Natalie Riess (born December 7) is an American artist, illustrator, and

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

creator. She gained public recognition after her comic ''

Space Battle Lunchtime ''Space Battle Lunchtime'' is an American comic book created by Natalie Riess and published through Oni Press. The first issue of the eight-issue monthly miniseries was released May 4, 2016. The story is about Peony, a young pastry chef who is cho ...

'' was published by

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon, best known for publishing such series as '' Scott Pilgrim'' and ''Rick and Morty''. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's ...

in 2016. Her webcomic ''Dungeon Critters'' created with Sara Goetter was published by

First Second Books First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint (trade name), imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck, Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual e ...

in 2020.

Personal life

Riess was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and grew up in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. She earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

's illustration program. Her early comic inspirations were Jeff Smith's ''Bone'' and

Bryan Lee O'Malley Bryan Lee O'Malley (born February 21, 1979) is a Canadians, Canadian cartoonist, best known for the ''Scott Pilgrim'' series. He also performs as a musician under the alias Kupek. Career Bryan Lee O'Malley attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Se ...

's ''

Scott Pilgrim ''Scott Pilgrim'' is a series of graphic novels by Canadian author and comic book artist Bryan Lee O'Malley. The original edition of the series consists of six digest size black-and-white volumes, released between August 2004 and July 2010, by P ...

''. Her favorite comic artists include Emily Carroll, Gigi D. G.,

Kerascoët Kerascoët is the joint pen name of the French illustrators, comics and animation artists Marie Pommepuy (born 1978) and Sébastien Cosset (born 1975). A married couple, they met while attending the Olivier de Serres art school. They chose their ...

, Sam Bosma, and

Juanjo Guarnido Juanjo Guarnido (born 1967) is a Spanish illustrator and the co-author of the comic book series '' Blacksad''. Early life Guarnido was born in Granada, Spain. He studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Granada. Career ...

. She was also inspired by

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...

, especially for their depictions of cartoon fantasy food. She currently resides in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

Works

Riess creates whimsical, colorful stories in digital media or watercolor. She created the webcomic ''

Snarlbear ''Snarlbear'' is a 2012 webcomic by Natalie Riess. It follows the adventures of a teenage girl who is transported to a fantasy world, where she becomes a monster hunter. Synopsis ''Snarlbear'' follows a teenage grocery store employee named Daisy ...

'' in 2012 and it was originally intended to be a short project to improve her skills in art and story-creating. She got more serious about the project in 2015 after signing on with Hiveworks Comics. She created ''Space Battle Lunchtime'', which was an eight-issue miniseries that she wrote, illustrated, colored, and lettered all herself. Originally, she was going to pitch it to Hiveworks, however, it was too short. Instead, she submitted it to Oni Press in 2015 and it was Riess' first printed comic. It was published in May 2016. In 2018, Riess created ''The Power Within'', which is a customizable children's graphic novel that features different versions of three different heroes. Riess wrote and illustrated it, with coloring and painting assistance by Aliza Layne. It was released by Wonderbly in March 2018. Riess started the comic ''Dungeon Critters'' as a collaborative project with Sara Goetter in the summer of 2016. It was published by First Second Books in 2020. Riess created the backgrounds and colors. She illustrated the upcoming graphic novel adaptation of the first arc of ''

Warriors A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

'' with Sara Goetter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riess, Natalie Living people American women writers American comics writers American female comics artists American webcomic creators Artists from Pennsylvania Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women Warriors (novel series)