Featured Artists: Opalescent Eel

Hey, I'm Eli! I'm a queer nonbinary illustrator/designer and nerd who loves making things and helping people. Some themes & topics I like to work around include fanart of videogames, anime, and cartoons that I like, Japanese pop culture & aesthetics, delicious looking food art, adorable animals, wordplay and visual puns, and social justice with a focus on lgbtq identities.

I was born and raised on the east coast and moved out Canada in 2009. I graduated college in 2014 from Emily Carr University in Vancouver, BC with a bachelors degree in illustration, switching from my prior major of photography. I’ve also been doing freelance graphic design for over a decade after studying it during high school.

When I’m not working, I spend my time drawing with friends, playing videogames and cooking with my partner, browsing design blogs, or practicing digital painting. In non-pandemic times, I vend at several conventions every year. I’ve been putting my time into 3d art lately and teaching myself Blender and making mods for The Sims 4, as well as mentoring others in online spaces. I also run a shop from home while doing freelance creative work and thinking up new merch to bring to local conventions. I've been tabling at Seattle area conventions for 14 years, having gotten my start at Emerald City Comicon in 2011. I love meeting people at conventions and seeing all the creative cosplays people put together.

Links:

• Instagram @opalescenteel

• Website: https://opalescenteel.com/shop