Norfolk, VA Landmarks

A personal piece celebrating Norfolk, Virginia — a city I lived in for about four years while my wife was at EVMS, in the Ghent neighborhood. This one started as flat 2D icons, the same way most of my illustration work begins, before I pushed the whole set through a claymation-style 3D render: the MacArthur Memorial, the Chrysler Museum's rotunda, the Harrison Opera House, the NARO cinema marquee, the old trolley, Nauticus, even the mermaid sculptures the city's known for, all rebuilt as soft, tactile little objects scattered across one blue backdrop like a collection of toys.
Detail of Norfolk landmarks illustration showing Scope Arena and sailboats
Clay-style 3D illustration of Norfolk, Virginia landmarks on a blue backdrop

Taking something flat and turning it dimensional is one of my favorite parts of the process — it’s where a set of icons stops being a map legend and starts feeling like a place you could reach out and pick up. Norfolk earned that treatment; it’s a city I have a lot of affection for.

Detail of Norfolk landmarks illustration showing the Nauticus lion and Chrysler Museum
Detail of Norfolk landmarks illustration showing Ghent row houses and Doumar's sign
Detail of Norfolk landmarks illustration showing the trolley, church tower and anchor