Custom Cartoon Portraits, Illustrated Gifts & Animated Greeting Art

I create custom cartoon portraits, illustrated gift artworks and animated greeting pieces for people, families, companies, teams and special occasions. Some are intimate one-off portraits. Others are larger scenes built around a couple, a group of friends, a band, a retirement, a birthday, a company milestone or a festive message that deserves something more personal than a stock card with suspiciously cheerful typography.

These commissions sit somewhere between portraiture, storytelling and cartoon art. The likeness matters, of course, but so do the details around it: the landscape, the pets, the motorbike, the clothes, the shared joke, the improbable collection of objects that only makes sense to the people in the picture. That is usually where the illustration starts to feel truly theirs.

Drawn by hand, not generated

Every portrait, scene and animated greeting piece on this page is individually drawn and composed by me. I do not use AI image generation, automated caricature filters or template-based portrait effects. The likeness, setting, props, humor and overall tone are developed specifically for the person, group or occasion.

That matters especially in personal commissions. A good illustrated gift should feel observed rather than assembled. It should contain details that belong to the subject, not the faintly familiar leftovers of a machine that has seen too many photographs of smiling people.

Portraits with a point of view

I have worked as a professional cartoonist and illustrator for more than four decades, creating editorial cartoons, character drawings, comics, visual narratives and commissioned illustrations for publishers, brands, institutions and private clients. That background shapes these portraits. They are not quick caricature sketches or automated likeness effects. They are fully composed illustrations, drawn around the person, the occasion and the small pieces of biography that make the picture worth keeping.

A portrait might show a couple in a landscape that matters to them, a biker cutting through red-rock canyons, a friend surrounded by carefully chosen personal references, or an entire creative pantheon assembled into one improbable but entirely reasonable group scene. The tone can be tender, comic, exuberant, elegant or knowingly absurd. The useful part is getting it right.

Drawn by a published cartoonist, illustrator and graphic novel artist

These commissioned portraits grow out of a much longer professional practice. I began publishing cartoons as a teenager and have worked for decades as an illustrator, cartoonist, comic artist and visual storyteller for magazines, publishers, cultural projects, companies and private clients.

My drawings have appeared in publications including The New Yorker, MAD Magazine, Nebelspalter and the NZZ am Sonntag. I have also illustrated books and longer-form narrative projects, including my first graphic novel (2020) Marvin: Based on The Way I Was by Marvin Hamlisch, published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd.

That background in observation, character, likeness, timing and visual narrative naturally informs even the most personal portrait commission. A birthday portrait, a couple’s illustration or a team scene may be lighter in scale than an editorial assignment or a graphic novel, but the drawing still benefits from the same discipline: finding the specific pose, the right expression, the useful exaggeration and the small telling detail that makes the image feel genuinely seen.

Illustrated gifts for birthdays, retirements and personal milestones

Many commissions are created for birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, weddings, family celebrations or long-awaited thank-you gifts. These are usually occasions where a generic present feels slightly unequal to the relationship, and a custom illustration can do something more precise.

The artwork can be warm and affectionate without becoming sugary. It can be funny without humiliating the subject. It can include a great many details without turning into a police evidence board. The balance depends on the person and the occasion, and that is part of the pleasure of the work.

Group portraits, bands and richly staged scenes

Some commissions grow beyond a single portrait and become full illustrated scenes. A group of musicians, a company team, a creative circle or a set of beloved cultural figures can be brought together in a single image, with the composition doing as much work as the likenesses themselves.

The group portrait below gathers Frida Kahlo, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí into a Provençal landscape. It belongs to a wider series of cartoon portraits of legendary artists, and it shows something I enjoy in all portrait work: how much personality can be carried by posture, props, clothing, mutual distance and the general sense that these people would probably not agree on lunch.

The same approach can serve commissioned work for musicians and creative groups. For the blues band Take the 55, I created a character-led illustration that could live as an image in its own right and then extend into shirts, mugs and other printed uses. That practical afterlife is often worth planning for from the beginning.

Animated greeting cards and celebratory videos

I also create animated greeting cards, illustrated seasonal messages and short celebratory videos for companies, teams and private clients. These can be used in email campaigns, social media, internal presentations or event screens, and they work especially well for Christmas greetings, company milestones, retirements, promotions and other moments that benefit from a warmer, more authored visual treatment.

The animation can be simple and elegant or more elaborate, depending on the project. Sometimes the charm lies in a whole group of colleagues singing around a Christmas tree. Sometimes it is enough for a carefully observed scene to unfold with a little movement, a little timing and one or two details that the recipients will immediately recognize.

Examples of this work include festive team illustrations, animated Christmas cards, company greeting videos and milestone pieces that combine custom portraiture with motion. Related projects can also be found in my work on animated illustrated cards and seasonal campaigns and hand-drawn animation and explainer video production.

Original ink and watercolor artwork

When the occasion calls for a physical artwork rather than a purely digital delivery, I can also create original pieces in traditional ink and watercolor on fine art paper. These works are hand-drawn, signed and dated, and they are particularly suited to milestone birthdays, retirements, awards, weddings or gifts where the object itself matters.

Original artwork is supplied unframed. A handwritten dedication can be added on request. Some clients prefer the finished physical piece; others want both the original and high-resolution digital files for invitations, screens, printed cards or family sharing. Both approaches are possible.

How a portrait commission usually works

The process is straightforward. I first need to understand the occasion, the intended use and the people or subjects involved. Clients usually send reference photographs along with any useful background: interests, clothing, pets, landscapes, inside jokes, objects or memories that might belong in the image.

From there I prepare a quote based on the scope of the commission. Once the project begins, I develop an initial sketch or composition for approval before moving to final linework, color and finishing. Animated projects follow the same logic, with the additional stages needed for timing, motion, sound where relevant and final video delivery.

• Initial discussion and gathering of reference material
• Clear fixed quotation based on the actual scope
• Sketch or composition stage for review
• Final illustration, color and finishing
• High-resolution files for print and digital use
• Video files where animation is part of the commission
• Optional original hand-drawn artwork when agreed

What these commissions are suited for

• Birthday and anniversary portraits
• Wedding, couple and family gifts
• Retirement or farewell illustrations
• Company team portraits and internal celebrations
• Animated Christmas cards and seasonal greetings
• Milestone videos, award pieces and promotion announcements
• Band portraits, merch artwork and fan-facing visuals
• Original ink-and-watercolor presentation pieces

Related work

This portrait work connects naturally with my broader practice in cartoons, comics and visual storytelling, editorial and educational illustration, animated illustrated cards, hand-drawn animation and explainer videos, and selected case studies from larger client projects.

Discuss a custom portrait or animated greeting project

For custom cartoon portraits, illustrated gifts, group scenes, animated greeting cards or original hand-drawn artworks, you can send me a short project enquiry. A few practical details are enough to get the conversation started.