The Guts of
Fermentation
A fully illustrated visual world created for a book rooted in fermentation, microbiome science, personal story and food rebellion.
- 40+ custom illustrations
- Black-and-white interior artwork
- Full-color launch and social media visuals
- Book cover support and visual direction
- Visual direction for web, launch and brand experience
- Atmospheric brand storytelling
This was not a one-off illustration project. It was the creation of a cohesive visual language that could move across a book, a launch, a website and a larger creative world.
Work With Kelly
More Than Illustration.
A Visual World.
Wild Horse Heart Studio creates emotionally immersive visual worlds for books, brands and meaningful intellectual property.
This is not “artist for hire” work. It is the process of translating a story, message or movement into artwork with emotional continuity, symbolic coherence and a visual language people remember.
AI can generate images. What it still struggles to create is the human interpretation behind a complete creative world: the grief, humor, texture, symbolism and narrative alignment that make visuals feel alive.
Emotional Continuity
Artwork that carries the same emotional tone across books, launches, websites and campaigns.
Symbolic Coherence
Visuals rooted in meaning instead of disconnected decorative imagery.
Long-Form Worldbuilding
A complete visual language designed to evolve across an entire project ecosystem.
Human Interpretation
Listening deeply enough to translate emotion, story and atmosphere into something tangible.
Fermentation Was Never
Just About Food
Touch or hover over the illustration to see each part of the cycle come alive.
One Illustrated World,
Built in Pieces
Kelly’s artwork does more than decorate the book. The same symbols, lines, jars, bubbles, herbs and microbial forms repeat across the project, creating a visual language that feels connected from cover to chapter to brand.
The book talks
about poop. Good.
Kelly helped make the awkward parts of gut health feel useful, human and visually approachable.
A Love Letter
to the Sea
Some pieces were not meant to explain fermentation. They were meant to make the reader feel the salt, memory and old-world reverence behind it.
From Reference Sketch
to Published Visual World
The project began with a rough Canva mockup and a clear concern: the book needed original artwork that felt human, layered and safe to publish. After hearing the heart of the manuscript, Kelly translated the idea into a full illustration system with black-and-white artwork for the book interior and color versions for the website, social media and brand storytelling.
The book is due to publish in August 2026, and the artwork became so central to the project that it helped shape the entire visual direction of the website and launch materials.
I passed Kelly a rough visual idea and the story behind my book. She didn’t just draw what I asked for. She understood the world I was trying to build. Her artwork gave The Guts of Fermentation texture, soul and a visual language I could carry into the book, website and brand.
Author, The Guts of Fermentation
Building Visual Worlds
with Soul, Texture
& Story
Kelly Ericson creates illustration systems and visual storytelling for books, educational projects, creative brands and immersive experiences.
Work With Kelly