I’m going to be an author. This was something I'd decided as a child somewhere after becoming a paediatrician and in-between veterinarian or pre-school teacher.

Career choices were flights of fixation, but being an author was something a lot more consistent and entrenched in my nine-year-old psyche. It seemed the natural process, considering I was a huge bookworm and loved creative writing. I enjoyed drawing, but it was more often a byproduct of my writing.

This admittedly seems a somewhat odd place to start as my background to becoming an illustrator, but really it isn’t. My love of reading and by extension art began with books and storytelling in multiple forms like drama, music, performance and art – and illustration drew me in. Several of my books had these vintage-style illustrations inside that I loved, and somewhere in between re-reading those books over and over again, my visual language began developing.

I’d begun linking stories with illustrations then acting accordingly – I’d entertain myself writing and drawing throughout primary, secondary, high school, college and all the way to university.

Coming to AUB and choosing BA (Hons) Illustration was a bit of an abrupt decision – I will confess, I hadn't thought too far ahead about what I would like to do at university until our Personal Progress Mentor (PPM) asked me and I blurted out “Illustration” without much thought. Some months earlier, I’d gone on a fashion and textiles course trip to New Designers, an annual London showcase of emerging design talent from across the UK where I’d seen and spoken to some incredibly talented people. Amongst them were illustrators and these interactions seemed to have stuck in my mind. I gave it further thought after that conversation with our PPM and decided it really was the right decision.

An illustrated character named Kitty with dark skin and styled hair in pigtails. She wears a pink outfit with a frilly skirt and patterned tights. The image includes several facial expressions, a colour palette, and notes about her interests.

A character design sheet featuring a young girl named Fiyin in various poses and outfits. The sheet shows her with different hairstyles, including braids and curly hair, and clothing styles, such as a green dress and patterned top, along with diverse footwear.

A character model sheet for "Edie," featuring multiple illustrations of a girl with dark skin and braided hair in various poses. She wears a blue sweater, brown shorts, and white sneakers. The background includes decorative elements with her name and sketches of her facial expressions.

The cover of a book titled "Passover" by E. Akinniran features a young girl with blue curly hair holding a boy's face gently, both looking at each other. The background is green with intricate geometric patterns framing the scene.

Three cartoon boys standing with their arms crossed. The boy on the left has light brown hair, the middle boy has black hair, and the boy on the right has curly brown hair. All are wearing navy blue jumpers and school trousers.

A collection of character sketches depicting a young boy with curly brown hair. The sketches show four different facial expressions and outfits, including a t-shirt with a star, shorts, and patterned socks. Two variations include him waving.

Art was something I really got the chance to delve into further after moving to the UK, and the work I'd seen at the showcase had revealed a huge, exciting world of possibilities to me. This choice ultimately led me to AUB where I’ve made extraordinary friends and worked with new materials, creating art in a supportive environment. The Illustration course introduced me to so many things. I learnt about different methods and worked with industry-standard materials and software. I loved trying out new things, adopting aspects into my practice – printmaking, animation and wordless narrative amongst some of them – all while collaborating with course mates and other courses at university.

Being in AUB has afforded me access to many incredible opportunities, one of them being the ISEB’S Time to Write Competition, for which my submitted portfolio was reviewed and I was selected to illustrate the winning story for Years 10 and 11. This story was Loose Ends by Queen Igbasan from The Roman Ridge School in Accra, Ghana. It was a gripping story with so much depth, delving into the theme of mental health with so much care and understanding. I felt compelled and excited to do the story justice.

I began with character design. A lot of my work is character- and narrative-driven; I find developing and illustrating a character by extension fleshes out the world around them. The more I understand a character and their motives, the more I understand how they interact with their world and what the world looks like.

“Daniel” was my focal point. His relationships with the people around him and his internal world was integral to the story and something I was intent on capturing. I began with three illustrations of possible character designs for Daniel, the main character, and checking in with Anastasia La Sala who was incredibly helpful throughout this process, providing me with information and feedback.

With the character design decided I moved forward, fleshing out the thumbnail sketches into roughs which were sent for further feedback and direction. These were developed into drafts with flat colours, from which the illustrations to move ahead with were selected. Then came rendering them into the final illustrations. The book with the illustrations were then printed and sent to the winner, as well as being uploaded to the ISEB Time to Write website alongside the other winners’ illustrated books. Throughout this process, I used skills I'd refined with the help of tutors, friends and practice during my time at AUB, playing with colour, composition, texture and detailing. It was great to see it all come together and to bring to life that visual narrative.

A comic cover titled 'Loose Ends' features two students seated at desks in a classroom. One, a boy with curly hair, appears to be drawing, while another, wearing glasses, looks thoughtful. The background includes simple outlines of desks and chairs.

An illustration featuring a child wearing a blue outfit, floating amidst swirling lines and hands reaching out. The background is a deep blue with white text that reads "loose ends" integrated into the design.

An illustrated figure of a young person in a white outfit surrounded by swirling lines on a dark blue background. Two hands are positioned at the top, one holding a thread, the other a small object, with decorative numbers framing the image.

This was a great opportunity – it was my first paid commission and was an important learning process and something I’ve found so important to my journey as an illustrator working in visual narrative. My time in AUB has been well spent and my third year had been such a full and incredible experience, from participating in various competitions to writing and illustrating my own graphic comic as part of my Final Major Project, then having that printed and showcased at New Designers for which I was as a selected illustrator.

I've grown so much as an illustrator and a person. It’s all kind of come full circle in a really brilliant way. I’m look forward to the future!