Stock art looks like everyone else. McBorrough creates custom illustrations from your story, brand, idea and audience so the finished artwork belongs to your visual world instead of coming from the same library everyone else is using.
CUSTOM ILLUSTRATION AND ORIGINAL ART
Custom Illustration and Art Services in Northern Virginia
Custom Illustrations Drawn for Your Brand Only
From mascots and characters to editorial art, packaging, apparel, books and campaign graphics, we create original artwork designed around how your business actually plans to use it.
ART WITH A JOB TO DO
Original Art Can Become Part of the Brand.
A custom illustration can do more than decorate a page. It can become a mascot customers recognize, a campaign image people remember, a packaging system, a character used across social media or a visual style that belongs specifically to your company.
That is the difference between choosing something that looks good and developing artwork that becomes part of the business. We begin with what the art needs to communicate, where it will appear and how it may need to grow over time.
STORY – CHARACTER – STYLE – APPLICATION – BRAND
WHAT WE CREATE
Illustration Built Around the Story and the Use
BRAND AND MASCOT DESIGN
Give the Brand a Character People Remember.
A mascot can become one of the most recognizable assets a brand owns. It can appear on the website, social content, advertising, packaging, signage, merchandise, events and campaigns while maintaining the same core identity.
We can develop the original character and then expand it into additional poses, expressions, scenes and applications so the mascot becomes a usable system rather than a single drawing.
CHARACTER – POSES – EXPRESSIONS – CAMPAIGNS – MERCHANDISE
EDITORIAL AND CAMPAIGN ILLUSTRATION
Create the Visual Instead of Searching for It.
Sometimes the image a campaign needs does not exist. Custom illustration lets us build the scene, concept, metaphor or visual language around the message instead of forcing the idea into whatever stock image happens to be available.
USES CAN INCLUDE
Advertising campaigns
Blog and editorial artwork
Social media campaigns
Presentations and pitch decks
Website illustrations
Educational and explanatory visuals
PACKAGING, APPAREL AND PRODUCT ART
Turn the Artwork Into Something People Can Hold.
Original illustration can move directly into the physical brand through packaging, clothing, merchandise, covers and promotional products.
Because McBorrough also works in graphic design and print production, the artwork can be developed with the final application in mind instead of being created in isolation and forced to fit later.
PACKAGING – APPAREL – BOOKS – MERCHANDISE – PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS
BOOKS, COVERS AND STORY ART
Illustration Can Carry an Entire Story.
From a single cover image to a complete sequence of visual scenes, custom art can help establish the tone, characters and world around a book, story, presentation or creative property.
We can develop artwork for covers, interior illustration, character concepts, promotional pieces and supporting campaign visuals so the finished work feels connected from the first image to the last.
CUSTOM ART FOR DIGITAL EXPERIENCES
Make the Website Look Like Your Brand – Not a Template.
Custom illustration can give a website, app or digital campaign a visual language that cannot be created by swapping stock photography into a template.
We can create hero artwork, section illustrations, characters, custom campaign graphics and supporting visual assets that work together across the digital experience.
NOT CLIP ART. NOT A STOCK LIBRARY.
This Studio Was Built on Art.
You bring the idea. We sketch concepts, refine the direction with you and finish the artwork in the style the project needs.
McBorrough founder Anthony McBorrough is a working artist, photographer and creative professional, so illustration here is not simply outsourced clip work. Original art is part of the creative foundation the agency was built on.
DRAWN FOR THE IDEA. BUILT FOR THE BRAND.
HOW IT WORKS
From an Idea to Finished Art.
You do not need to arrive with a finished visual direction. Bring the story, references, product, character idea or business goal and we can begin shaping the artwork from there.
1. DISCOVER
We learn what the artwork needs to communicate, who it is for and where it will be used.
2. SKETCH
Early concepts establish the composition, character, visual language and overall direction.
3. REFINE
We develop the selected direction, adjusting details and making the artwork fit the brand and use.
4. FINISH
The approved artwork is completed at the level and format appropriate for the project.
5. DELIVER
You receive the finished files prepared for the agreed print, web, merchandise or campaign uses.
OWN THE FINISHED ARTWORK
Art Created for Your Business.
Final artwork is yours with usage rights for your business as defined for the project. We keep the development sketches; you receive the finished approved artwork.
That means your brand is not depending on the same stock character or stock illustration another company can license tomorrow.
ART NOBODY ELSE CAN USE. THAT IS THE POINT.
PART OF A LARGER CREATIVE SYSTEM
The Illustration Can Keep Working After It Is Finished.
Because McBorrough also works in branding, websites, print, content, video and marketing, original artwork can become part of a much larger brand system instead of ending as a single standalone file.
RELATED MCBORROUGH SERVICES
Branding and Logo Design
Graphic Design
Printing Services
Website Design
Content Creation
Video and Campaign Production
NORTHERN VIRGINIA CREATIVE SERVICES
Original Illustration From a Local Creative Studio.
McBorrough works with businesses, organizations, entrepreneurs and creative projects throughout Northern Virginia, Washington DC and beyond.
CENTREVILLE – MANASSAS – FAIRFAX – HERNDON – RESTON – VIENNA – MCLEAN – ARLINGTON – ASHBURN – LEESBURG – WASHINGTON DC
Have a project outside the DMV? Custom illustration can be developed remotely as well. Tell us what you are building and how the artwork will be used.
CUSTOM ILLUSTRATION FAQ
Questions About Custom Artwork
Who owns the finished artwork?
You do. Final artwork is yours with the usage rights defined for your business and project. We keep the development sketches; you keep the finished approved art.
Can I bring examples of a style I like?
Yes. Bring examples. They can help communicate the mood, level of detail, energy or direction you respond to. We can then develop an original direction for your project.
What files do I receive?
We provide files appropriate to the final use – print-ready and web-ready, with vector artwork where the illustration calls for it and high-resolution raster artwork where it does not.
Can you create a mascot that can be reused in different poses?
Yes. A mascot can be developed as a larger character system with additional poses, expressions, scenes and campaign applications as the brand grows.
Can the artwork be used on merchandise or packaging?
Yes. Tell us the intended applications before production so the artwork can be planned around the formats, dimensions and production needs of the final products.
What if I only have an idea and no visual reference?
That is enough to start. Tell us the story, what the art needs to communicate and where it will be used. We can help develop the visual direction from there.
READY TO CREATE SOMETHING ORIGINAL?
Art Nobody Else Can Use. That Is the Point.
Tell us what you want to create, where the artwork will live and what you want people to feel when they see it. We will help turn the idea into an original visual asset for the brand.