I am an exhibiting artist, illustrator, cartoonist, designer, animator, and educator from Sydney, Australia (Gadigal & Wangal Country) currently based in Tokyo, Japan. I work as a freelance illustrator, animator, cartoonist, and educator while also creating comics, illustrations, and multidisciplinary artworks in my personal practice. I have been a Multidisciplinary Freelance Designer for 7 years, prior to which I was an in-studio Graphic Designer for 3 years. I have experience with design production in many different formats, including web, social media, print, image, and video! I've also worked as an illustrator for a wealth of projects including editorial, promotional, and educational materials.…

Claudia Chinyere Akole

I am an exhibiting artist, illustrator, cartoonist, designer, animator, and educator from Sydney, Australia (Gadigal & Wangal Country) currently based in Tokyo, Japan. I work as a freelance illustrator, animator, cartoonist, and educator while also creating comics, illustrations, and multidisciplinary artworks in my personal practice. I have been a Multidisciplinary Freelance Designer for 7 years, prior to which I was an in-studio Graphic Designer for 3 years. I have experience with design production in many different formats, including web, social media, print, image, and video! I've also worked as an illustrator for a wealth of projects including editorial, promotional, and educational materials.…

Available to hire

I am an exhibiting artist, illustrator, cartoonist, designer, animator, and educator from Sydney, Australia (Gadigal & Wangal Country) currently based in Tokyo, Japan.

I work as a freelance illustrator, animator, cartoonist, and educator while also creating comics, illustrations, and multidisciplinary artworks in my personal practice.

I have been a Multidisciplinary Freelance Designer for 7 years, prior to which I was an in-studio Graphic Designer for 3 years. I have experience with design production in many different formats, including web, social media, print, image, and video! I’ve also worked as an illustrator for a wealth of projects including editorial, promotional, and educational materials.

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Skills

Experience Level

Language

English
Fluent
Japanese
Intermediate

Work Experience

DX Archivist / Administrator (Music Publishing) at SURF Music
May 12, 2025 - October 1, 2025
Digitally archiving musical media and associated print media from Fufi Pacific Music's physical library for the SURF Music digital music platform. Extracting mp3 files from physical CDs, scanning physical album covers and booklets, inputting and uploading data into CSV or XLXS files in a transferrable format, auditing data to ensure information has been correctly inputted.
Freelance Illustrator, Animator, Designer & Cartoonist at Self-Employed
July 1, 2018 - Present
Creating illustrations, comics, designs, and art directing for clients such as NAVA (National Association for the Visual Arts), SBS Australia, Google, The Washington Post, VICE, The Verge, Art Guide Australia, Going Down Swinging, The Nib, ABC Australia, The New York Times, Brag Magazine and more.
Artist in Residence at Bridge Studio
August 27, 2024 - December 1, 2024
I attended the Bridge to Kyoto Artist-In-Residence Program at Bridge Studio, Kyoto, Japan for a 3-month period from 27 August 2024 - 19 November 2024, where I worked on ‘Stage 01 – Visual Development & Research’ for my long-term graphic novel project ‘The Fog’ (Working Title). I completed my project in the form of research, writing, and the production of original comic art. I then presented these new works alongside other process materials during a 3-day Solo Exhibition on 09 Nov – 11 Nov 2024 at Bridge Studio titled ‘Fog Prologue’. This project was assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
University Teacher / Academic Tutor at University of Technology, Sydney
February 1, 2020 - August 31, 2024
Casual Academic Tutor in the UTS Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building (UTSDAB) & Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (UTSFASS)
Art Workshop Teacher at WestWords
July 1, 2022 - July 31, 2022
Teaching illustration and comic school holiday workshops for young people through Western Sydney organisation WestWords in partnership with Big Sky Stories, and Headspace, Broken Hill.
Research Assistant at University of Technology, Sydney
January 1, 2021 - July 31, 2023
A design-based Research Assistant through University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), with University of Melbourne (UOM), RMIT Melbourne in partnership with the National Library of Australia, Australia Council for the Arts, and Craig Walker Design funded by Australia Council of the Arts. “The official name of our 2020 Australia Research Council-funded Linkage Project is ‘Contemporary Australian Comics 1980-2020: A New History’. In collaboration with our amazing Partner Organisations the National Library of Australia, Australia Council for the Arts, and Craig Walker Design, we will map, archive and promote Australian comics and graphic novels produced in the last 40 years, and the artists who created them.”
Graphic Designer at Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Australia
October 1, 2018 - November 30, 2025
Creating graphics, animations, editing images, video, and audio to be used for the daily evening SBS World News Broadcast.
Teacher / Facilitator at Express Media
March 1, 2021 - May 31, 2021
The 2021 Facilitator for Toolkits: Graphic Narratives, an online graphic storytelling program for young Australian writers.
Comic Workshop Teacher at NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS)
February 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019
Teaching comic-making workshops to high school students from migrant and refugee backgrounds through the NSW organization STARTTS.
Research Assistant at University of Technology, Sydney
January 1, 2018 - March 31, 2019
Assisting in production of design and animation assets in the development of ‘Haru’ prototype tabletop robot. Project: ‘Applying Animation and Design Principles for greater emotional affordance in the development of Haru: a prototype tabletop robot’ Partners: Honda Research Institute, Japan (Dr. Randy Gomez) and University of Technology Sydney School of Design (Deborah Szapiro)

Education

Bachelor of Design in Animation (Honours) at University of Technology, Sydney
January 1, 2018 - July 1, 2018
Deferred (6 months completed)
Bachelor of Design in Animation at University of Technology, Sydney
January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2017
Graduate
Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication at Western Sydney University
January 1, 2012 - January 1, 2014
Transferred (2 years completed)
Bachelor of Design in Animation at University of Technology, Sydney
January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2017
Graduated

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Education, Consumer Goods, Government, Media & Entertainment, Non-Profit Organization, Professional Services, Retail, Telecommunications