Rising Stars: Meet Madi Leaver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Madi Leaver.

Hi Madi, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hello, my name is Madison Leaver, though I like to go by Madi. I am a young woman who grew up in a small town in Louisiana. I have always had a huge passion to pursue art and to surround myself with creative people. From elementary to high school, I was a part of the Talented Arts Program specializing in visual and theatrical arts. While in my youth, I was very active on social media promoting my online persona, Madi Sketch, which has now become my prominent brand name while attending art markets and conventions. After graduating high school, I enrolled at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where I graduated in March 2025, summa cum laude, with a B.F.A. in illustration with a concentration in concept design for animation and games and a minor in drawing. Now I am on the hunt for a job that fits my specialization while continuing to create art in my free time.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road hasn’t always been smooth. I’ve always aimed high in life, but that doesn’t come without some drawbacks. Art used to be second nature to me as a kid; I would create and create for hours on end. Sometimes I’d forget about the world around me and just draw. When I reached the end of high school, I realized life wouldn’t give me as much time as I had when I was a child. I would have to make time for myself to draw and create. During the first two years at SCAD, I was on online only student. The pandemic made it difficult to leave and attend my freshman and sophomore years in person, but being online had some benefits. I was able to work multiple jobs, I had my own room that I could spread out in, and I had a really great support system. Through those years I didn’t feel like I was struggling to create personal art on the side. It was harder to take on those personal projects once I started my junior year. SCAD had so many opportunities to connect with fellow students, meet industry professionals, and just hang out at some of their campus wide events. I’d join clubs, seek out collaborations with student films, and (most importantly) I had made some great friends and wanted to spend time with them. The later half of my junior year and my senior year were definitely some of the most difficult quarters. I had done all my core classes online at home, which only left studios and illustration courses. On top of that, I had become a club president and was a resident mentor (RA). I would spend my nights awake working on project after project, while also completing on-call duties or creating promotional materials for the club. It was not easy, but I’ve never been one to backdown and quit, even when art block hits. I would make the time to complete what I needed to and still have time to spend with friends or go to SCAD events. I am proud to say that my efforts paid off. After graduating SCAD, I’ve been working to get myself back into a creative flow. When I was at school everything had a timeline: this is when your concept is due, this is when we have color studies due, finished project should be turned in at this time. Without that structure, it feels like you can go weeks and months without creating a finished piece because it’s not “due” or created for anything particular; it’s created for yourself. So now I am going back to square one and sketching every day or every other day to keep my creative drive in check, while also working at my regular job.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am mainly known for creating fantasy character and creature illustrations using digital programs including Procreate and Photoshop. I’m heavily inspired by early 2000’s children’s media like “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” “Monster High,” and artists like Lisa Frank. You can see this through the characters I create as well as the colors I use. My work tends to focus on the character, rather than the environment, as I personally love having a central figure I can detail and embellish. My visual story telling is one part character, the other part fashion. Clothing can tell a story just like an environment. My illustrations aim to connect fantasy and/or mythology through strong, solidified characters with an outfit that best fit the visual narrative. On the opposite side, I also love creating creature art. Usually, I make designs from pre-existing creatures like unicorns or dragons, but I also like creating my own creature concepts that take from real animals as well as fairytales, mythos, or folklore.
Color is equally important to me and my work. I love incorporating vibrant color schemes into my illustrations. I’ve been told that my art uses a lot of blue (and they aren’t wrong). I love utilizing blue in my illustrations as blue can hold a plethora of important meanings and could be either calming or striking depending on the value or saturation.
Furthermore, I draw many plus size and full-figured women in my art, which sets me apart from some of the artist I know. As a plus-size woman myself, I want to see my body represented in modern art and this is how I do it.
I’m very proud of my expansive style. The art and subjects I am most known for creating is fashion fantasy characters, but I can also create highly detailed écorchés, character line ups, prop sheets, toy concepts, or even realistic subject matters through traditional media like gouache or colored pencil. Because I am able to bend my art and style to fit a desired outcome, I have had some great opportunities working on student led and independent films as a concept artist and/or asset artist.

How do you define success?
I define success as an achievement you aimed for and accomplished. This could be anywhere from conquering the tallest mountain or getting out of bed to brush your teeth. No success is too small. If you did something you said you would do, be proud.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://madisketch.artstation.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madi.sketch/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madison-leaver-148564295