I am a visual artist and alumna of the Gnomon School of VFX, Games, and Animation. As a first-generation Russian American, I grew up in a calm neighborhood in Staten Island before moving to the bright, bustling Las Vegas. I graduated high school with a focus in art and theatre, and when the pandemic hit, I balanced customer service work with GED classes, determined to reach my goal of attending Gnomon School of VFX. My creativity has always been my strongest trait; shaped early by my grandmother, a painter whose disciplined Soviet mentorship taught me composition, color theory, and the value of persistence. The rest I taught myself through exploration and a lifelong fascination with visual storytelling. I found refuge in Soviet cartoons and illustrated books, where I fell in love with their expressive characters, eerie stop-motion, and mythological story-telling. Animation and art became my escape as I admired the craftsmanship behind those works, studying each frame and brushstroke to understand how emotion could be captured through design. I often imagined the creative board meetings that shaped those worlds, dreaming of the day when I'm part of that process: helping build something that comforts and inspire others. As I grew older, I became fascinated with film and the way visual effects bring creatures and environments to life. Watching live-action and CGI merge seamlessly sparked the questions that guided my path: How do they do that—and how can I? That curiosity led me to Gnomon, where I immersed myself in the production pipeline, learning how art and technology merge to create believable worlds. I discovered a deep appreciation for realism—how lighting, texture, and atmosphere can ground even the most fantastical idea. Today, as a freelance artist, I continue exploring that balance between realism and imagination. My background in traditional painting keeps me rooted in emotion and storytelling, while digital tools allow me to expand those ideas into cinematic experiences. I aim to create art that feels both comforting and thought-provoking: stories that nurture wonder while acknowledging life’s complexities. Inspired by works like The Wild Robot, I hope to collaborate with teams that craft heartfelt, visually rich worlds that spark curiosity in others and inspire the next generation of artists to ask, How do they do that—and how can I?