serene summer

items in my tote bag

cactus set

of technical skill as an illustrator. Like most of my works, I wanted to emphasize the importance of atmosphere and how color influences the consumer’s mood. My style for this project was inspired by vaporwave and retro Japanese aesthetics. The sets of graphics on the bottom row are specifically derived from “yokai” - spirits, monsters, and strange phenomena set in Japanese

breakfast

fruity refreshments

I prompted myself to experiment with a more limited color palette and cohesive theme for these illustrations. I wanted to translate the tranquility of being surrounded by lush greenery, and the feelings of being in good health, a sound mind, and at peace in your own body. Over the years, my art style has consistently been inspired by modern Japanese animation. Studio Ghibli does an excellent job of adding ambient, atmospheric elements to any scene. From crisp, rushing water, to granular detail and textures added to the numerous objects that occupy a frame, the attention to scenic detail adds a whole new level of storytelling. I wanted to emphasize the significance of still objects, and how they contribute to the storytelling just as meaningfully as an actual character. The lighting also plays an important role with this series, as I wanted to illicit the feeling of everything being drenched in comforting and humid sunlight.

Throughout 2025, I developed an interest in illustrating mundane objects sprinkled with whimsy. I began to think about how to best utilize these graphics in work and for other art projects. They are versatile in that I can paste them on posters, letters, and web pages. They also have the potential to be made into stickers or sticker sheets. I can see these being perfect for scrapbooking, as the specificity of themed objects makes the experience of capturing memories that much more personal.

Curating themed illustrations of groups of simple objects has aided my artistic burnout in that they are low-commitment. It’s a great exercise for practicing my technical drawing and rendering skills without having to rely on heavy, more traditional storytelling. Not to say there isn’t storytelling behind my illustrations; I compile groups of objects I feel are best associated with one another to convey a certain aesthetic, moment in time, or capturing the atmosphere of a place.

After compiling each of these images onto one page, it’s fascinating to observe the breadth of my rendering style . The ‘items in my tote bag’ and ‘breakfast’ sets have vibrant, saturated colorways that are high in contrast. The shadows and highlights are crisp and move confidently to create a texture of its own. Whereas my ‘serene summer’ and ‘cactus set’ illustrations have softer color palettes with smaller value scales, allowing room to incorporate more unique textures with different brush types. I can apply these observations to my future work when trying to better understand how to translate certain emotions through color and cohesion.

As a part of my senior capstone project at NCSU’s design school, I had the challenge of bringing one of my illustrations to life through animation. I was studying ways in which I could draw attention to all elements of my drawing outside of the main subject matter.

I took inspiration from vaporwave aesthetics, as well as “moving illustrations” that are commonly displayed as thumbnails for lofi music videos on youtube. The animation is looped every few seconds, making a seamless moving picture that captures a moment in time. Unlike longer animated videos, the emphasis lies on the moving background and atmospheric details to bring the illustration to life.

For this piece, I focused on animating the little fish so that they each had unique movement loops while also behaving as a swarm. The water’s motion is influenced by the filters that it comes out of, making a small, yet fast rippling effect.

folklore. I then printed these graphics as stickers, which I sold to customers at my own booth within the senior gallery. The two smaller illustrations on the bottom right were used for different renditions of my business cards. They were placed on the back side of the card as a free print for viewers to take, and to make my business more memorable.

The series of works above are a culmination of illustrations and graphics used for my senior capstone project at NCSU. In regards to the project guidelines, we were given the freedom to indulge in our passions as artists and challenged to market ourselves for potential employers. I approached this project by first illustrating a small series of works (top row), showing my depth