Adriel is a Canadian-American illustrator and animator. He was born in Montréal, Québec, Canada, grew up in the States and graduated with a degree in animation from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Upon finishing an MFA in animation from the University of Southern California, he has worked at studios such as Disney and Nickelodeon on the hit shows Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Monster High, and Bubble Guppies. Adriel has also become known for his published works as an illustrator on the children's books I Am a Triathlete, Gary and the Great Inventors, and Kulu the Wise Turtle. Adriel has also won the Best Indie Book Award and has had works featured by Procreate.
My story is one with many locations, many inspirations, and many surprises. Artistically, I would say the root of it all came from being a child with a very inquisitive nature in a family of artists where creative ideas were often explored and encouraged. From a young age, I was always fascinated by the details in new things and fixated on figuring out how they worked. For various reasons, I also ended up moving around a lot between many different states and countries including Arizona, Hawaii, Georgia, Canada, Switzerland and more recently California. Amidst the relatively nomadic lifestyle, I quickly found comfort in the constant that was, art…
All that was left for me to do was find my own creative voice. I was always a huge fan of movies, drawings, and cartoons and often found myself creating things or looking for ways to communicate my passion to others. I learned that I loved making things for people to enjoy and connect with while simultaneously showing them how I saw the world. Many people in middle school can recount stories of me drawing stick figure comic books and selling them for a quarter between classes.I fell in love with the creative medium and wanted to learn as much as I could to get better. This led to me starting off as an illustrator then, after attending the Savannah College of Art and Design and the University of Southern California, I was able to further my passion through the study of Animation.
When it came down to pursuing a career, most of the reassurance I needed came from my mom’s mantra of “no matter what you choose to do in life, make it your passion and give it 110% all the way through.” It was with this that I persevered through ups and downs and always strove to grow as a professional. Through practice, networking, and amazing support, I have been fortunate enough to begin a career that has enabled me to work on films, children’s books, animated TV shows, and musical records. My dream is to pitch shows and direct films and I’m so grateful that my journey has led me to places such as Apple, Nickelodeon, and Slam Magazine where had wonderful opportunities and met amazing people.. Overall it is easy to say that I’m beyond excited for what the future has in store and where my creative career will take me next
Featured Publications
Gary & the Great Inventors
Written by Akura Marshall
Illustrated by Adriel Meka
I Am a Triathlete
Written by Nia Obotette
Illustrated by Adriel Meka
Kulu the Wise Turtle
Written by Brenda Mveng
Illustrated by Adriel Meka
paid partnership with Slam Magazine
Animated and Directed by Adriel Meka
SHOUTOUT LA | "Meet Adriel Meka" Published interview
Interests
Art and Animation
Travel and Photography
Music
Industrial Design
The Art of
Adriel Meka
The Art of Adriel Meka, is an aggregation of all of my favorite works from 2016 and those that I feel best represent who I am as an artist. Mililani, Hawaii has probably been one of my favorite places I've lived and a place I hold dear so you'll find a nice pacific theme throughout the book.
From start to finish I will flip you through some of my sketchbook pages, give you a look at some of my collaborative visual development work, walk through the heart-felt storyboards of my film, and much more.
