Editorial Articles, Writing/Articles

Digital Artists You Absolutely Need To Follow! – Part 3

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Hey Readers!

Welcome back, it’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these articles here on my blog, so I thought well it’s about time to showcase some more artists! Art continues to matter so so so so so much, and with recent stories coming out of AI apps stealing from actual artists, there’s been a sort of digital revolution brewing of showing more support for artists, especially in the online bookish community on platforms like Instagram and Tiktok! Personally, I do appreciate some AI art and what it can do, yet I do agree that it shouldn’t involve stealing from other artists who have copyrighted work.

Below I’ve gathered an extensive list of talented individuals to add onto the other articles I’ve posted in previous years (Scroll to the bottom to get links to Parts 1 and 2!!) and I’ve included their Instagram profile name and/or their actual names if known or mentioned, I DEFNINITELY recommend giving them a follow!

I also own NONE of the images used in this post, and while I gain no financial benefits from this post and just like to help get names of artists out there, should any artist mentioned on here wish for me to take down any of their work because they don’t want it reposted on this platform, please feel free to reach out to me in any way to let me know! I’d be more than happy to do so with as little drama as possible!

Enjoy the beautiful artwork! This list is in no particular order!

FYI: you can click on the artwork to get a closer look at it!

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Rosita Popova / @rosalynnarts

Here’s an artist I really enjoy who’s from Bulgaria, and my eyes BULGE out of my sockets at the incredible-ness of her art style! Yeah, there’s going to be puns in this, and I make no apologies whether they’re good or bad…Anyways, she does a wonderful job of making her character art look soft and cartoony, but still have an edge to them. As you can see from her work shown above, I first noticed her because of her work with book series like Vampire Academy, A Court of Thorns and Roses (or anything Sarah J Maas), and even Serpent and Dove!

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Olivia / @vvivia

Another cartoony style that I absolutely love! Olivia has done a wonderful art piece of Rowan and Aelin that I noticed and helped me discover them on Instagram, and from then on I’ve loved seeing her posts of other SJM characters, Bridgerton, Stranger Things, and even Danny Phantom for Nostalgia sake!

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Otoko Bara / @otokobara

Anyone who follows me on my bookstagram account (@goodyreads) knows I’m a BIG fan of muscular shirtless men, and this artist LOVES to push the boundaries of hot male objectification with his artwork! He takes beloved kid TV/Movie characters and sexualizes them up for the fans that grew up and can now see them in a new light…or that light is blocked because a certain phallic shaped object is in the way…that depends on what your perspective is!

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Beriz Art / @berizart

This artist really reminds me of others I’ve done in previous parts of these articles: I feel like there’s definitely some inspiration from Charlie Bowater and Sasha Lee Coleman with the similarities I see if their styles. I would say I especially love the artwork done for “The Shadows Between Us” I included above with Allesandra’s flowing red dress and Kallias’s hair….so much yes in that art piece.

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Michelle Ryckman / @whimsicalillustration

You can tell this artist is a big “Caraval” fan based of a good chunk of her artwork, and I cannot blame her in the slightest because of how much fun that whole world Stephanie Garber created is! I can also really appreciate this artist because she wrote her own trilogy and illustrated her own covers for it too! Whimsical is the perfect way to describe Michelle’s style.

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Juliet BxRomance / @bxromance

I would argue that Juliet is one of the most recognizable artists in the whole bookish community! When you see her work, it’s instantly recognizable and stands out amongst the rapidly growing names of artists in this community. I LOVE her work and have ordered MANY prints of her stuff wherever its available, it’s just too bad she hasn’t been active on social media because (allegedly) since she’s in Russia and there’s a big social media ban over there with everything that’s been going on?

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Beth Gilbert / @bethgilbert_art

Beth Gilbert has really made her name known by doing the obvious: doing ACOTAR artwork that looks AMAZING, but she’s also done some of the best “Zodiac Academy” artwork as well too, She drew one of the best Lance Orion artwork portraits that I’ve seen! Unfortuntale I just couldn’t get an image of him to share on here, BUT @atouchofmagicdesigns on Etsy has it for sale if you want to grab a copy for yourself!

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Aejujubes Sricharachai / @aenaluck_jujubes

This artist is an absolute favorite of mine for VERY obvious reasons…I love the ab-tastic, sexy fantasy men drawn here, there’s like a spicy MM Witcher vibe that I am all about and if anyone has any book recommendations based off that, I’m all ears! the smuttier the better, and speaking of smutty, if this art really draws your eye, go check out this artists Patreon where things get a LOT more NSFW!!

