Octavia Thorns

Currently based in Grand Rapids, Octavia grew up in Chicago and studied Fine Arts at DePaul University, earning a BFA majoring in Graphic Design with a minor in Interactive and Social Media. From her Afro to her artwork, she’s influenced by her African roots, and loves old school Dizzy Gillespie and Muddy Waters posters. She’s also inspired by Art Nouveau and Pop Art, and political ideas.

Approach

Octavia thrives in Procreate and Adobe Illustrator, but often grounds her work with physical-world elements. She is an expert print maker, carving blocks, inking and printing images before taking them into Photoshop to clean up the artwork. Her digital art is usually colour, while her prints are black and white.

Styles

While her work is always bold and impactful, Octavia pushes her style in three directions. First, she likes to use long, continuous lines that vary in weight, with the ink bleeding into the page. Second, she offsets things with imperfect colour fills, bringing life to the moment. Third, she applies pencil effects, with quick, short strokes giving depth to the image.

Client list

Octavia’s clients include Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, Northwest Leaf Magazine, Rebel Girls Inc and Book’d.