Hard work and belly laughs
Introduction
My name is Nick Volkert, I'm an artist and creative living in Northwest Chicagoland.
I'm a classically trained illustrator and painter, receiving a BFA in Illustration and an MFA in Painting both from Northern Illinois University. I currently illustrate digitally, converting pen and ink illustrations to prints and tee designs.
During the day I'm a UX/UI, Logo, Branding and Icon Designer creating experiences that meet user needs and meet business goals for my company Volkert Design, LLC.
In my off-hours I like to paint, create comics, attend way too many concerts, play drums, and, in addition I'm a diehard White Sox fan.
I have created a TON of comics, illustrations and art for you to check out, hope you find something you like!
Getting real spooky up in here
Halloween Designs
A selection of my most frightful designs from over the years. Pen, ink and a little bit of spooky!
Created: October 27th, 2023 | Role: Illustrator
FACT: If sharks spend enough time with jack o'lanterns in the water on All Hallows Eve, they become one themselves!
Created: October 27th, 2018 | Role: Illustrator
My character Captain Pancake is in the super spooky Halloween spirit and remade as a stack of scary pumpkin-flavored pancakes!
Created: July 16th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Who invited the freakin werewolf?! No matter the season, when the pool is a rockin’ and it happens to be a full moon, this werewolf is here to get down!
Crisp air and crisp leaves
Fall Series
Time to cozy up in your warm jackets blankets and pumpkin flavored things!
Created: January 25th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
During the cold season, bears like to bulk up with a couple donuts and a hot coffee! It's going to get chilly out there, why not treat yourself!?
Created: August 27th, 2021 | Role: Illustrator
FACT: Sharks like to bust out their scarves and mittens and have pumpkin spice lattes during decorative gourd season.
Created: October 25th, 2023 | Role: Illustrator
FACT: Don't get in the water and between a shark and it's appetite for some October pumpkin destruction this Halloween!
Pen, Ink, and Cintiq!
Latest Illustrations
I love making personal works that I use as a vehicle to explore to constantly learn the programs I use on my day to day, and push my artistic abilities.
Created: September 8th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
School starts and Fall has too! This little dude is annoyed to have to be all bundled up for the first few weeks of school after a warm Summer!
Created: July 16th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Logs, and this is super surprising, can be country bumpkins enjoying the country air and sun! They also serve as amazing perches for the farm foul!
Created: July 16th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Who invited the freakin werewolf?! No matter the season, when the pool is a rockin’ and it happens to be a full moon, this werewolf is here to get down!
Created: July 14th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Sports are great! This little robot is excited to wrap up Little League baseball and hop right into Junior Tackle football and rock out some gridiron!
Created: July 14th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Lime's are breaking free from their bundles to get in some Summertime skating on the local asphalt! No time to accent drinks or tacos, it's time to shred!
“Summertime Burgers And Dogs Shark”
Created: July 5th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Enjoy your Summer, this shark is! Burger and dogs, a sharks favorite! Living in the ocean isn't stopping them from making some juicy burgers and dogs!
Created: July 4th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Happy Birthday, America! This shark is dripping in that red, white and blue USA gear and has some fireworks in tow to celebrate the Fourth! USA! USA! USA!
Created: March 2nd, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Mr. Bear has awoke from hibernation and to his surprise, the local birds have made his head their home with a Spring flowers and budding branches!
Created: February 23rd, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Pizza always hits the spot! This bear had a slice recently and can't help but daydream about getting yet another slice! Be on your guard pizza places!
Join the Danger Huskie Danger Team
Danger Huskie
Vector works that a fun, cute, scary, and a bit dangerous!
Created: October 6th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Hailing from the North Side of Chicago this little dachshund is wearing his super thick glasses to root for the team that is surrounded by the vines. HEY!
Created: October 1st, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Logs have friends of all shapes and sizes: moss, plants, but also sometimes creatures of the forest. This little squirrel is paying his log friend a visit!
Created: September 21st, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Dusting off what was originally my logo for nickvolkert.com but now a cool new tee and sticker design for DangerHuskie! It's the evil jack in the box!
Spooky works of unspeakable horror!
Ghost-Eyed Cat
It's my Halloween project of unspeakable horror! The Ghost-Eyed Cat! Tread with caution!
Created: September 21st, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
When out trick or treating on Halloween, you may notice that some of the fellow kids might not even be of this mortal coil anymore! Be careful!
Created: August 18th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
Apples have fallen from the trees, some have been turned to zombies from evil green worms and have hopped on a skateboard to infect us all!
