Stefan Gliosca

I’m an illustrator and graphic designer from Toronto, Canada, with a passion for character art and design. Primarily, I tell dynamic visual stories, drawing on influences from anime and video games when creating characters and worlds.

Milky Way Café

A collection of brand imagery for a fictional, outer-space themed restaurant known as Milky Way Café. Includes designs for mascots, menu and merchandise mock-ups, a mural mock-up and renders for brand imagery. My goal was to appeal to a younger audience, as well as fans of the “kawaii” aesthetic. The imagery also promotes the brand’s theme of “going beyond your comfort zone” with exciting colours and characters.

Beer Labels

Illustrations promoting a fantasy-themed beer label, with the names “Unicorn Tears IPA” and “Dragonslayer Lager.” Inspired by labels and imagery from breweries such as Collective Arts Brewing and Indie Ale House, I used a stylized, stained-glass style with a single-colour palette between the labels to give a mature yet quirky vibe. I also drew inspiration from the beer’s flavours, using the purple “evil” figure and the green “good” figure to indicate priority over the sour and light flavours, respectively.

Infographics

Two infographics that exhibit my skills in composition, organization and colour. Fried Dough gives a history and biography on various fried-dough dishes from around the world, organizing them by preparation method and ingredients. Our Friends Upstairs gives information on Chimney Swifts, their habitats and behaviour, threats, and conservation methods.

People, Places Never Seen Before

Book illustrations inspired by an excerpt from a novel. The main character is a mistreated schoolboy who gets arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. He envisions his ride to the detention centre as a trip to a fictional summer camp from his childhood. Envisioned as an escapist “fantasy land,” the characters appear as living plushies with bright, flat colours, in contrast to the boy’s darker, more rendered art style.

Pulsar Pitch

A short comic serving as a pitch for a long-held story idea titled “Pulsar.” The story features a quartet of world-hopping superheroes chosen by the gods to fend off a world-eating, alien parasite called the Terraplague. The story also follows the life struggles of the characters, including the main character, Samuel’s desire to escape his stagnant lifestyle. Inspired by Japanese tokusatsu media, this comic gives a brief look at the personalities, dynamics and abilities of the main characters as they venture to slay a Terraplague. Hints at plotlines within the full story are also featured.

A Bite-Sized Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians

A short, educational guidebook on different species of reptiles and amphibians. The book features colourful illustrations and facts about each animal, and aims for an all-ages audience, with a particular emphasis on children. Created using stylized digital assets developed in Procreate and formatted in Adobe Illustrator, the pages are eye-catching, accessible, and inspired by the books I grew up reading.