MOTION & BRAND DESIGN
based in San Francisco, Dom builds cohesive visual worlds across media and dimension — using motion and storytelling to create experiences grounded in curiosity, connection, and wonder.
MOTION & BRAND DESIGN
based in San Francisco, Dom builds cohesive visual worlds across media and dimension — using motion and storytelling to create experiences grounded in curiosity, connection, and wonder.
Anaheim Ducks Pride Night — Wild Wing Mask
Client: Anaheim Ducks Year: 2026
Occasion: Pride Night, January 2, 2026
Pride Nights exist to welcome members of the hockey community as they are. This mask celebrates identity as something worn proudly — a source of power.
Role: Designer & Illustrator
Object: Limited edition, Pride-themed commemorative mask, modeled after Wild Wing
Benefit: Proceeds from auction to benefit OC LGBT Pride
Feature: Anaheim Ducks Instagram
Feathers are a bird's identity made visible — a declaration of who they are, worn on the outside.
In the 90s cartoon, Wild Wing's mask gave him the power of vision. Today at Pride Night, when a queer child sees Progress Flag-inspired rainbow feathers on this mask in the arena, it gives them the power to see themselves in the hockey universe.
This mask honors the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community in the hockey world and serves as a beacon to welcome new fans, staff, referees, coaches, and players. Wearing who you are openly is not only brave — it's beautiful, and it's powerful.
Brief
The mask itself — molded in the likeness of Wild Wing, the team's beloved 90s cartoon mascot — a one-of-a-kind object, would be incorporated into game-day traditions as a giveaway as part of the First Star of the Night ceremony.
*Note the First Star of the Night ceremony only happens if the Ducks win the game. Unfortunately the Ducks did not win theit Pride Night game, so the mask wasn’t given out.
However, we had a contingency in place, the mask would be auctioned of during Orange County Pride in October, with proceeds benefiting local OC Pride organization.
The Making of:
Concept Sketches
1 — Stripes of Pride
Frieze-style illustrations filling mask — each stripe of the Progress Flag given its own scene, its own story, honoring the distinct meaning carried by each color in the flag.
2 — Pond of Pride
A scene from the natural habitat of ducks — the pond. The colors of Pride are scattered across feathers, water, light, and flora. Queerness has always existed in nature. You just have to know where to look.
3 — Mosaic of Pride
A grid dividing the mask into equal parts — each cell an illustration representing a facet of identity: local community, Ducks history, and Pride iconography snapshots to create this mosaic of Pride.
4 — Threads of Pride
Distinct figured that are individual, fully themselves. Interwoven together they form the rainbow of community.
5 — Feathers of Pride
Concept:
Incorporating rainbow into the feathers of the duck
Why this concept:
Of all the directions explored, this one felt most native to the mask itself — designed for the object, not applied to it. The illustration treats the mask as a three-dimensional form, letting the contours, brow, and beak inform the design rather than using the surface as a flat canvas.
Color borrowed from the Ducks:
The orange of the beak and purple of the brow are pulled directly from the Ducks' jersey palette — grounding the design in the team's identity before Pride even enters the picture.
The gradient:
A simple gradient covers the base of the mask without competing for attention, giving the feathers room to carry the visual weight.
The brow:
The purple brow dramatizes the natural shadow and angle of the mask's contours, adding dimension to the form.
The feathers:
The feathers are where the two identities merge. Rendered in the colors of the Progress Flag, they become part of the duck itself — not a Pride symbol placed on the mask, but woven into the being of the character. Duck and LGBTQ+ identity, inseparable.
Process
The mask was a smooth plastic surface, not naturally receptive to paint. After consulting family members who work with their hands and a paint specialist at the hardware store, the solution was to sand the surface down and coat it with a primer before any color went on. Once the design was complete, a few coats of sealer were added to protect the finished surface.
Having a spare mask to test on made this stage possible without risking the real thing.
Standard masking tape was the first instinct for stenciling for the spray paint, but it pulled the primer clean off when removed.
The solution was scrap cotton cloth, draped over the contours of the mask, held in place with binder clips, and traced by hand before cutting.
Because the cloth couldn't lie perfectly flat against the curved surface, the spray paint crept slightly at the edges — most visibly at the bridge of the beak, where it left a softer gradient. A happy accident that added dimension.
Working on a physical object meant I only had one chance to get it right. To move quickly and confidently, I developed a simple loop of rapid digital prototyping:
-
Photograph the mask at each stage
- Import it into Procreate on my iPad
- Test decisions digitally before committing to paint.
Feather styles, sizes, color, and placement as well how the illustrated feathers would blend with the spray paint gradient — all of it could be evaluated and adjusted before I painted a single permanent stroke on the mask. After each section, I'd run a quick test, make a call, and move forward.
Challenge 4 — Working under constraints
The project had a two-week turnaround over the Christmas holiday, while traveling and away from my normal workspace and supplies. At each step I'd quickly evaluate, adjust what came next, and commit. No going back, no fiddling — always forward.
Next Time
The pink and blue feathers — representing the trans flag — sit at the center of the mask, between the eyes. The most intentional placement on the piece, but because of the sizing might be easy to miss.
In a political climate, where the government and governing bodies of hockey are actively working to push transgender athletes out of sport, that visibility matters too much to be missed.
Next time, I'd make sure the colors from the trans flag are more prominent.