Created: August 18th, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
A horrible green ooze is taking over the bodies of the local high schoolers and turning them into man-eating blobs! Oh no! WHO ALSO LOVE TO SHRED.
I write jokes too
Comics! (Eventually books)
I used to pay the bills as a cartoonist at the Northern Star during my Undergraduate and Graduate studies at Nothern Illinois Univeristy. I've always loved comics and was an illustation major to be a comics illustrator (that old cliché). Nonetheless and when the time allows, I love to write and draw works for my friends and social media followers. Big things in the works!
Mondays are the worst
Monday Comic
Just a weekly comic I started celebrating everyone's least favorite day of the week.
Created: June, 2025 | Role: Illustrator
It's a hot one out and another scorcher today. You hot? Well the creatures of the forest are too! Bring them in and cool off to a movie or something.
Created: July, 2024 | Role: Illustrator
Always keep your head on a swivel when amongst the geese of CANADA.
Created: February, 2023 | Role: Illustrator
That last cold snap really cashed my hands out to oblivion.
Comics about a wonderful future gal pal
Dear Future Girlfriend
Another weekly comic that started as a series of smart-assed Facebook posts and grew into a comic!
Created: October 8th, 2022 | Role: Illustrator
Aint no smash dancing like the smashing of pumpkins, smash dancing.
“Chainsaw alarm clock (Repost)”
Created: October 4th, 2022 | Role: Illustrator
You'll make sure I'm up for work on time, albeit with an accelerated heartbeat, during cool weather sleepy season.
Created: July 17th, 2022 | Role: Illustrator
If it doesn't work out, we'll at least have this in common, forever.
A helpful little arachnid
Helpful Spider
Always helpful!
Created: June 2023 | Role: Illustrator
Helpful Spider noticed the weather has warmed up and is ready to be helpful for the rest of the year!
Created: January 2023 | Role: Illustrator
Helpful Spider is on the ready in case things get weird, which they probably will, so yeah.
Created: August 2022 | Role: Illustrator
Helpful Spider is can't believe it's August already either! In any case he's manning your back to school list and making sure you have all your supplies!
Comics usually on Thursdays
The Thursday Treat
Ongoing comics that are sometimes funny, of various amounts of panels, subject manner, and typically on Thursdays, but not on a more fun day like Friday.
Created: September 28th, 2017 | Role: Illustrator
Can the taco not only be a great delivery vehicle for meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream, but also a wildly un-aerodynamic car?
Created: July 6th, 2017 | Role: Illustrator
A tale of a TRex drummer that has a mean heavy and menacing kickdrum style, but lacks a bit with rhythms on the hi-hat and snare.
Created: February 5th, 2016 | Role: Illustrator
The Thursday Treat is a well of knowledge of helpful, albeit questionable, tips on keeping yourself warm during a frigid Winter.
For personal & professional brands!
Logos
Logo Design! Check out some logo designs for personal and professional brands, built from the grounds up with custom fonts, colors, graphics and more!
Created: 2025 | Role: Designer
Ghost-Eyed Cat with a little logo refresh for my project launch. Wanted to make the character a little more recognizable as a cat and also add some color.
Created: 2025 | Role: Designer
Aries Artificial Intelligence is here! I had an idea for a more retro robot dude with a CRT monitor and face but with a modern feel.
Created: 2025 | Role: Designer
Third time is a charm! My third iteration of the Volkert Design logo for my new studio. Wanted it to have a small town Midwestern feel for this version.
Abstract works on canvas and board
Abstract Art
Check out work I made in pursuit of my MFA in Grad School at NIU, and beyond.
2005
A piece that ended up looking like the side of an actual boxcar, or maybe a vintage refrigerator, that I was able to preserve in time with oil paint.
Oil on wood panel
24 in. x 24 in.
available|$1,750
2006
A spooky vibe came over me when I created this work. Using orange and black to make a layered abstract work that feels right at home during Halloween.
Latex acrylic on wood panel
24 in. x 24 in.
available|$1,700
2006
Meant as an homage to our veterans that last their lives in service, this piece has a frantic application of red white and blue and yellow on canvas.
Latex acrylic on wood panel
48 in. x 48 in.
available|$2,200
Reading, it's for your eyeballs!
Related Blogs
Tips, tricks, work stories, short stories, and random musings.
Created: January 13th, 2025 | Role: Author
Check out a few of my favorite works since starting in the tee design game in the late 2000's.
Created: January 16th, 2021 | Role: Author
A few tips for JR UX Designers out there looking to gain more skills and be a more proficient UX Designer.
Created: January 2nd, 2021 | Role: Author
It's cold, miserable, the roads are dangerous, so it's time to get creative while you're huddled up in your warm home.