Makayla Franklin

About Me

I am an artist specializing in digital illustration and painting. Primarily, I work in Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop, emulating the techniques commonly used in analog art forms such as watercolor and acrylic painting. When not working digitally, I work on small surfaces with watercolor and ink.

I am pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University, majoring in "Communication Arts," an all-encompassing term for the relationship between art and storytelling. 

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While existing in this world with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a rare bone disease, and the subsequent challenges of lifelong disability, art has been the greatest source of freedom I’ve ever been afforded the chance to experience and participate in.

On the surface, the work I create is a collection of narrative scenes, often featuring characters and figures, as well as depictions of gore and the macabre. Although the specific subject matter I cover in my work varies from piece to piece, the driving goal of each work I create is to challenge the notion that marginalized and otherwise vulnerable people who have been slighted by society don’t deserve a place to have their stories, joy, and hardships told. Through my work, I aim to reject the accepted idea that they must disguise themselves as something more palatable so the general public isn’t disturbed by the often gritty reality of their lived experiences.