The One That Sparked Everything: Origin Story
Choosing my “best” commission is HARD.
Because: Prince, Jimmy Choo, Stonemaier Games... and also that one commission gift that somehow connected Ryan Gosling’s stuntman to Ryan Gosling himself (!!). Truly, my life makes zero sense sometimes.
But if I really have to choose one “best”, it has to be Origin Story.
Because it was the spark.
It opened the door to my board game illustration career, and it let me do something I secretly loved more than anything: create superheroes in my own watercolour world.
Imagining my own superheroes felt like being given permission to play again.
Big teen energy. Endless ideas. So much fun.
With Origin Story, I had a rare amount of creative freedom: thank you, Jamey Stegmaier 🙏. I was able to design inclusive superheroes, the kind we still don’t see enough.
Every character was made with intention: different shapes, ages, genders, backgrounds, and energies, so more players could look at the game and think:
“That could be me.”
Representation matters, especially in games and comics, where power and visibility are centre stage. So I tried to paint the world I want to see.
It’s no coincidence you can’t tell the Super’s gender on the box cover 😉
And yes: I even gave my own family superpowers 😄
Jamey said yes to all my ideas. He is such a great human to work with, and that made the whole project feel even more special.
Takeaway: the “best” commission isn’t always the fanciest, the biggest, or the shiniest.
Sometimes, it’s the one that quietly changes your path.
You can browse the Origin Story illustrations here, if you fancy meeting the little gang of watercolour superheroes who accidentally opened a very big door for me.