You might have seen Syd Weiler’s illustrations without even realizing it. Her “trash doves” – wonky-looking illustrations of pigeons – turned into an overnight sensation. An illustrator, animator, and visual development artist, Weiler has made the best out of her online fame, with clients that include Adobe, Mattel, and TIME Magazine.
Recalling how her pigeon drawing went insanely viral, Weiler shared with The Great Discontent how she drew the pigeon after observing birds in Loring Park, Minneapolis. “I’d never really thought about pigeons before, but they’re kind of weird—their feathers are iridescent in the sunlight, but they kind of bobble around strangely,” she joked. “They’re pretty, but also kind of dumb.” She tweeted her quick sketch which she figured nobody would care about. “It ended up becoming my most popular tweet!” she recalls. “People loved this silly little pigeon drawing.” From there, the rest was history.
But Weiler’s artworks go way further than her wonky pigeon drawings. Growing up in West Virginia, creativity was a huge part of her childhood. Studying first at private art classes and later in Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida, her portfolio is rich with unique digital illustrations.
“This experience has definitely taught me how fast the internet moves, but also how quickly it moves on after the initial hype dies down,” she admits. “I’ve seen the flip side of virality: marketing teams are always trying to make this happen, but what happened to me is something money can’t buy.”
We highly recommend you follow Weiler on Instagram.
