Sometime in 2017, the word "elevated" achieved its final form as the ultimate buzzword for retailers across America. Customers wanted it, brands wanted to be it. And so, the call went out to create an animated video for the Starbucks for Life holiday game that would elevate the living snowflakes out of would-be participants. With our star illustrator out of town and only a few days left to deliver, I stopped typing and started painting.

We work so much with computers these days that it was really nice to go analog again.

It was my first commercial illustration and—minus some barely-made deadlines and a bit of back and forth over whether to show the lids—everyone’s spirits ended up being pretty lifted. We all had a happy holiday with a nice reminder to enjoy our gifts all year round.