VCA2022

Sophie Riches

Advanced Diploma
2022

Sophie Riches is an Indigenous illustrator with a love for the quirky and colourful based in Ontario, Canada. She works with a large variety of different mediums but especially enjoys using acrylic and watercolour paints as well as working digitally. She uses her work to explore themes of mental health and fantastical ideas, as well as to tell stories riddled with truth or completely from her imagination.

Instagram: @sophworm
Twitter: @sophwormmm

6

by Sophie Riches

This piece strives to show my rebuilding connection with my Indigenous roots. I grew up often visiting my family on my reservation, though as time passed I found myself further from my reserve and culture. Now, as an adult, I often try to reconnect that part of my life and this piece shows that, featuring important parts of my reserve and myself.

Pyrography on birch wood.

34.5 cm x 11.5 cm x 4 cm

Alone Together

Alone Together

by Sophie Riches

I created this piece in response to the social distancing protocols put in place during the initial quarantine stages of the Covid 19 pandemic. I wanted to put an emphasis on how our social lives were greatly altered by this pandemic and how, despite being physically apart, technology and social media allowed families and friends to remain together within that distance.

Digitally painted on Procreate for the iPad

23 cm x 30.5 cm

Cashew

Cashew

by Sophie Riches

For this still life painting, I wanted to pay homage to my new puppy, Cashew.

Approximately 23 cm x 18 cm

Painting: Images and Ideas

Identity

Identity

by Sophie Riches

This illustration is part of a 3-piece series, though this one is my personal favourite. The series focuses on things that Indigenous youth forced into Canadian Residential Schools lost, such as their clans, their homes and family, and in this case their sense of identity and culture.

Watercolour paint, acrylic ink, micron fineliner pens, prismacolor pencil crayons, india ink, posca paint pens

21.5 cm x 28 cm

Content Under Pressure: Drawing Expanded

If I Laugh

If I Laugh

by Sophie Riches

I wanted to capture one of my favourite childhood photos in a painting and recreate the nostalgic and happy feeling I get when reminiscing on memories such as this one.

Acrylic paint and posca paint marker

28 cm x 35.5 cm

Painting: Images and Ideas

Messy, Dirty, & Fake

Messy, Dirty, & Fake

by Sophie Riches

This series of work aims to celebrate all different aspects of the human body and put a spotlight on the unrealistic expectations that society pushes onto us. Some normal aspects of the human body lead people to unrealistic conclusions, such as if one has acne that they are dirty, which is false. I wanted to show how beautiful these parts of the body can be despite how negative society and media can be towards them.

Posca paint pen, glass, dried flowers

Content Under Pressure: Drawing Expanded

My Monster Anxiety- Pages 9 & 10

My Monster Anxiety- Pages 9 & 10

by Sophie Riches

I had the opportunity to write and illustrate a children's book for the Design for Print course in 2021. This is my personal favourite spread. The story strives to visualize anxiety disorders in a way for children possibly struggling with it to understand and learn from in a fun and relatable way.

Digitally illustrated on Procreate for the iPad, assembled in InDesign and printed on glossy paper

Design for Print

RUN

RUN

by Sophie Riches

This piece features one of the most unique looking dog breeds, the borzoi. An experiment of complementary colours and horror elements, I chose to paint this digitally on my iPad.

Digitally painted on Procreate for the iPad

Starry Skies Sophie

Starry Skies Sophie

by Sophie Riches

I was due for an updated self portrait at the start of 2022, and as a result this piece was born! I wanted to include my love of nightfall and childlike star, sun and moon motifs.

Digitally painted on Procreate for the iPad

17.5 cm x 17.5 cm

Sweet Tooth, Tooth Rot

Sweet Tooth, Tooth Rot

by Sophie Riches

A digital illustration I did to explore using bright colours and themes.

Digitally painted on Procreate for the iPad

The Chase

The Chase

by Sophie Riches

This short looping animation focuses on the predator and prey relationships many animals have- the fear of constantly running to stay alive, and the necessary chase needed in order for a predator to survive. It was fun to combine such a variety of media into one piece.

Mixed media (paper collage, procreate animation, watercolour, ink, markers, photography)

The Date and Time

The Date and Time

by Sophie Riches

I created this large scale painting in an attempt to explore and visualize my feelings of grief after losing my beloved cat Peach. I wanted to acknowledge the incredibly awful feelings, but also the happy memories I started to reflect on heavily after her passing as well.

Acrylic paint, acrylic paint markers, oil paint, acrylic ink on canvas

91.5 cm x 122 cm

Thievery of Kin

Thievery of Kin

by Sophie Riches

We were tasked with creating a narrative composition including three animal-human hybrid characters. I chose to tell a story of bird-eat-bird: as it still baffles me that some birds consume the eggs of other birds rather than other meals. I also just love drawing birds, especially herons!

India ink and micron fineliner pens on illustration board

22 cm x 30.5 cm

Hard Core Figurative Drawing