About Me

I am Nicholas Key (or just Key), an illustrator, painter, writer, and comic artist dedicated to the craft of visual storytelling. My work spans a variety of mediums, from traditional gouache and watercolor paintings to digital character design and sequential art. I created Alkaline Dreams studio and am the lead artist for Hadrien’s Will and The Defectives, projects where I explore complex narratives through atmospheric world-building. My work is, in essence, world building, where every illustration serves as a window into connected and parallel universes.