Hello, Pounce

Project Overview

Hello, Pounce by Dr. Donna Pasternak and Dr. Hope Longwell-Grice is a campus picture book guided by Pounce, the beloved mascot of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Through Pounce’s enthusiastic eyes, readers explore the landmarks, traditions, and student life that define UWM — making the book equally useful as a warm introduction for incoming students and a nostalgic keepsake for alumni. The authors write with genuine Panther pride, and the result feels like a love letter to the university rather than a brochure.

The illustration challenge was bringing a specific, real campus to life with enough accuracy to delight those who know it and enough warmth and energy to engage readers who are encountering it for the first time — every location needed to feel like somewhere worth belonging.

Role

The illustration challenge was bringing a specific, real campus to life with enough accuracy to delight those who know it and enough warmth and energy to engage readers encountering it for the first time. Every location needed to feel like somewhere genuinely worth belonging.

Full illustration across the book covered character design for Pounce the Panther and the campus community, university campus landmark and environment illustration, school spirit and community atmosphere design, and print-ready file preparation.

Character Design

Before a single page is illustrated, I develop the main characters in full — defining their proportions, expressions, and personality. This is the foundation that keeps your characters recognizable and consistent across every scene, every lighting condition, and every emotional moment in the project.

Process

Every project follows this same structured path, so you always know where we are and what comes next. You review and approve at the sketch stage and the line art stage — nothing moves to color until you’re happy. By the time the final spread is rendered, there are no surprises.