Nicole Brennan was born and raised on the Jersey Shore. An avid lover of all things animated and cartoonish, she moved to New York City in 2016 to study computer animation at the School of Visual Arts (BFA Cartooning 2020), and later changed her course of study to comics and illustration in 2017. During her undergraduate years, Nicole gained a close following online when she began sharing her illustrations inspired by Broadway musicals, and co-hosted a panel at BroadwayCon 2020 alongside the cast and crew of Joe Iconis' "Be More Chill". Her "Be More Chill" inspired artwork has been featured in the New York Post. Since graduating in 2020, Nicole has worked independently on a variety of projects, including her digitally-designed acrylic earrings that first went viral online in 2020. She is entirely self-employed - selling her artwork and accessories online, partaking in art markets & conventions, taking on freelance illustration jobs, and creating content for her TikTok and Instagram pages.
HIRE NICOLE:
- Commission Nicole at artistree.io/request/nicolebrennan.draws
- Contact Nicole at nicolebrennan54 [!at] gmail.com for business inquiries
EDUCATION:
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (School of Visual Arts - BFA Cartooning 2020)
FEATURED IN:
- "Meet the Fans who Propelled 'Be More Chill' to Broadway" by Hana R. Alberts (Mar 21, 2019. New York Post.)
- "Location As Character" curated by Thomas Woodruff (Apr 5-20, 2019. SVA Chelsea Gallery.)
- "Fans with 'No Chill' Save Be More Chill: The Power of Fan Empowerment" by Eli Azizollahoff (May 14, 2019. OnStage Blog.)
- "More Than Survived: A Be More Chill Fan Meetup" Co-Host and Panelist (Jan 25, 2020. BroadwayCon.)
- "Pride 2021: What is rainbow capitalism?" (Jun 16, 2021. BBC My World.)
- "LGBTQ TikTokers Say Pride Merch Is Funny But a Real Problem" (Jun 23, 2021. Inside Edition.)
- "Beetlejuice" Broadway Fan Art Mural (Apr 9, 2022-January 8, 2023. Marquis Theatre, New York City.)
- "5 Easy and Affordable Places To Shop For Pride Month 2022" by Alyssa Griffin (May 25, 2022. Study Breaks.)
WORK EXPERIENCE:
- Self-employed, freelance illustrator and content creator (2018-present)
- Sponsored video content (brands include HUMANKIND Swim, Coldest and Artistree)
- Artist Alley/art markets (events include C2E2, SacAnime, AnimeNEXT, Animazement, Flame Con, BlerDCon, the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market, and the Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase)