Photograph by Caitlin Merkley. It's pretty accurate.
Connor Soikes
Previously known by Mark, briefly as Ezra, and now, “for realsies,” Connor Raul Lynn Soikes.
I earned my BFA at the Northwest College of Art and Design, where I double majored in Entertainment Art and Illustration. After interning as a multimedia content developer for KuriousMinds, and a short intermission as a delivery store assistant manager, I went on to work for myself in 2016 as a freelance artist, working with private clients, creating illustrations, logos, and card art. Currently, I work full-time to solve guest issues revolving around games, game systems and fandom as an Assistant Store Leader with GameStop.
I am looking for ways to break back into the creative scene, picking up commission work intermittently, and pursuing costuming jaunts with my partners. I also contribute to several fandom art collections, and continue to draw for myself. It’s more than just a hobby for me, and I’m ready to take the next steps professionally as a visual communicator.
I strive to combine high quality digital work with affordability when it comes to my private clients. My niche content and style offer premium results without breaking the bank. While I illustrate and solve problems for others, I also chip time into my personal creative work, returning to the creatures, characters, and worlds I once created as a kid in pencil and crayon with an adult perspective.
I bring concepts and ideas to life, working from bullet point lists and descriptions to create populated worlds and digital paintings. Even now, I am still learning and teaching myself more programs to breathe new life into ideas - to graduate from an illustration to a 3D creation.
Ultimately, I would like to bring them to an interactive media in a way that facilitates learning and education. To question our climates and environments. To share with one another across borders.