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Dominique Wesson / @dominiquewesson

Dominique became a household name in the bookish community for her amazing work with the ACOTAR characters, and from there she’s become one of the most popular artists…I mean, just LOOK at her men! I’m drooling more than if a freshly hot pizza was placed right in front of me.

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Jeleynai / @jeleynai

This artist had my full support as soon as I laid my eyes on her version of Casteel Da’Neer (top image). I loved it so much I bought a giant print of him to eventually hang on my wall to be able to appreciate his beauty every day alongside my bookshelves…I’m not obsessed!

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Jonas Pina / @joninhaart

I absolutely adore this artists work with popular pop culture figures and reimagining them into whatever way he’s feeling at the time! He does a lot mainly with Disney and Marvel characters, but he’s also done plenty of big Hollywood actors, and even the Scooby Doo gang! He has this comic idea of Henry Cavill and Chris Evans being secret agents, and I NEED this to become an actual thing, or I may just have to write a story of it myself, but my twist is to make them gay lovers as well! YES PLEASE!!

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Holly Fox / @thehollyfox

Holly Fox is an Australian artist I discovered because I REALLY like their artwork of Aelin and Rowan out of the third ToG book “Heir of Fire.” I also just really enjoy her style, it reminds me a lot of my own with the heavier outlines and the more graphic-novel-esque style!

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Mads Schofield / @madschofield

Mads is a name who’s become very well known amongst SJM fans as she became well known by doing ACOTAR page overlays for ReadingPortal Co. and I feel like there isn’t much more to say beyond that! I love her style, and as I’m typing this article, she’s coming out with more personal ACOTAR portraits of the cast that have just been absolutely spectacular to look at! I mean, the emotion behind them is just top tier.

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Rio Burton / @rioburton

Rio is one of the artists who was commissioned to do inner artwork for a special pair of Throne of Glass dustjackets that Jo Painter designed, and I fell in love with her work! I especially love her mystical, new agey wolf art, my wolfpack and I on bookstagram especially love it!

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@irenhorrors

Okay, I don’t normally do creepy vibes, but I’ll for sure make an exception with Irenhorrors. I LOVE this creepy, gothic, and even slightly darkly romantic vibe they’ve got going on! I would absolutely read a graphic novel with their work all over it, and even just looking at this stuff makes me want to dive into a gothic romance/horror story! I’m especially drawn to the art piece with the woman on horseback fleeing from a nasty bat creature.

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Yliade / @yliade.art

For any fans of ancient mythology: particularly Greek, Egyptian, and Norse, you ABSOLUTELY need to be aware of this artist! I love the colors especially, so bright and vivid, and the deity featured is always centered and this style is just so unique, I don’t need to explain any further, BIG FAN!

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Thibaud Zamora / @thibaudzamora

This one is a unique choice because they actually use AI technology to create these works of art. AI art is a very controversial topic lately with piracy and stealing copyrighted work from other artists, but I feel like this particular artist is going about it in a different way that may actually be a better way of utilizing the technology after the lawsuits that are currently taking place are settled. First of all, those colors…everything pops and is so vivid!

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Sandra Winther / @sandrawintheart

This artist is very recognizable for her close-up portraits, and the enchanting, hazy yet somehow crisp details mixed in too. VERY airbrushed look, she almost gives her character art an anime-like look with the detail in their eyes. Also, be sure to check out her store, she’s very giving with textures and stamps and brushes for other digital artists, which I myself am and very much appreciate!

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Tal Lewin / @caravaggia13

The hot male subjects and the easy simplicity of this artist just go so well together! I’ve started to notice this artist used for multiple MM romance alternative book covers, and I’ve very quickly become a fan because of it! Big mystery as to why…..

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Elizianna / @elizianna.the.one

Elizianna is an artist who got their name on this list for multiple reasons: One, I like her style, Two, she’s usually the first to post new artwork of characters who don’t get as much attention from other artists, and three: she does A LOT of NSFW art of book characters to help our fantasy’s become a reality!

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Tony Viento / @tonyviento

Another artist who does really good artwork of the bat boys from ACOTAR and has a Patreon with NSFW artwork too?!?! Hmmmm, I wonder why this person is on here….

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Wictoria Nordgard / @wictorian_art

I actually just recently became introduced to this artist thanks to my special dustjackets by Jo Painter for the Throne of Glass series! Her artwork of Manon Blackbeak with that fierce ponytail was featured as the inner dustjacket artwork and I really enjoyed it! They’ve got some serious skill, and I expect to see more of their work inside books in the future!

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Fernanda Fernandez / @mftfernandez

Fernanda is such a fantastic artist! I love the artwork of Aelin (with red hair too!) and Rowan from “Queen of Shadows!” I’m also just a fan of how she does her character’s hair too, the lighting and the texture work is so inspiring; I want to see more of their work inside special editions of books!

