I am a conceptual artist who is driven to tell stories based off of my own experiences. I create stories and characters that highlight aspects that have made others feel different or alienated. As an artist, I aspire to tell stories that are deeply rooted in my own personal experiences in the form of comics, conceptual design, and character design. As someone with an autoimmune disorder that made me physically different from a lot of my peers, I desperately latched onto rare occasions of stories or characters I could relate to. Even if I just subtly highlight a simple detail to a character, or a one off moment that makes someone go, “hey, they’re just like me”! I want these differences to be woven into everyday narratives. I believe that something as simple can make a huge difference in someone else's life.
Ciro is my personal online persona, kind of like my mascot.
Ciro comes from a far away planet, completely comprised of large gnarled trees that make up the planet’s ecosystem. The people who live on this planet co-exist with nature, taking and giving back, repeating the cycle of life. They have wings to help get from branch to branch, ears to hear all the sounds of nature, all traits built for the world they live in. There is only one rule to this civilization, don’t start a fire…. Sadly Ciro is a pyromaniac and accidentally burned down half of a village. As punishment, Ciro was permanently banished to the planet, Earth, where the atmosphere change petrified her for a couple hundred years. By the time her body had adjusted, Ciro noticed her own wings were ripped in the crash, taking away her ability to fly. Ciro's eyes were also different, instead of blue pupils, they were replaced by the nebula view of their home planet, a constant reminder of what she can never return to. Nonetheless, Ciro persisted, and started to build a life for herself and live in a world she was never built for.
As my art improves, so does Ciro's design and backstory, we grow together.