The Slums of Ruggle Row ~18” X 24”, Illustrated with brown Stabilo multi liners & Faber Castell Brush markers on archival quality warm paper; Otis 2025
The Smoke Strip, known as the 2nd largest factory in Smokeshire due to its miles of length, ~11” X 8.25”, Illustrated with Brown Stabilo multi liners on archival quality warm paper: Otis 2025
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In-progress guidebook:
Lillian N. Yahid is an illustrator based in West Los Angeles, California. Her current body of work is visual development for an upcoming graphic novel, centered in Smokeshire, a large fictional industrial city shaped by migration, work, and the meeting of many cultures. Drawing inspiration from real-world cities, she builds its environments through varied architectural influences, layered structures, and everyday details, creating a place that feels diverse, imperfect, and lived-in.
LNY primarily works in brown ink, drawn to its ability to feel muddy and messy while still carrying a sense of warmth and comfort. There is something earthy about it, with just a little bit of spice, that feels right for capturing the character of the city. Through dense linework, hatching, cross-hatching, and wandering marks, she works to capture the atmosphere of the city—the heaviness of its heat and smog, the dampness of its air, and the strange familiarity that can make an unfamiliar place feel lived-in.
Rather than striving for perfect marks, LNY embraces the irregularity of drawing as part of discovering the world she is building. Her works exist somewhere between illustration and sketchbook exploration, developing a city that is not simply a setting for her story, but a character in its own right.
LNY holds a BFA in Communication Arts/Illustration from Otis College of Art and Design and has been featured in showcases throughout Los Angeles County in 2025.