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Meri / @cebanart

For some reason, I feel like this artist is very collagey (not sure if thats a word, but hopefully you know what I mean), I feel like their style is kind of similar to AI where they find things online and kind of remix it and not exactly copy and paste it, but definitely edit it enough to where its not exactly full on copying. I could also totally be way off base with this, so don’t quote me or start attacking the artist for whatever reason!

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Abigail Larson / @abigail_larson

VERY similar in style and content to Irenhorrors as seen above, another artist to definitely take note of if you enjoy things on the spookier, gothic, and creepier side! I could definitely see this artist doing work for a Tarot deck if they haven’t already!

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Pandy Als / @pandyals_art

One of my wolfpack members on bookstagram LOVES this artist, and I gotta say I like their work too! I really appreciate their painterly style that has a little bit of a colorful and chaotic feel to it! And since they do so much ACOTAR artwork, I’d say this artist is who I’d most likely say Feyre’s art most resembles!

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Therese / @warickaart

Another gothic artist who makes me think of Leigh Bardugo books and The Folk of the Air series, there’s just a somber and edginess to all their work that really makes it stand out and feel instantly recognizable!

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@jessdraw.s

Another one of the wolfpack recommendations! I just get ultra-glam, beauty magazine vibes from this artist, or some of the straight on shots of the female characters look right out of this game I used to play: Covet Fashion.

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Fernanda Suarez / @fdsuarez

If you like FIERCE females with a bit of an edge, this is an artist to become aware of this artist ASAP! I especially am a fan of their Zodiac personification pieces, like this Phoebe Tonkin as a Capricorn siren/mermaid artwork.

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Gonzalo M. / @gonzalom.art

Okay, but Gonzalo’s Kieran and Casteel are the HOTTEST I’ve seen of those two! The detail in this artist’s work is so astronomical, so amazing…I wish I would come up with better words to describe! The small details throughout each piece are the true highlight of this artist’s work; if you can, zoom in and just scroll around to see what I mean!

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Linnea / @feefal

Feefal is an absolute delight! Her work is absolutely spectacular and I love the inspiration from nature that she gets with all her work! She is a master of character design from evolution within nature with the moon, the stars, plants, and gives them such a fun, fairytale-like aesthetic that folks of all ages can appreciate. Her work really reminds me of my friend Kayla Nyre, whom I listed in my part 1 article!

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@Myrmidia

I discovered this artist on Twitter and I especially love their amazing work with fantasy characters straight out of campaigns from things like Dungeons and Dragons! This artist hasn’t done a whole lot of work in the bookish community, which is actually why I wanted to include them! It’s nice to have some variety on here.

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Rachel Hanke / @rachelhanke27

This artist is one I feel needs more recognition! And if I saw her Rachel’s name listed as an artist for a special edition book that a box like Fairyloot or Illumicrate or whomever was doing, I would get excited!

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Ellie / @mageonduty

I first discovered this artist for her GORGEOUS male art commissions for the Aisling Sea trilogy by Vanessa Rasanen, and from there I’ve just really come to appreciate all of her artwork, but especially the males! Oooofda, especially these bottom two pieces with the pink clouds in the background.

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Don’t see a certain artist??

Be Sure to check out my part 1 and part 2 to see more! That artist may very well be on either of those!

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:: Click HERE to see Part 1 ::

:: Click HERE to see Part 2 ::

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Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Editorial Articles, Writing/Articles

Digital Artists You Absolutely Need To Follow! – Part 2

Image created with canva.con

CLICK HERE to see Part 1!

Welcome back readers! If anyone remembers back to about a year ago actually, I posted a rather lengthy article on a list of digital artists that I think anyone who loves to look at art should absolutely follow; anyone from video game concept artists to professional illustrators to graphic designers and even tattoo artists, I made sure the list had some variety besides just some of my favorites who create amazing fanart commissions of my favorite books and series.

Well if it’s been a year later since then, it makes total sense that I’ve discovered even MORE artists that I want to showcase and organize into a beautifully displayed part 2 to my list. Art matters, and this new addition of artists also have quite a plethora of talent. I’ve only just begun getting back into drawing and I have began on the IOS app, Procreate. I know a few artists on here and part 1 use that program as well, but it’s for sure made me appreciate their work even more and aspire to have my work become even a fraction of how good these artist’s work looks!

Once again, I think this has a great amount of variety in terms of style and subject matter, I hope you discover a new favorite artist yourself! Find their profiles, give them a follow, go onto their websites, buy their prints, support your favorite artists!

Enjoy this list, the names and artwork are in no particular order!

