ELIJAH FELIX
Creative work rooted in purpose.
IT ALL STARTED WITH A WALLPAPER FOR MY IPHONE.
I NEVER REALLY SAW MYSELF AS AN ARTIST. I ENJOYED DOODLING AND SKETCHING, BUT I DIDN'T TAKE CREATIVITY SERIOUSLY UNTIL COLLEGE, WHERE I BRIEFLY STUDIED NEW MEDIA AND, IRONICALLY, FAILED EVERY CREATIVE CLASS I TOOK. IT JUST WASN'T THE RIGHT TIME.
THAT CHANGED WHEN I SAW AN IPHONE WALLPAPER AND THOUGHT, "I COULD MAKE THIS BETTER." I OPENED PHOTOSHOP, WATCHED A FEW TUTORIALS, AND THAT SMALL MOMENT SPARKED WHAT HAS NOW BECOME AN EIGHT-YEAR JOURNEY.
SINCE THEN, I'VE REMAINED SELF-TAUGHT, SPENDING THE LAST FIVE YEARS DESIGNING PROFESSIONALLY. WHAT STARTED AS A HOBBY HAS GROWN INTO CREATING CONCERT POSTERS, ALBUM ARTWORK, BRAND CAMPAIGNS, MERCHANDISE, BOOKS, AND MUCH MORE. I'M STILL LEARNING, STILL CREATING, AND STILL CHASING THE FEELING OF TURNING AN IDEA INTO SOMETHING WORTH SHARING.
Vine Showroom Artist Posters
Personal and Commissioned Merch Designs
DESIGNING CLOTHES HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DREAM OF MINE.
GROWING UP, I WAS ALWAYS DRAWN TO SNEAKERS AND CLOTHING, EVEN IF I COULDN'T ALWAYS AFFORD THEM. MY FAMILY DIDN'T HAVE MUCH, BUT THAT NEVER STOPPED ME FROM SEEING FASHION AS A FORM OF SELF-EXPRESSION. WHAT YOU WEAR TELLS A STORY ABOUT WHO YOU ARE.
DESIGNING APPAREL HAS BECOME MY WAY OF CONTRIBUTING TO THAT STORY. WHETHER FOR MY OWN BRAND OR PROFESSIONAL CLIENTS, I'VE ENJOYED CREATING PIECES THAT PEOPLE CONNECT WITH. MOST OF MY WORK HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON SHIRTS AND HOODIES, BUT I'M ALWAYS LOOKING TO EXPLORE NEW GARMENTS, SILHOUETTES, AND IDEAS. THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT SEEING SOMEONE CHOOSE TO WEAR SOMETHING YOU CREATED.
THE POWER OF BOOKS
EVEN AS I WRITE THIS, IT’S STILL SURREAL TO REFLECT ON THE IMPACT SOME OF MY BOOKS HAVE HAD, ESPECIALLY MY CHILDREN’S BOOK CRAIG AND THE WORRIES. SO FAR, I’VE PUBLISHED SIX BOOKS. ONE OF THE PROUDEST MOMENTS OF MY JOURNEY SO FAR WAS BEING INTERVIEWED BY WROC 8 NEWS ABOUT CRAIG AND THE WORRIES, A BOOK THAT I’VE ALSO BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO DO SEVERAL CLASSROOM READINGS FOR OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS. SHARING THESE STORIES WITH STUDENTS AND HEARING THEIR OWN IN RETURN HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING PARTS OF THE PROCESS. TO DATE, I’VE READ TO OVER TEN CLASSES, BOTH VIRTUALLY AND IN PERSON, AND I LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY TIME. BEYOND CHILDREN’S BOOKS, I’VE ALSO WRITTEN WORK IN PROGRESS, AN ADULT AFFIRMATION AND MENTAL HEALTH GUIDE, AND WISHMASTER MAGAZINE, A GRAPHIC DESIGN ART BOOK. EACH PROJECT HAS SHOWN ME JUST HOW POWERFUL BOOKS CAN BE AND I’M EXCITED TO KEEP CREATING MORE. ALL MY AVALIABLE BOOKS CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING ON THEIR COVERS BELOW.
ONE MORE
DRAWING
CRAIG AND THE WORRIES
WISHMASTER MAGAZINE
WORK IN PROGRESS
PROFESSIONAL CASE STUDIES
OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, I’VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO TAKE ON SEVERAL PROJECTS THAT CHALLENGED AND STRENGTHENED MY CREATIVE SKILLS. I’M GRATEFUL FOR EACH OPPORTUNITY AND EXCITED ABOUT POTENTIAL NEW ONES. BELOW ARE DETAILED OUTLINES OF RECENT PROFESSIONAL PROJECTS, INCLUDING IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTIONS OF THE CREATIVE PROCESSES BEHIND THEM.
CREATIVE EXERCISES
COLLECTION OF RECENT PROJECTS THAT FEATURE DIGITAL ARTWORK I’VE CREATED AS PART OF MY ONGOING JOURNEY TO SHARPEN MY GRAPHIC DESIGN SKILLS. EACH PIECE REFLECTS EXPERIMENTATION WITH NEW TECHNIQUES, STYLES, AND TOOLS—AN EVOLVING PROCESS THAT FUELS MY CREATIVE GROWTH. THESE WORKS OFFER A GLIMPSE INTO HOW I PUSH BOUNDARIES AND REFINE MY CRAFT.
VIEW MORE HERE ON MY INSTAGRAM: @EF900Z