Niki Usagi is a Hungarian- born, London based illustrator and visual artist. Her love of bold shapes and punchy colours, close ups and nostalgia are masterfully captured as she combines analogue and digital techniques to create mixed media artworks.
“I’d say my style is heavily influenced by mid-century Eastern European illustrations and cartoons. I was born in Budapest, Hungary, in the ’80s—a really interesting transitional time. On one hand, I was surrounded by a rich artistic and cultural legacy from the mid-century: bold shapes, limited colour palettes, striking but whimsical visuals. Then, after the fall of socialism in the ’90s, we suddenly had cable TV and all the Western influences pouring in— Disney, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon. I loved all of it, but I stayed deeply attached to the originals I grew up with, which were so different. I think being shaped by these two very different worlds at such a formative time has made my style—and my personality—quite eclectic.”