***I do not own any of these artists’ work, and while all work is shared from their individual Instagram profiles, if any of them find this article and wish to have their artwork taken down, please reach out to contact me and I will happily do so!***

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Jen Bartel

Instagram: @heyjenbartel

Website

I discovered this artist by her work illustrating a graphic novel titled “Blackbird,” and I absolutely loved her style and felt like she had a similar style to how I draw. I was happy to learn that this artist uses the program/app Procreate just like I do too! What really draws me in is her use of really bright and vibrant colors that really pop out at you and make so that there’s no way you can’t notice it!

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Marc Simonetti

Instagram: @marc.simonetti

Website

Marc is a concept artist who specializes in environments and has an eye for the little things. As you can see by his work shown above, he is able to capture amazing detail in the smallest of spaces. I guess I could say his work that really captured my attention was his work of the Iron throne image above that’s from George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series that everyone knows as “Game of Thrones.” The throne from the HBO show is iconic, sure, but Marc’s throne is actually a much more accurate portrayal to how the author describes it in the books, plus it’s about five times more intimidating looking!

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Lizzart

Instagram: @lizzart_zardonicz

This artist creates some absolutely gorgeous character design in their work and is a master of fantasy-genre artwork. I discovered this artist thanks to some artwork they did of a Sci-Fi series I’m reading: “Red Rising” by Pierce Brown. It’s a space opera that’s like Greek Mythology + The Hunger Games + Game of Thrones but in space! I definitely recommend giving the books a try if that sounds interesting to you at all!

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Philippe Lozinski

Instagram: @philippezolinski

Philippe creates some visually stunning environment concept art and really has a unique style that shows so much texture and really knows how to drive the eye across the canvas with well placed movement either in the environment or the characters he’s placed within. Some of his work really reminds me of the game “Journey” especially with the cloaked character you see in some of the work on the top of his section. I’m not sure if he’s actually worked on that game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out he did!

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Rovina Cai

Instagram: @rovinacai

I discovered this australian artist when she illustrated the fourth book in Holly Black’s “The Folk of the Air” series (as you can see by some of the images I selected.) I really dig her enchanting, gothic, fairytale-like drawings that are both whimsical and ominous and creepy, and I’d say you should go grab a copy of that book just to see these images up close for yourself!

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Jo Painter

Instagram: @po_jainter

This artist has commissioned fanart for a few of my favorite book series, so of course it was only a matter of time before I’d notice her work and fall in love with it. She’s made artwork for Sarah J. Maas’s “Crescent City” and “Throne of Glass” series, as well as Jennifer L. Armentrout’s “From Blood and Ash” series that is so so quickly becoming an all-time favorite of mine as well!

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Joon Ahn

Instagram: @joon_ahn_art

Joon is a concept artist out in Los Angeles, and I love all the work he’s done with both environments and characters. He really seems to specialize in either high fantasy or cyber-punk settings and looks like his work should be in video games, and I was first introduced to this artist by their artwork of the knight riding atop a giant eagle as seen above!

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Sam Yang

Instagram: @samdoesarts

Sam Yang seems to really focus on girls who have what I call the “Disney Princess” aesthetic, as in they look like they have very similar facial distinctions to the 3D animated princesses like Rapunzel, Elsa, and Anna. His artwork is so warm, welcoming, and soft with subtle texture infused to make his work stand out on its own. I especially love how he plays with light in his artwork that places his females in a setting like in a car; that’s where I truly think his art shines, no pun intended.

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Dan Mumford

Instagram: @danmumforddraws

Surely you have to recognize Dan’s subject matter in at least one of his pieces I’ve selected above! He adds a ton of detail and heavy outlines to familiar characters and environments in american pop culture history, and while some of it reminds me of some tattoo-like artwork I’ve seen elsewhere, I also appreciate how he also loves to incorporate the creepy factor in his art, or the classic set up of the main character having their back to us as they face out to their setting.

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Yare Yue

Instagram: @yueyare

Amazing environments come with this concept artist, and I’m a big fan of their use of color. I was originally drawn in by their work with the whale swimming through the clouds; the work I seem to love the most is the work of the little kid and his pet cat incorporated into his environment pieces.

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Liang Mark

Instagram: @liangmark

This is an artist where you really need to enlarge the image to enjoy it even more; there’s so much detail work in all of their art! They definitely specialize in dystopian, Sci-Fi settings and I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out they’re a concept artist for the newer Star Wars movies, their art just really reminds of it the franchise, especially the newer movies that have been released later than “The Force Awakens.”

