ford Pinto (circa 1970's). It was done by hand with pen and ink on illustration board from technical references.
Abloy Lock Technical Illustration
The Customer's Need The manufacturer of Abloy Locks required an illustration to reveal the unique tumbler technology used in their locks for a trade advertisement. Randal's Solution Randal was contacted by the manufacturer's ad agency in the 1980's and contracted to...
Nuclear Reactor Cutaway Illustration
Randal Birkey was contracted by Boston Edison, a Massachusetts utility company, to complete a series of technical illustrations for a public relations brochure. This image is a nuclear reactor core, with the sides shown cutaway to reveal the rods inside. The...
Digital Illustration
Base Maps
OBJECTIVE To create a number of Chicago area base maps in Adobe Illustrator (Postscript - vector) format, to enable a wide range of customization and personalization by RANDAL BIRKEY clients. SOLUTION Randal Birkey has created a number of such base maps that can be...
Underwriter Laboratories and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition
The world renowned Underwriter Laboratories (UL) of product safety testing and standards fame, contracted Randal Birkey to create an illustration out of an old historical print depicting a scene from the Chicago Fire. It was to be reproduced in a company publication...
Nuclear Reactor Cutaway Illustration
Randal Birkey was contracted by Boston Edison, a Massachusetts utility company, to complete a series of technical illustrations for a public relations brochure. This image is a nuclear reactor core, with the sides shown cutaway to reveal the rods inside. The...
Da Vinci’s "Vitruvian Man" Adapted Illustration
"Vitruvian man, a figure study by Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1509) illustrating the proportional canon laid down by the Classical Roman architect Vitruvius; in the Academy of Fine Arts, Venice." -- Encyclopaedia Britannica This is Randal Birkey's simplified and adapted...
Mita Copier Technical Product Illustration
Chicago is a very commercial, product-driven town when it comes to advertising and design work. Randal did this product illustration in Adobe Illustrator for an ad featuring a Mita copier. This technical line art style lends itself well to newspaper and magazine...
Conceptual Globe Line Illustration Series
A business story-parable was written by a client of Randal Birkey's in the 1980's. Randal sketched a series of globes in various circumstances to visually illustrate the story. The story and illustrations were used in a brochure promoting the client's design firm and...
Editorial Illustration
Minneapolis Magazine Cover
This illustration was done in pencil for a Minnesota Magazine cover editorial article on "Growing Minneapolis".
Cityscape Facade
This illustration was done for a magazine cover to illustrate an editorial article on city management. It was done in pencil first, then finished with color pencil shading for a sketchy look.
Graphs | Charts | Diagrams
Financial Report Graph
This financial report graph was done in Adobe Illustrator for a Chicago-based financial institution annual report.
Financial Growth Graph
This financial growth graph was done in Adobe Illustrator for a Chicago-based financial institution annual report.
Business Solution Map
This hand-drawn sketch was done with sepia Sharpie markers on white tracing paper, as part of a business architecture consulting project for a major healthcare insurance provider. Laster, these sketches were turned into Adobe Illustrator digital diagram artwork....
ASP.NET Architecture Diagram
Seems like I am always making these little sketches to show people I am talking with, some of the ideas and concepts behind the type of websites we build at BIRKEY.COM. I made this sketch recently when explaining the difference between a typical classic Microsoft...
Map Illustration
Base Maps
OBJECTIVE To create a number of Chicago area base maps in Adobe Illustrator (Postscript - vector) format, to enable a wide range of customization and personalization by RANDAL BIRKEY clients. SOLUTION Randal Birkey has created a number of such base maps that can be...
American Invsco – Delaware Place – Chicago, Illinois
OBJECTIVE A leading US condominium developer, American Invsco, required a marketing map and new condo building illustration of a new development in Chicago called Delaware Place. SOLUTION Randal Birkey created a street level detail map of the neighborhood around the...
US Swine Flu Map Animation
The team at Headstand Media produced a US Swine Flu Map Animation which was online at http://www.swine-flu-map-animation.com This tool was used on a daily basis to track the spread of the disease over time from state to state in a visual and animated manner. It...
Corporate Site Plan Illustration
Randal Birkey created this site plan of what eventually became an insurance office campus in the northern suburbs of Chicago in the 1980’s. The developer was Homart, and the project called Riverwoods. The original art was done with pen and ink line work, and color...
Rand McNally CityFlash Maps
OBJECTIVE As the recognized premier global map company, Rand McNally was exploring the possible transition from traditional cartography techniques to digital map production in the late 1980s. A new product line called "CityFlash" maps were to be their first test map...
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 housing development by Pacific-Sakata, in the 1980s. The development was called Falling Water, similar to the name of a famous Frank Lloyd Wright...
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...
Master Plan Drawings
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 housing development by Pacific-Sakata, in the 1980s. The development was called Falling Water, similar to the name of a famous Frank Lloyd Wright...
Pen & Ink Drawings
Madman
This sketch was done for potential use in a Lenten sermon series based on a biblical passage found in Luke 8:26-39.
John Franke House Illustration – Ft. Wayne, Indiana
Francis Barry Byrne designed this home in the Prairie School style of architectural design for John B. Franke of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Randal did this line illustration of the home-based upon a visit to the site in the early 1980's.
Conceptual Globe Line Illustration Series
A business story-parable was written by a client of Randal Birkey's in the 1980's. Randal sketched a series of globes in various circumstances to visually illustrate the story. The story and illustrations were used in a brochure promoting the client's design firm and...
Corinthian Column Diagram
Randal Birkey created this line drawing of a Corinthian-style Greek column, as a diagram for a book on architecture. The original was done by hand with Rapidograph ink pens on drafting mylar film using architectural drafting techniques.
Old Man
Randal was looking through some "pen and ink" art books and decided to try his hand sketching a man in one of the books. This sketch was done 20 to 25 years ago and probably took about 2-3 minutes to complete. That's really the whole idea. Just do it - quick, sketchy,...
Frank Thomas House, Oak Park, Illinois
Deb and I got married in 1980, and settled in Oak Park quite by chance. We really did not know much about the community and its history at the time. In those early years, we discovered the Frank Lloyd Wright connection and became fascinated by his designs. This is a...
Pencil 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 housing development by Pacific-Sakata, in the 1980s. The development was called Falling Water, similar to the name of a famous Frank Lloyd Wright...
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...
ASP.NET Architecture Diagram
Seems like I am always making these little sketches to show people I am talking with, some of the ideas and concepts behind the type of websites we build at BIRKEY.COM. I made this sketch recently when explaining the difference between a typical classic Microsoft...
Product Illustration
Abloy Lock Technical Illustration
The Customer's Need The manufacturer of Abloy Locks required an illustration to reveal the unique tumbler technology used in their locks for a trade advertisement. Randal's Solution Randal was contacted by the manufacturer's ad agency in the 1980's and contracted to...
Mita Copier Technical Product Illustration
Chicago is a very commercial, product-driven town when it comes to advertising and design work. Randal did this product illustration in Adobe Illustrator for an ad featuring a Mita copier. This technical line art style lends itself well to newspaper and magazine...
Technical Illustration
4-Cylinder Ford Engine
This is a cutaway illustration of a Ford 4-Cylinder engine back in the days of the Ford Pinto (circa 1970's). It was done by hand with pen and ink on illustration board from technical references.
Abloy Lock Technical Illustration
The Customer's Need The manufacturer of Abloy Locks required an illustration to reveal the unique tumbler technology used in their locks for a trade advertisement. Randal's Solution Randal was contacted by the manufacturer's ad agency in the 1980's and contracted to...
Nuclear Reactor Cutaway Illustration
Randal Birkey was contracted by Boston Edison, a Massachusetts utility company, to complete a series of technical illustrations for a public relations brochure. This image is a nuclear reactor core, with the sides shown cutaway to reveal the rods inside. The...
Mita Copier Technical Product Illustration
Chicago is a very commercial, product-driven town when it comes to advertising and design work. Randal did this product illustration in Adobe Illustrator for an ad featuring a Mita copier. This technical line art style lends itself well to newspaper and magazine...
Vector Illustration
Concept Car
A vector-based concept car illustration by the illustrator, completed in Adobe Illustrator software.
US Swine Flu Map Animation
The team at Headstand Media produced a US Swine Flu Map Animation which was online at http://www.swine-flu-map-animation.com This tool was used on a daily basis to track the spread of the disease over time from state to state in a visual and animated manner. It...
Chicago Bears Stadium Rendered Elevation
In the 1980's, Randal Birkey was commissioned to assist in the production of large 40" x 60" presentation boards of a proposed architectural design for a new Chicago Bears stadium competition. The architect and engineering design team were able to export their CAD...
Rand McNally CityFlash Maps
OBJECTIVE As the recognized premier global map company, Rand McNally was exploring the possible transition from traditional cartography techniques to digital map production in the late 1980s. A new product line called "CityFlash" maps were to be their first test map...
Exelon
Back in the 1990's, I did a series of illustrations for a designer friend of mine, who was designing some print brochures for Exelon, the energy company. The illustrations had to communicate about business, energy, technology, manufacturing, building relationships,...
Watercolor Painting
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...
Citibank Center Bank Entrance
Randal Birkey was commissioned to render an updated design for the Citibank branch location in Oakbrook, Illinois. The perspective view below was developed from architectural blueprints using 3D modeling software on an Apple Macintosh computer. The perspective view...
Dearborn Street Mansion, Chicago, Illinois
This is a watercolor architectural illustration of a renovation project on N. Dearborn Street in Chicago. It was commissioned early in the 1980s as Randal was starting his freelance illustration career. A real estate developer was rehabbing this mansion into a...
Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago, Illinois
I have a friend named Linda VanderWeele, who did a lot of graphic design in the 1980s for various Chicago area firms. One of her clients was the Chicago Board of Trade. They commissioned her to design a coffee table piece on the architectural history and interest of...