nikolai espera
otherwise known as sebastiàn ungco
filipino illustrator
illustrator & comic artist
Nikolai Espera is a Best of the Net-nominated Filipino illustrator and comic artist based in Metro Manila, Philippines. They have an everlasting passion for local history, animal motifs, and discovering ways in which visual arts and other creative forms may coalesce.
about
nikolai espera
interests, for fun:
- elden ring
- the chronicles of narnia
- the legend of zelda
- animorphs
- life is strange
- scott pilgrim vs the world
find me where the sky meets the sea or through my contact page.
contact me
commission info
email me directly!
my social media
... you can also fill out this form!
publications
"my vaquero"
comic
"the death of koschei the deathless"
story illustrations
"o corpo seco"
story illustrations
"tanggal"
comic
"beauty and love"
illustration for delicate friend
my vaquero
alexander atreya (author)
nikolai espera (illustrator)
self-published under "estreya", 2023
"i've been dreaming of you again, my vaquero."three seasons of a queer, cyclical love story, immortalised in a six-page comic.
the death of koschei the deathless
alexander atreya (author)
nikolai espera (illustrator)
published in all existing, 2023
nominated for best of the net 2023
a queer retelling of a russian fairy tale collected by alexander afanasyev in narodnye russkie skazki.
o corpo seco
alexander atreya (author)
nikolai espera (illustrator)
published in panorame press under former aliases, 2023
an original horror short story with paranormal elements featuring two illustrations.
tanggal
alexander atreya (author)
nikolai espera (illustrator)
self-published under "estreya", 2023
“tanggal” was initially written as a poem inspired by the penanggalan folklore of malaysia. in choosing the penanggalan as the vessel for a hybridised exploration of change and its cyclical nature, both atreya and espera hope to inspire a wider interest in her myth, as well as the other quietly enduring creatures of southeast asia.
illustrations
original art
webcomic concept based on dante and virgil by william-adolphe bouguereau
character concept art, inspiration taken from the cover art of 'by love undone' written by suzanne enoch
promo art for short story collab w/ alexander atreya (more info in publications page)
graphic novel style concept; lyrics by charlie hickey
concept for an artwork inspired by maria clara from noli me tangere, a classic novel by jose rizal
character concept design for contemporary fantasy - vampire & fae
multimedia collaboration with my illustration on alexander atreya's photograph
character design for original graphic novel concept
unused original character concept art
character concept design for gladiator romance story
character outfit designs for alexander atreya
unused original character concept art
concept art for my vaquero (self-published literary comic collaboration with alexander atreya)
unused original character concept art
character concept art for alexander atreya
original digital artwork based on philippine folklore
original character concept art from a work in progress seasian fantasy series
character concept design for historical queer romance
personal artwork inspired by a scene from la la land
character concept art for alexander atreya
character concept art for alexander atreya
fan works
the chronicles of narnia
by c.s. lewis
beneath winter's shroud
about the project:
beneath Winter’s Shroud is a long-form webcomic set in the wilderness of Orkideya Ridge, where a traveling schoolmaster and a reclusive huntsman become entangled in a web of suspicion, folklore, and supernatural horrors after a series of brutal wolf attacks plague a snowbound village.
dark fantasy, mystery, historical fiction, thriller, romance
covers
bossy edition 8 - chimera
client: bossy
ashvale trilogy
client: jade church
title tba
client: casey lown
christmas with a chimera
client: isabelle taylor
unused cover
client: haji morie
until the world falls down
client: jordan lynde
prints
vesuvius pre-order reward
client: cass biehn
caught in a bad fauxmance pre-order reward
client: elle gonzales-rose
howl patreon reward
client: allegra hall
slice of heaven
client: psych
private commissions
literary zine
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here are samples of my works for Bossy. using adobe indesign and photoshop to create the layouts and illustrations, i proved myself essential to the sub-content editor team that put together this gorgeous magazine over the course of 2021.i contributed my own illustrations for the articles that i wrote, and was also responsible for a significant number of layouts, which i designed according to the editor-in-chief's guidelines.
wrap-around cover design
interior design
interior cover & my artist biography
interview piece (pt. 1)
interview piece (pt. 2) & interior cover
short story (pt. 1)
short story (pt. 2)
short story (pt. 3)
social media
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i manage the social media presence for a small made-to-order japanese restaurant based in tondo, serving as its sole content creator and designer. using adobe photoshop and canva, i create promotional graphics, edit photography, and develop marketing materials tailored for social media.this role has strengthened my skills in typography, photo editing, and visual communication while giving me an outlet to explore graphic design beyond illustration.
depedtv
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in 2020, during the rollout of deped tv's distance learning program, i joined ei2tech, inc. as an illustrator, producing vector artwork for grade 4 english and filipino educational content. working on materials that would be broadcast to students across the country was my first experience contributing to a large-scale educational project.all illustrations and vector artwork shown here were created by me in adobe illustrator. the scripts, animation, editing, and overall production were developed collaboratively by the deped tv team and are not my work.