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Sasha Lee Coleman

Instagram: @sashac_art

When an artist gets compared to the great Charlie Bowater, that truly speaks to the artist on how great their digital artwork truly is! I can definitely see an influence or inspiration from Charlie’s style of character design, but Sasha is also a really great artist who enjoys making pieces of characters from some of my favorite books! If you don’t recognize some of the characters above, she’s done amazing artwork of Sarah J. Maas’s “Crescent City,” Holly Black’s “Folk of the Air” series, and even Margaret Rogerson’s “Sorcery of Thorns.”

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Rosie Thorns

Instagram: @rosiethorns88

Okay, I absolutely HAD to show this artist because they do so many different styles of artwork both on canvas or digitally, but what I really want to draw attention to is her papercraft fan art of popular YA Fantasy titles! That’s right, some of this artwork is crafted from paper and brought together like a master scrapbooker. She’s done projects of Sarah J. Maas’s popular “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series with Rhysand and Feyre at Starfall, her “Crescent City” series with Bryce and Dana on top, along with “The Folk of the Air” by Holly Black, “The Invisible Life of Addie Larue,” and Kerri Maniscalco’s “Kingdom of the Wicked.”

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Delaney Januzzi

Instagram: @delaneyjanuzzi

Here’s another noteworthy concept artist who specializes in character design! Their cartoony style reminds me of animated movies and I feel like they’d make some amazing work for Dreamworks animated movies. I especially love that they’re one of the only artists I’ve found who’ve created fanart of Madeline Miller’s debut novel: “The Song of Achilles.” Take a closer look at their artwork of when Patroclus meets Thetis for the first time (sometimes meeting your lover’s parents doesn’t end up working in your favor!)

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Sally Pham

Instagram: @sallteas

Sally is another digital artist I discovered because she’s done a fanart for a lot of my favorite book series! She’s done artwork for Sarah J. Maas’s “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” along with Leigh Bardugo’s “Six of Crows” series, Kerri Maniscalco’s “Kingdom of the Wicked,” plus even Adrienne Young’s “Fable.”

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Vanessa Ninona

Instagram: @nessa_ninona

Vanessa loves ancient Egypt, that much is obvious with her main focus on artwork for a graphic novel she both writes and illustrates called “Golden Brown.” I love her use of colors, especially the complementary use of browns, golds, and yellows mixed with blues to make it really pop!

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Darek Zabrocki

Instagram: @darekzabrocki

Another concept artist I found who specializes in environment design, this is another artist you also need to zoom in on their work to see all the little details he puts into his work. He’s done work for the “Assassin’s Creed” video game franchise, but my favorite work by him has to be either the pirate ships in the bay with the giant windmill, or the one right above of the small party of explorers walking into the ruins with the statue looking down over them like a guardian or an omen.

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Gukkhwa

Instagram: @gukkhwa

This artist does some gorgeous character design artwork with their subject matter focusing on mythological figures. Whether it’s deities of Greek mythology, Egyptian Mythology, Angels or Satan himself out of the christian bible, you have to admit that their work is certainly eye catching!

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Gretel Lusky

Instagram: @gretlusky

Gretel is another artist whose style really reminds me of the “Disney Princess” aesthetic, and that’s not just because she actually posts work of actual Disney princesses either! She switches between digital artwork and good ole watercolor and pastels on paper, but her use of color and the overall style of her work is one that I love, and wanted to showcase on this list to show others and get her name out there!

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Fran Garcés

Instagram: @dibujantenocturno

Fran is an absolute favorite of mine, I never get tired of his distinguishable linework and ultra amount of detail in his work. His love of dragons is what got him into drawing, but he just loves to draw monsters and nightmare imagery to create visually stunning artwork. I love his style so much that I had to buy his book to show my support!

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Gabrielle Ragusi

Instagram: @gabrielleragusi

I initially discovered this artist for their artwork of a series I’d recently started reading and really enjoy: “The Bridge Kingdom” by Danielle Jensen. Upon further looking into this artist, I found they’ve also done artwork for “Harry Potter” by JK Rowling and “Throne of Glass” by Sarah J. Maas and “To Kill a Kingdom” by Alexandria Christo, I really like their style and think they deserve to be as known amongst all the other artists who (thankfully) make stunning fanart of some of our favorite book characters!

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Abhishek Singh

Instagram: @abhiart

Drawing inspiration from his home country of India, this artist paints such awesome artwork of prominent figures from stories and myth. I love the amount of detail he puts into his work, especially with the costume and accessories of the figures as seen above!

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Marissa Clement

Instagram: @marissasketches

I discovered Marissa thanks to her artwork of Jude from Holly Black’s “The Folk of the Air” series along with Leigh Bardugo’s Alina Starkhov from her “Shadow and Bone” trilogy that’s gotten a lot of hype lately thanks to the new Netflix show premiering in late April 2021!

