About Me

Hello! My name is Sonia Nyawira Muriu and I am an illustrator born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. I am currently completing my BFA in illustration at Savannah College of Art and Design, with a concentration in editorial illustration, advertising, and branding.

All thanks to my background in fine art, I work traditionally more often than not. I tend to create my illustrations in graphite, followed by coloring digitally, but I also use a variety of mediums for my illustrations, such as watercolor, colored pencil, ink, and oil pastel. I’m very loose with my mark-making, so my work is semi-realistic and representational; however, there is a sense of abstraction to my style. I love color, and I love a lot of it, so my illustrations tend to be very saturated and bold, often using complementary color palettes.

Animals are a common subject in my work, but I also really enjoy drawing portraits and people. I enjoy focusing on features, such as hands, or jewelry and hair because I have a deep appreciation for unique details.

I do what I do because I find a lot of joy and fulfillment in representing the things that I know, the things that I grew up being surrounded by, and the things that make me the artist that I am, and that is why a lot of my work is inspired by Kenya, its culture, its history and its aesthetics.