Syd Weiler’s Digital Illustrations Deserve More Love

Syd Weiler’s digital illustrations are masterfully made, but her fame was actually the result of a quick doodle. After sharing a sketch of a pigeon on Twitter, a “trash dove” mania ensued, making Weiler an internet celebrity overnight. “It ended up becoming my most popular tweet!” she relayed in an interview with The Great Discontent. “People loved this silly little pigeon drawing.”

Many moons later, Weiler says “this experience has definitely taught me how fast the internet moves, but also how quickly it moves on after the initial hype dies down. 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.”

Still, she managed to cash in on her fame with clients that include Adobe, Mattel, and TIME Magazine. And though her trash doves are very much charming, her other illustrations are worth some love as well.

Growing up in West Virginia, Weiler says that creativity was a huge part of her childhood. After years of studying at private art classes, she enrolled in Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida. And with more than 10k followers on Instagram and a loving fanbase around the world, the sky is truly the limit for her.

Here are some of her illustrations (not including the notorious pigeon):

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOxbkJyh4SF/