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Kelsey Eng

Instagram: @kelseyeng32

This artist has an adorable, cartoony style that I really enjoy, especially her artwork from what i assume is digital stills from actual episodes in “Game of Thrones.” I especially like the contrast she shows in her piece with Dany and Jon Snow, and even the one with Sansa and Arya Stark, the last of the Stark family line!

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Anato Finnstark

Instagram: @anatofinnstark

What initially introduced me to this artist was their artwork that showcases some truly iconic characters/monsters/figures in Fantasy literature: the darker characters from Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. I instantly fell in love with their work of the Nazgul, or the Ring Wraiths as they’re also known as, but I also adore their art of the Balrog and Sauron as he’s taking on Isildur at the battle at the end of the second age where he fell. I really enjoy their overall dark and creepy vibes in their work and it all truly leaves an impression on the viewer, and someone who I believe is perfect to end this second list on!

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CLICK HERE to see Part 1!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Writing/Articles

NJG Writing Section Revamped!

Hello Readers! I’m currently working on a few new book reviews and fancasts that I can’t wait to share with you, but in the meantime, go over to my writing section and check out the completely redone section with much more aesthetically pleasing graphics/images for every single article on there like the ones pictured below.

I’ve also redone my “TGIF” page and added tons of behind-the-scenes photos and the year long process, and even images for my short stories to show some more context before you click on them to read them. There’s plenty of content and material to keep you busy in case you’re getting anxious to see what I post next!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Editorial Articles

Digital Artists You Absolutely Need To Follow!

As a strong advocator for the arts, I’ve thought to myself at starting an article here on my website—even though it’s mainly for book reviews and fancasts—to share some names of artists that I feel like everyone should know. Now, I know this is a hard pill to swallow, but I love to read….I know, I’ll let you take a few to process that shocking bit of information on my book review website…

…Now that your mind is no longer officially blown, let it also be known that there are a lot of artists out there who love to read as well, and it’s even better when those artists commission artwork of books I’ve read and also enjoyed! It adds a whole new layer to the fandom of the books themselves, and I want to celebrate their beautiful work, and possibly even give them some free exposure to maybe even let more people discover them too.

Over the years, a few specific artists have stayed in my mind since I’d discovered them either on Pinterest, Instagram, or even through word of mouth from my friends. A lot of them are pretty prolific when it comes to fanart of popular book fandoms, and if you’re an avid reader like myself, will probably recognize quite a few names yourself. They are all noteworthy graphic designers, digital artists, video game artists, commissioners; pretty much anyone who uses a drawing tablet. Enjoy the beautiful work, and hopefully be inspired for your own creative content, no matter what that may be!

Enjoy this list, it is in no particular order!

*I do not own any of this artwork, and have no rights towards any of it. If any of the artists listed below come across this article and wish for their work to be taken down, please let me know!*

CLICK HERE TO SEE PART 2 OF THIS LIST!

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Monolime Art

This artist has a unique style that has caught my eye ever since their work was showcased in a special edition of Sarah J. Maas’s “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series inside the cover. As you can see, they’ve also done amazing artwork for “The Folk of the Air” trilogy by Holly Black, the “Shades of Magic” trilogy by V.E. Schwab, “Nevernight” by Jay Kristoff, and even “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo.

Instagram: @monolimeart

Tumblr: monolime

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Charlie Bowater

Charlie’s work is simply breathtaking, and she definitely deserves a spot on my top three favorites out of all the artists I’ve included. She does some of the best work for Sarah J. Maas’s books, and her artwork has also graced book covers, and on the inside of dust jackets for exclusive editions. I only hope to see her work showcased even more as time goes on!

Instagram: @charliebowater

Tumblr: @charliebowater

Website

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Kayla Nyre

Kayla Nyre has a style unlike any other artist mentioned in this article. The UW-Stout Animation alumni has taken to social media to showcase her line of prints dubbed “PotHeads” which are an infused style she’s created because of her love of plants and art, and has been a great way for her to focus more on figure drawing!

Instagram: @kaylamnyre

Website

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Daniel Kordek

As a big fan of Ariana Grande, this led me to discovering this artist on Instagram. Daniel has a pattern of turning towards fabulous, fierce females of pop culture. I really enjoy the caricature-like style he has with his work, and his ability to cover all aspects of who are considered to be influential, powerful women in both contemporary times and through history.

