A final-year Illustration student at the University of Northampton has seen her artwork reach thousands of readers worldwide after securing a commission with a leading book subscription company – all before even stepping across the stage to graduate.
Originally from Düsseldorf, Germany, Annie Nguyen’s journey into professional publishing began with a university module that challenged students to work with external clients. What started as a speculative cover design for bestselling fantasy author Chloe Gong quickly snowballed into further opportunities, including a collaboration for OwlCrate‘s special edition release of Kayla Edwards’ urban fantasy novel, ‘City of Gods and Monsters.’
The collaboration required Annie to create a detailed illustrated dust jacket design for OwlCrate’s collector’s edition release. Working to a deadline of just two weeks, she spent long days in the studio developing the artwork for her final-year studies.
“I essentially dedicated a whole two weeks – including early mornings and late evenings – to creating something truly original and something I was proud of,” she said. “It was very challenging, especially because I wanted to push myself and focus on nailing the design for the author, as well as the book’s fandom.”
The project marked a significant milestone in Annie’s emerging career. Although she regularly shares her work online, seeing thousands of readers receive and celebrate her artwork was a completely different experience.
“Knowing that people are actually receiving it and it’s now sitting on their bookshelves is a surreal feeling,” she said. “I saw posts on Reddit and TikTok of people unboxing it before I’d even received my own copy!”
The moment the finished book finally arrived remains one of her proudest achievements: “There’s a page where all the artists’ names are listed. When I saw my name on there, it suddenly became very real.”
While the project formed part of a university assignment to secure an external collaboration, Annie has already received requests from other publishers and authors, and is excited to see her designs on more books moving forwards.
In this design – as well as her final-year major project – Annie has demonstrated her distinctive illustration style inspired by manga, webtoons, fantasy fiction and comic art. Her final major project specifically combines these influences with research into the representation of Asian characters in Western media.
Through a fantasy webcomic set in a fictional city, inspired by her own experiences as part of the Asian diaspora, titled ‘Anathema’, Annie has sought to create the kind of stories she rarely saw growing up: “I wanted to see myself represented.
“I wanted to create Asian-coded characters who are going on adventures, discovering magic and hunting monsters, rather than always having their stories centred on racial trauma or outdated stereotypes.”
As Annie prepares to showcase her work at the University’s Degree Show, she is already looking ahead to a future in publishing, as well as reflecting on how far she has come.
“I took a leap of faith and moved to Northampton three years ago without having visited the town, or England, before – but I’m so glad I did” she explains.
Reflecting on her journey from uncertain school leaver to published illustrator, she has simple advice for others considering a creative career.
“If you love doing something, it’s worth pursuing it while you still have the chance to. Even if it feels uncomfortable or uncertain, you’ll learn from it. And who knows? Maybe you’ll see your name listed in a globally published book someday.”
Annie’s work will be featured alongside other students from a variety of courses from the Faculty of Education, Arts, Science and Technology at this year’s Degree Show, running from Thursday 18 to Tuesday 23 June at the University’s Waterside Campus.