Packaging Illustration by the Illustrator Ken Jacobsen

Hello designers and art directors, I'm Ken Jacobsen. I've been a full-time freelance pen-and-ink illustrator for over 25 years, creating classically-styled illustrations for people like you all over the world.

This site shows a selection of llustrations that I’ve done for packaging. To see my other work, just click my logo at the upper right.

Style: My illustration style is influenced by the classic pen and ink illustrations of the
19th and early 20th centuries –themselves influenced by the woodcuts and engravings that preceded them.

Technique: I draw everything on a digitizing tablet, which I’ve been using since 1995, and all my work is created in digital format, unless requested otherwise.

Finished illustration: Whatever the client requires, whether vector or pixel format, including multiple layers, if desired.

If you're looking for illustration work like mine, please feel free to contact me any time.

Pen and ink illustration in woodcut style for wild rice packaging

Usage: Organic Wild Rice label illustration
Client: Flint Communications

Pen & Ink

Clouds mountains and farm field background illustration and character art for packaging

Usage: Packaging illustrations for Green Giant
–A farm field background and the Green Giant character

Client: Pederson Gesk

This background illustration appeared on all of Green Giant's
canned and frozen packaging for over ten years

Usage: Proposed logo redesign for Levis jeans
Client: Cronan Design

Pen and ink

Pen and ink animal character illustrations drawn in engraving style for product packaging

Usage: Packaging illustration
Client: Dollar Shave Club

Pen and ink converted to vectors

Retro engraving style pen and ink wine label illustration
Usage: Wine Label
Client: Paragraph Inc.

Pen and ink converted to vectors, in three layers

Classic style pen and ink illustration for flour packaging
Usage: Packaging illustration, Gold Medal Oat Flour Blend
Client: Kroese Design

Pen and ink

Vintage woodcut style wheat shock illustration for a bread company package logo

Usage: Logo, Earthgrains Baking Co
Client: Murray Lienhart
Pen and ink

This illustration was part of Earthgrain's logo for over a decade.

Beer label illustration for package and bottle in engraving style, color vector art

Usage: Yards Cicada Ale label illustration
Client: Paragraph Design

Pen and ink converted to vectors with texture added

Classic style illustration of vegetables for packaging using pen and ink and watercolor

Usage: Packaging, Corningware
Client: Dunn & Rice

Pen and ink with watercolor and pastels

Classic retro style pen and ink logo illustration for chocolates packaging

Usage: B T McElrath Chocolates label
Client: This is Folly, Minneapolis

Pen and ink

Color vector ilustration for dog food company package label
Usage: Dr Harvey's Specialty Diets package -Retriever
Client: Hampton Hargreaves, Pittsburgh

Pen and ink converted to vectors

Color vector art for dog food package label by Ken Jacobsen
Usage: Dr Harvey's Specialty Diets package -Beagle
Client: Hampton Hargreaves, Pittsburgh

Pen and ink converted to vectors

Classic style pen and ink and watercolor label art for organic herb packaging
Usage: Greenwise organic herb labels
Client:Publix Foods

Pen and ink with watercolor

Vintage engraving style pen and ink illustration for chocolate packaging

Usage: Debeukalaer labelling illustration
Client: Compass Design

Pen and ink

Vector art illustration of a farm field, flowers and vegetables for an organic product packaging

Usage: Plant Success Organic Mychorrhizae packaging
Client: Plant Revolution

Pixel art, converted to vectors

Classic woodcut style character illustration of a monk for a whiskey bottle

Usage: Whiskey label illustration
Client: Chris Gorney Design

Sketch only –client "went in a different direction"

Farm scene butter package art in pen and ink with watercolor

Usage: Publix Greenwise Organic Butter package art
Client: Publix Foods

Pen and ink with watercolor, each on a separate layer

Woodcut style character illustration for a beer bottle label

Usage: Pig's Eye Beer label
Client: M R Bolin

Pen & Ink

Woodcut style pen and ink with watercolor illustration for food packaging

Usage: Publix Greenwise Blue & Yellow Corn Chips
Client: Publix Foods

Pen and ink with watercolor

Classic style pen and ink portrait illustration for food packaging
Usage: Maple Syrup Packaging
Client: Happy Monday

Pen and ink

Classic style Pen & ink & watercolor illustration for fruit juice bottles
Usage: Publix Greenwise Organic Fruit Juice
Client: Publix

Pen and ink with watercolor

Whimsical classic style pen and ink illustration for toiletry packaging
Usage: Wanderer Face and Body Wash
Client: Dollar Shave Club

Pixel art, converted to vectors

Pen and ink woodcut style illustration of mountains and farm fields for dog food packaging
Usage: 4life Packaging illustration
Client: Woodruff Sweitzer

Pen and ink, converted to vectors

Classic style pen & ink illustration with watercolor for food packaging' Aioli labels by Ken Jacobsen

Usage: Hellmann's Aioli labels
Client: Anthem Worldwide

Pen and ink with watercolor

Woodcut style vector art illustration for organic coffee packaging and the packaging it was used on.

Usage: Greenwise Organic Colombian Coffee
Client: Publix Foods

Pen and ink, converted to vectors

Woodcut style illustration of pegasus, the winged horse along with the product packages it was created for

Usage: Shifted Pre Workout Packaging
Client: We Are Parliament

Pixel art, converted to vectors

Pen and ink illustrations for a beer label and photos of the label on the bottles

Usage: Miloslaw Beer re-branding
Client: Ostecx Créative, Warsaw Poland

Vector art

pen and ink illustration of a farm, of plums, of eggs in a basket and of a honeybee including a picture of the dried apples package and the company van with the logo illustraion

Usage: Opfelfarm organic products
Client: Obrist und Partner, Zurich Switzerland

Vector art

Woodcut style illustration of pegasus, the winged horse

Usage: Wine label based on an original 16th century woodcut
Client: Obrist und Partner, Zurich Switzerland

Vector art