Instagram: @danielkordek

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Ivan Belikov

I’d discovered Ivan with his stunning artwork that’d become the cover of the fantasy novel: “The Priory of the Orange Tree” by Samantha Shannon. While I was disappointed by the book, one thing thats held my adoration was his artwork—hint, hint: it’s the blue dragon below. His attention to detail is utterly magnificent, and I definitely recommend checking him out on his website or social media to get an even closer look, it’s simply mind-blowing!

Instagram: @further_up

Website

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Ngozi Ukazu

Ngozi is an artist I’d discovered through her incredible graphic novel, Check, Please! It’s about about a young figure-skater—who loves to bake, and has a vlog—going to college on a Hockey scholarship. Going from Georgia peaches to hockey pucks is already a big transition for a new college freshman, but it gets even worse when he’s got a big crush on the captain. I love her cartoony yet crisp style, and her Graphic Novel is a Sports LGBTQ+ romance to defs give a read-through!

Instagram: @ngoziu

Tumblr: @ngoziu

Website

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Justin Totemical

Just a few words that come to mind when I look at Justin’s artwork: colorful, radiant, transcendent, other-worldly, and trippy AF. His work looks straight out of a vision while on some sort of hallucinogen or out of some crazy video game, but is definitely worth remembering! He’s a computer artist, and is always looking forwards to the latest in whatever technology has to offer in order to create more visually stunning masterpieces!

Instagram: @totemical

Website

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Niru Sky

I’d first come across this freelance artist for their work on Julian and Legend from “Caraval” by Stephanie Garber, and they’ve also done amazing work for Nikolai Lantsov and the Darkling from the Grishaverse, and even the wicked king Cardan Greenbriar from “The Folk of the Air” trilogy by Holly Black!

Instagram: @niru.sky

Tumblr: nirusky.tumblr.com

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icandrawthingz

Like many of the artists on here, this artist—who also doesn’t have much about them on their profiles—have done great artwork commissions for books I love, like “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” “Six of Crows,” and “Vicious” by V.E. Schwab. They’ve also done some fanart from Disney movies and even some OC work of their own. Their work definitely gives me some Disney Animation Studios-esque style!

Instagram: @icandrawthingz

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Natalia Dias

Natalia does some brilliant work with colorful female portraits. They can either be realistic and contemporary or more on the fantasy side, but their most notable work comes from the colorful hair they seem to be a master of commissioning! Her work takes on a euphoric vibe with women of all shapes, sizes, and skin colors to enjoy!

Instagram: @nataliadsw

Website

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Gabriel Picolo

Kayla Nyre, a close friend of mine—remember her potheads from earlier?—recommended this comic artist to me that they’d found on Instagram. I love his style, especially his work with DC’s “Teen Titans.” His scenes with them perfectly capture the fun, youthful vibes of the teens of our culture today, and even does so with Snapchat captions/filters! He can tell a whole story in a single image, and I’d read the first Graphic Novel for Raven, and while the author’s writing was sub-par, his illustrations were what truly shined!

Instagram: @_picolo

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Maya Danuta

Maya has a fun, lighter toned style of work that focuses mainly around the world of Harry Potter. She goes all over the place with Harry, Ron and Hermoine but also goes even further with some artwork centering around James Potter and the rest of the marauders during their years at Hogwarts! While any potterhead will appreciate their work, there’s also a few non-HP related work worth checking out too!

Instagram: @wingedcorgiart

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Tara Spruit

Tara is a brilliant illustrator who’s work is used in exclusive YA-Fantasy subscription boxes like Fairyloot and Owlcrate on a regular basis. She’s done work for just about EVERY fantasy book fandom there is, and that’s too many names to list! If it’s a popular YA Fantasy book/series, odds are she’s created some beautiful artwork for everyone to enjoy!

Instagram: @taratjah

Twitter: @taratjah

Tumblr: @taratjah

Website

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Kira Night

A fellow Minnesotan like myself, Kira is a great artist who loves to use her work to explore whimsical lands with many interesting characters. I was first drawn to her work through some amazing artwork of characters from V.E. Schwab’s “Shades of Magic” Series, but she’s also done Tarot card designs of the “Six of Crows” characters too!

Instagram: @kiranight_art

Website

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Laura Casara

Another artist who does absolutely brilliant artwork of characters from books by Holly Black and V.E. Schwab that I’ve mentioned before. At first, her work is light, whimsical, and full of color until you peer closer and see the character’s dark expressions. She does a wonderful job of sneaking darkness into her characters to it more of a wicked edge!

Instagram: @loweana.art

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Salome Totladze

Much like Tara Spruit, Salome has done artwork for just about EVERY major book fandom out there when it comes to Fantasy novels/series. I’ve been following this fashion designer, illustrator, and comic artist on social media since their earlier days of posting characters from the “Throne of Glass” series, and it’s been an absolute joy to see them continue to improve with every work of art posted for the world to see!

