Cameron Mukwa is an illustrator primarily working in graphic novels. His work shares his Anishinaabe heritage through storytelling and pattern design, as well as his lived experience as a nonbinary transgender person. He loves bright colors and bold designs that represent people of all backgrounds, and his passion is making art about being trans and happy, showing kids of all ages that it’s good to be different. His debut graphic novel The Ribbon Skirt (Scholastic/Graphix, Nov 2024) received four starred reviews! Read more about his debut in this interview on Cynsations blog. He also illustrated Beyond They/Them: 20 Influential and Gender-Diverse People You Should Know by Em Dickson.
Cameron uses gouache, markers, and digital media. His inspiration comes from the resilience of his family and his own lived experience as a Two Spirit person. Common themes in his work are transgender life, gender euphoria, urban fantasy, and Indigenous narrative. His ideal projects would include illustrations that illuminate the LGBTQ and BIPOC experience, symbolic works of fantasy of science fiction, or explorations of established properties from a non-white, non-straight perspective. He also would love to tackle a picture book project. More from Cameron can be found at cameronmukwa.com.