#OnTheRise
There are thousands of talented artists finding new ways to promote their works and themselves on a regular basis. Social media gives artists, illustrators, writers an outlet to expose their work and develop a fanbase.
Here is our pick of five creatives who are on the rise and who we may be seeing more of in the future.
1. Marcus Williams
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8J3O63FJwd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Marcus Williams, a.k.a Marcus the Visual, is a popular illustrator, writer, and comic book artist from Atlanta, Georgia. As an avid lover of all things animated, like comics and video games, he has been working on his artistic craft for over fifteen years freelancing. His illustration talents range from children’s books and comic art to character commissions. He is currently working on his comic projects “Tuskegee Heirs”, a tale of futuristic sci-fi adventures had by a group of young and talented aviators and “Super Natural”, a spin-off story of a superhero character that represents herself as a natural black woman.
When Williams isn’t working on his illustrations, he is creating commissioned fan art, original art, or merchandise with his characters that show his influences but is still unique to him.
2. Plasticbottru
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7zCdM7l10O/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Going by Plasticbottru, Martha Opiyo is an up and coming digital artist from Nairobi, Kenya with a growing fanbase of over 19K on Instagram. She found her passion for the arts at the age of 12 after discovering the world of manga and anime. She has worked as a colorist with Epos Comics and built up a clientele with her illustrations. Her artwork is original characters and concepts that are drawn in such a way that it creates the appearance of being soft and striking at the same time.
Within the last year, Opiyo has written, illustrated, and published webcomics through Webtoons titled, “De Novo” and “Oh! My Intern”.
3. Eloi
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8byOQUF5bj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Also known as Viteloi, Eloi is a Brazilian illustrator with over 100K followers on Instagram. His signature art style is colorful, stylish, and modern as he draws original characters and characters from comic and television series.
4. Illustration315
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5_DpLbFc3S/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Sev is a self-taught illustrator from New York who creates commissioned works as she focuses on her book and video projects as well as her personal works and Instagram illustrations. Her art style is soft and soothing sceneries of people that are relatable to those who see it. Sev’s illustrations on Instagram alternate between still and animated scenes accompanied with lofi music
5. Geneva
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4AZ8P-FolT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Geneva Bowers is another self-taught illustrator from North Carolina making a name for herself. She self-published her webcomic “HoverGirls” and “Allie & Gator” in 2018. That same year, she received honors with a BSFA awards nomination and as a Hugo Awards winner for best fan artists. When she isn’t working own her own projects, Bowers is an illustrator for editorial publishing or mainstream books like The Dragon Thief written by Zetta Elliott, Beyonce: Shine Your Light by Sarah Warren and since 2017.
Gevena’s illustrations are full of floral and pastel colored characters and scenes that are unique and playful, much like her enamel pin collection and artwork of space ladies known as AstroLadies. One of her popular art series were illustrations of the zodiac signs as breakfasts that started with their first letters.