Instagram: @morgana0anagrom

Twitter: @morgana0anagrom

Tumblr: @morgana0anagrom

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Gabriella Bujdoso

Another incredible artist to add to this collection, they do a lot of commissions for popular book fandoms. Along with titles I’ve mentioned for other designers, they’ve also done work for “An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir, the “Captive Prince” trilogy by C.S Pacat, and “House of Earth and Blood” by Sarah J. Maas. Gabriella also has a distinct style that places them amongst who are considered the best of book fandom artists!

Instagram: @gabriella.bujdoso

Twitter: @gabibujdoso

Website

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Diana Dworak

Diana is another book fandom artist that’s worth mentioning because their work is also gorgeous! They’ve made art for many popular book series, and she’s also done work for “Children of Blood and Bone” by Toni Adeyemi and “Mistborn” by Brandon Sanderson.

Instagram: @dianadworak

Twitter: @DianaDworak

Website

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Nolan Harris

Nolan is a different kind of artist on here who’s not known for commissioning for popular book fandoms, or really even their own character/environments. He’s actually a freelance illustrator that makes pieces of the professional wrestlers of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and has been hired by the company for many merchandise opportunities. His style is so much fun to look at, and captures the essence of each superstar perfectly while infusing it with his caricature style.

Instagram: @nolanium

Website

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Coralie Jubénot

Coralie is by far my favorite digital artist amongst all the names I know…I mean, I’m not sure I need to explain why when you look at their gallery below. Her art is instantly recognizable amongst all the book fandoms for their uniquely drawn characters and their distinctly sharpened facial features. She can really draw those Sarah J. Maas males like Chaol, Dorian, Rowan, and Rhysand to perfection!

Instagram: @merwildandco

Twitter: @Merwild

Website

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N.C. Winters

N.C Winters has artwork that feels incredibly surreal. Whether it’s a beautiful dream or a complete nightmare, the imagery packs a wallop and leaves a lasting impression. They love to focus on beautiful disaster and the windows to the soul; some of their work really reminds me of the cursed crew of the Flying Duchman from “The Pirates of the Caribbean” movies!

Instagram: @ncwinersart

Website

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PhantomRin

One of the first digital artists I’d ever discovered on Instagram, they were also one of the first artists to showcase fanart of Holly Black’s “The Folk of the Air” trilogy. Their style is more simplistic than some of the other names mentioned in this collection, but that doesn’t deteriorate from their work at all! What I can appreciate about their art is how they’re willing to try different styles and different choices of mediums while maintaining their key characteristics that fans can still recognize. Check out their stuff on Instagram if you don’t believe me!

Instagram: @phantomrin

Tumblr: phantomrin.tumblr.com

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Fab Ng

Some key words for this artist’s work is gay, erotic, and Fabuloooooous! They’ve recently gone more in the direction of creating sexy male mermaids, but what initially drew me in was their collection of overly sexualized male superheroes. They do a lot of different types of freelance work with contemporary models, DC and Marvel characters, mermaids and other mythological half-creatures, and also draw up some fierce females too! They have a Patreon page to view their raunchier work, since Instagram unfortunately doesn’t allow such art on their platform.

Instagram: @artbyfab

Tumblr: artbyfab.tumblr.com

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Jemlin Creations

A digital artist that started their little business by designing bookmarks showcasing popular YA and Adult Fantasy characters for fans to add a gorgeous little visual for their reading adventures. They’ve recently gotten more popular for their colorful style, and so they’ve been posting their art on Instagram for all of us to enjoy!

Instagram: @jemlincreations

Website

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Mitch Aseltine

A more recent addition to this collection, I’d discovered this freelance concept artist through @phantasyarts on Instagram: a collection page of amazing concept art and matte paintings for fans of sci-fi/fantasy imagery. He’s got amazing style, and his artwork looks like it should be showcased in video games; I feel like he’s going to be a name to remember!

Instagram: @mitchaseltine

Website

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So, there you have it! So many names, and so much amazing artwork to enjoy and inspire. I wanted to create an article to collect names and profiles not only for me to refer back to, but for others as well for any reason: to discover more artist names, for inspiration on your own artwork, or even for fellow writers who want to use art as a prompt.

I plan to continuously add more and more names as time goes on, so feel free to bookmark this page and refer back to it from time to time too. I want this to be a great resource for interested parties, and please please please please please reach out and talk to me if there are names not on here that you feel like they should be! There are so many artists out there, not even I am aware of everyone out there. Thats kind of the beauty of it; it’s a constant hunt to find them all.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PART 2 OF THE LIST!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell