Zine and Projects
The Soul of A Hero
This was a physical zine exploring the relationship between Rody and Deku from the anime franchise My Hero Academia. In the World Heroes' Mission movie released in 2021, a new character named Rody Soul was introduced and a lot of the movie revolves around Deku and Rody's relationship and how they became friends while also discovering secrets and taking down an evil cult organization called Humarise.
Anime Zakka Artist
Anime Zakka is a small anime store on Newbury Street in Boston, MA.
While being a sales representative, I have also created artworks for both t-shirts as well as sweaters/hoodies. Below is a collection of all designs created that are/were in use for Anime Zakka.
"Chimerical Sentinels"
Massachusetts College of Art and Design Illustration Thesis 2021-2022
This thesis project explores the human brain and how it can create imaginary personas in order to cope with stressful situations and events. The most obvious example of this is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), however, you do not need to have such a condition in order to develop this coping mechanism. I developed this coping mechanism during childhood to cope with emotional abuse and I even use it to this day to help cope with more common issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout.
Protector from Disquiet
Behind the mask decorated with the eye of Ra stands Raii, an imaginary guardian who helps me through stressors and anxieties. It can be my light, daily anxieties or my more severe anxieties. I suffer from severe social and performance anxieties to the point my brain can shut down, so Raii is the one I go to.
The brain scan in the background depicts the brain during Panic Disorder and it represents how I rely on Raii during moments of high stress, such as when I am panicking. The eye of Ra is a symbol of protection as a nod to how I see Raii as a protective guardian figure.
The Black Dog
Behind the mask of duality stands Akuhei, my imaginary guardian who helps me fight off my inner demons and intrusive thoughts. Despite his intimidating outward appearance, he is actually a very emotionally driven guardian and is always willing to listen.
Depression can be referred to as "a black dog who bites," which is why the dark half of his mask has an exaggerated and aggressive canine appearance that is merging with a lighter and almost empty human half. The brain scan in the background is also a scan of a brain suffering from depression and how there are very little "active" areas when depressed.
The Grounding Force
Behind the mask decorated with a lotus flower stands Azure, my imaginary guardian who helps keep me calm and grounded. Whether I go to him because I am stressed or if I just cant sleep, he helps me relax and calm down.
The brain scan behind him is a scan of the brain during spiritual meditation. Meditating has proven to have calming and comforting effects and is often used as a form of comfort or closure. The lotus flower is also a spiritual symbol that represents calm. A purple lotus flower, specifically, is said to help people overcome depression and the anxieties of everyday life in modern lore.
Dabi's Journey: Tarot Deck Zine
This zine was a physical 72 card tarot deck based around the character Dabi from the anime franchise My Hero Academia. Artists and writers collaborated in order to create the tarot card images and the tarot booklet. Each artist was responsible for 2 cards from either the major or minor arcana.
Knight of Pentacles
Six of Wands
Imposter Syndrome
This zine was a digital PDF zine based around the game franchise Among Us crossed over with the anime franchise My Hero Academia. Artists and writers collaborated to create pieces for the zine. Each artist was responsible for 1 page and each writer was responsible for 1 piece of writing. The artists and writers were not required to collaborate with each other but were allowed to do so if they pleased.
