The work I create centers around how appealing characters can be to all ages. Themes / subject matters such as adventure, action, and seriousness revolve around animalistic characters in fantastic / fantasy world building concepts. 

Things that excite me about this work is how I can create characters that are animalistic, but can do anything in worlds that aren’t possible, while also incorporating real features. An amusement park in space, a fox that can stand on two feet who skateboards, for example, really anything that isn’t humanly possible, but is still believable. “Cool” factors can excite kids and can lead them to wanting to be like a character. A character has the power to described more than “oh look a very cute animal or hey that’s a character that’s smart”. Kids want to feel included in something rather than just thinking a positive emotion about a character. This is where adults can end up loving a character, rather than just seeing it as a “kid distracter”. They can be taken back to their childhood and relate just as much as a kid can.

While always focusing on how a character can thrive in their environment, I also consider how the character can be read by all ages of viewers. Disney, Pixar and Sonic the Hedgehog by Sega are just a couple of influences that shape how I design my characters, animalistic yet have more to their personality than just what they look like, more than their animal species. My color use reflects environment feelings, whether it be a small or expansive space, or the characters personality, whether they be a risk taker or reserved. My work is mostly digital, while my color palette reflects what mood I’m trying to get across, a serious mission, an adventurous persona, an over the top celebration. Being really sketchy is something that helps me find the mood of my piece. I can create a character with care, but sometimes concept marks you make can help you read a character. It helps you understand just where they are going in terms of how they are read.