A Symbolic Anatomical Illustration.
This piece started as a sketch in my notebook, just a heart with thorns wrapped around it. I liked the contrast between something emotional and something a little harsh. I ended up using an anatomically correct heart to keep it grounded and added a “LOVER” banner on top to play with that tension.
After I hand-sketched the design, I vectorized the whole thing inside Adobe Illustrator to produce a clean and scalable illustration. Careful attention was given to anatomical accuracy, texture balance, and color symbolism. I wanted it to feel structured and accurate, but still work as a bold graphic, especially for apparel. The thorns came in as a way to add tension and texture. I cleaned everything up in Illustrator, focused on line consistency, and made sure the composition stayed balanced once it was placed on the shirt.
