About

Welcome, welcome. My name's Ning, and I'm an artist and writer who's currently at Emerson College studying Media Arts Production with a minor in psychology.

I really love animation, video games, and comics -- learning about all the ways to visually tell stories is super fascinating to me. I'm also really interested in psychology, the diagnostic criteria for various mental health conditions, Classical Mediterranean civilizations (shout-out to Rome), and media criticism, especially in regards to video games and interactive media.

I've grown up writing and drawing, but I've recently wanted to learn more technical skills like coding -- hence this website, serving as my first official coding project. It's been hard trying to settle on the right "vibe" -- sleek? space-themed? retro? In any case, I want it to be fun and personal.

Interested in my professional experience? Take a look at my resume.

Comics

Fantasy is a Metaphor for the Human Condition by Erin Roseberry

An amazing comic about artistry, fantasy, and disability. I found out I have a business card from Erin Roseberry -- this feels like realizing you met a celebrity months after you actually met them.

Toormina Video by Pat Grant

A story about fathers and comic artists. The last panel always hits so hard.

Corpse by Ratt

When sheep create a religion. I remember reading this comic right before my Media Criticism class, and I couldn't stop thinking about it all during class.

A white wall with various postcards and business cards stuck upon it in a gallery format. From top-to-bottom, left-to-right: a black and purple Hollow Knight postcard; a grayscale sunrise with the words 'You longed to be where you are now' printed on it; a green forest with a red wizard walking through it; an orange business card with the ornate words 'Ink Cap Illustrations' written on it; a purple business card with a cartoon fox on the right-hand side and the words 'Roseberry Comix' written in cursive; a white card depicting a pensive, chibi girl with long-brown hair and a purple dress, and has the words 'Tarot' written on the top; a picture of a Tardigrade (aka Water Bear); a grey card that says 'www.mayaescobar.art'; an blue-skinned anime character with white hair and translucent skin that reveals their spine, which has flowers interwoven with the bones.

Video Games

a black-and-white drawing of a young, cartoon boy. He has black hair and wears a black tank top. He holds a kitchen knife, and in the reflection of the knife is a shadowy creature with one vertical eye. Behind the boy is a staircase that creates a triangular frame around the boy.

Hollow Knight

On my first playthrough, I got so frustrated that I installed the invincibility mod and quit the game. A year later, I returned, removed the mod, and killed my shade. I found the City of Tears and couldn't stop playing afterwards.

Omori

Omori might have been the first game I bought on Steam. I started playing because I loved the art style and psychological horror aspects, but the tragedy of the story is what ultimately cemented the game into my brain.

Celeste

I've only played a few hours so far but oh my god. oh my god. oh my god. It's so good.

Movies & TV Shows

Over the Garden Wall

I love the humor and sincerity of this show. The music, animation, worldbuilding all work together to create a story about loss, brotherhood, and the tribulations of being fourteen.

The X Files

When me and my sister were younger, we asked my dad if he could get the X-men from the library. He returned with season 1 of the X Files. We ended up watching the rest of the show, but that first episode really scared us at the time.

Avatar: the Last Airbender

An INCREDIBLE piece of art. This show really kickstarted my interest in animation -- I love how the show animates action and emotions, and I hope to capture that kind of movement and intimacy in my own art as well.

A grayscale DVD cover depicting an adult man and adult woman looking in different directions. In the middle of the cover is a small image of the man holding another woman in a bridal style. The words 'The X Files' are written across the cover, and the words, 'The Complete First Season,' are at the top of the cover. There is a white price-tag sticker in the upper-right corner that says '$9.99' on it.

Books

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

I started reading for a sweet, light-hearted story about a Mole and a Rat and ended up with harsh winters, old homes, and forest gods.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

An excellent horror book. One night, I was reading this until 3am, and I got so scared that I played the Semantle to calm myself down. Unfortunately, the secret word that day was "meat," so I felt a rush of horror when I input the word "blood" and received a highly accurate rating in return.

A book cover with an embroidered design on it. On the cover is a toad wearing a brown coat, red scarf, and brown goggles. His hands grip a thin metal steering wheel, and his hat is flying off his head. In the upper right corner are the words 'The Wind in the Willows.' The sub-heading reads, 'Kenneth Grahame, foreword by Gregory Maguire.

Some of my favorite...