Taking the Pulse with Aditya Nosib

Aditya (Adi) Nosib is a creative and versatile visual development artist and character designer with a deep passion for visual storytelling. An Alumni of Seneca's Illustration program adds a Young Blood Illustration category win in the Applied Arts 2025 Applied Arts Illustration Awards to his list of accomplishments, for his standout work, Road Trip. We caught up with Adi to learn more about his practice, influences, and approach to storytelling through illustration.

Road Trip by Adi Nosib, 2025 Applied Arts Illustration Awards winner in the Young Blood category

How would you describe your artistic style?

I would say my hand and personal taste trend towards sharp, angular and more geometric work with vibrant colours and hard-edged, "candy-like" cel-shading. However, my most recent work has been heavily influenced by the deliberately flat, shapely and iconographic look of the early 2000s' UPA revival style as well as the flowing forms of Stephen Silver's character design work. Additionally, when I'm working on a bigger project, part of my thought process is deciding what kind of style would best suit its story. This can either mean learning to work in a style that's far off from how I'm used to drawing, or just changing one or two things about the decisions I already make naturally. Altogether, I'd say I like to try and maintain a certain level of stylistic plurality.

What inspires you?

I am very inspired by a variety of animation, including student thesis films, tv and feature animation and independent animation. I've actually been back in school since May, studying Classical Animation at Vancouver Film School – I'll be graduating in April. I try to keep a certain liveliness, gestural motion and storytelling when drawing that I hope brings with it an animated quality- even if what I'm working on doesn't actually move. When I'm designing a character that I know I have no intention of ever animating, I still try to think of it as if I or someone else will need to- I find that more often than not it leads to more effective designs that align most with what I want my work to look like. Animated media has, without a doubt, been my biggest inspiration as an artist, and I would credit it as being the reason I draw at all. Be it the big expressions of Studio Trigger anime, the iconic shapes of early 2000s Cartoon Network shows or the heavily personal creativity behind my favourite animated thesis films- all have left an indelible mark on the kind of art I want to create, and not only what I want that art to look like but also how I want it to feel.

What are you working on professionally? Anything outside of the usual?

While not strictly speaking professional, I've been hard at work on my own thesis film for the animation program I'm currently in. I have had the story idea in my head since before starting my studies at Vancouver Film School. I only have 1 minute to tell it – so the pressure is definitely there, but it is vastly overshadowed by how much fun the process has been. The instruction and support of my instructors and TAs, and of course my classmates who are in it side-by-side with me, have been inspiring. Visually, my film is inspired by the cartoons I watched growing up- Powerpuff Girls and My Life as a Teenage Robot for the character designs and The Amazing World of Gumball and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy for the backgrounds. The story is really just about friendship, and I won't say more than that to keep from spoiling it. Getting to make an animated thesis film is a major dream come true for me, I remember getting on YouTube as a kid, seeing all these films animation students had made and waiting patiently for a second "episode" or sequel of some kind, not realizing until years later that these incredible short films I was watching were created as schoolwork. There is something about that I find beautiful in a way I cannot describe, just the idea of being given an assignment to create something so personal and big, with there being a deadline but also people seasoned in the artform and industry of animation being happy to help you bring your vision as a student to life.

W: adityanosibdesign.com | IN: @aditya-nosib

From vibrant characters to animated storytelling, Aditya Nosib continues to push the boundaries of illustration—one bold, inventive design at a time.