Artist Statement

"My work focuses on narrative-driven work and character development, using cartoon-style illustrations to showcase clarity and readability."

My artwork consists of pencil and colored pencil drawings, paintings, and digital illustrations. With subject matter being animals, figures, still lifes, and landscapes, which range from cartoon to realism. Through traditional and digital media, I have created fully rendered scenes with fleshed-out environments.

My current project, Nosophobia — meaning fear of disease — is a comic that explores themes of manipulation, scheming, and control through science fiction and action storytelling. The comic follows a spy agent, Natasha Ivanov, and a biochemist, Victor Gonzales, as they investigate a bioengineered fungal disease based on a real disease called Cordyceps, or zombie ant disease. The comic will primarily feature black-and-white linework, with selective use of color and shading to highlight scenes involving blood, scenes set in darkness, and flashback sequences.

The project was first created in my Narrative Illustration class in Spring 2025, and I have continued developing it since. This comic comes from other previous work I have done for my Intro to Illustration class, creating the character designs for Victor and Natasha. My previous work overall relates in that they focus on character development, environment development, and other narrative work.

My influences are the TV shows Amphibia and Gravity Falls, as well as the films A Bug's Life and The Ant Bully, mainly because most of them focus on small-scale or tiny world-building. I really like the art styles of Amphibia and Gravity Falls, and I feel that my own style is influenced by them. Gravity Falls also inspires me with its mystery storytelling. My influences are also the expressive character animation from Disney studios, especially by James Baxter. All these things influence my style in my work.

Through Nosophobia, I aim to immerse the audience with a compelling story that encourages curiosity, anticipation, engagement, and investment in the characters. My goal is to develop a complete comic series of Nosophobia with a defined beginning and ending, while causing shock and investment with a clear premise and plot.