Featured Artist: Mia D.

I didn’t watch my first anime until college. Now it’s popular with much younger students. Mia D., who currently attends Cape Henlopen High School, even creates her own characters! I had to ask this talented teen how she got to this level at such a young age, and here’s her answer:

“I’m a wild anime enthusiast, artist, and author. Manga has had a huge impact on my art style and inspired me to produce my own original works! In 6th grade, I began making anime-styled doodles of characters for my stories. Since then, I’ve drawn almost every day! Thanks to obtaining online art programs, my drawings have evolved from graphite artwork to digital illustrations. 

I started my first illustrated project, Matthew Eversen, in 7th grade. Character designs and sketches for the story smothered countless loose leaf sheets of paper! Though I continued to produce art, my written works stalled in 8th grade. Luckily, my writing started back up during quarantine. I took it upon myself to finish writing Matthew Eversen, illustrate the cover, format the interior, and edit the chapters in order to self-publish it before I turned 16! If you aren’t near Milton, Delaware to get a copy from Ogre’s Grove, click here to buy it online through Barnes & Noble.

On top of publishing a book during my sophomore year, I also started a teeny tiny business! Making anime keychains of beloved anime and original characters has always been a dream of mine! (And it is still my dream to make more!) I designed my first keychain/sticker in August of 2021 and got it manufactured with a company called Vograce. Kids at school fell in love with the mini stickers, so it became a trend that every time I placed a new order of keychains, I would order small stickers to hand out to classmates! You can find some rainbow, sparkly, or holographic keychains at Ogre’s Grove today!”