“In all of my works, regardless of medium, one thing remains true: I am a storyteller; I am a world-builder. More than just telling stories, I’ve set out to build worlds that I can invite you into.” — Jayel Draco
Jayel Draco is a multimedia visual artist and the co-founder of Oneshi Press, where he is the lead illustrator, lead-designer, co-creator, and one of the six writers at work on the Children of Gaia (COG) series, which includes COG: The Great Nations of Rendaraia; COG: War & Horses; and COG: Regions of Rendaraia and Their Inhabitants. In addition to the various COG titles, Jayel is also the illustrator and designer for the forthcoming graphic novel series Tracy Queen, as well as the comic book series PACK, Mr. Guy, and more.
The world of Children of Gaia (COG) is the result of his decades-long collaboration with fellow artist Chris Covelli, which began shortly after they first met in seventh-grade social studies class in 1994. Since then, the desire to bring COG to life has guided his career as an artist, fueling his dedication to honing his creative skills.
Jayel grew up in New York City, where in 2003, he earned his BFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts, later branching out into animation, costume and prop design, photomanipulation, motion graphics, and VFX. During his time as a freelance artist, Jayel’s fashion designs have been featured at trade shows including Project and Pool, and his animation work has appeared in Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men (episodes 1 – 6, written by Joss Whedon, illustrated by John Cassaday, and directed by Neal Adams) at MarvelFest New York City, and in Wagner’s Die Walküre (conducted by James Levine and directed by Robert LePage) at the New York Metropolitan Opera.
For several years, he worked under the close tutelage of renowned comic book artist Neal Adams at Continuity Studios. There Jayel pored over Neal’s work and the works of his peers when Neal was collaborating on projects. This gave Jayel an inside scoup on in the inner workings and techniques of industry legends.
In 2014, Jayel teamed up with writer Lynsey G to found Oneshi Press, an independent publishing company dedicated to bringing immersive graphic storytelling projects to life. Today, Jayel lives and works in Missoula, Montana, where he can generally be found taking in nature, enjoying a beer from a local microbrew, and immersed in creating artwork for both his own IPs as well as work-for-hire.
Oneshi Press’ passion is creating stories that explore dark corners, shatter taboos, emphasize progressive ideals and immerse you in intricate worlds that you’re invited to explore! For more info about Oneshi Press—who we are, what we do, and our upcoming projects—visit: www.oneshipress.com
Available books illustrated by Jayel:
Testimonials
A.J. Schultz – Video
Editor/Producer
When I first approached Jayel about revamping my website, I knew it needed a pretty extensive redesign to bring it into the smartphone era. Although I had the basic idea of the elements I wanted for my business needs, Jayel knocked it out of the park with his design sense and technical know-how. I also really appreciated some of the back-and-forth testing he undertook with me to make sure everything flowed from page to page as I’d hoped. He left me with a website that I’m extremely pleased to have represent my company for years to come.
Chris Covelli
CEO Polygonpusher Inc. / COG Co-Founder
Jayel is an amazing art director, illustrator, animator and collaboration engineer. His talent at hands-on art fabrication, whether in the form of concept sketches, digital designs, animation or sculpture, is only rivaled by his ability to direct, organize, and bring people together under a common creative idea.
Jack Schell
Composer/Songwriter/Sound-Healer
Jayel is a most creative artist! His work fits with the music I write and I am inspired to write to his creations. Jayel Rocks!
Todd Johnson
CEO & Co-Founder Salar Inc
CEO – Healthloop Inc
Jayel has done some great work for us, on-time and on-budget
Joe Che
Founder of New York Interactive media / Co-Founder of Lightning Society
Jayel is nothing short of a genius. His ability to create and conceptualize worlds is unsurpassed. He works non-stop and makes things happen. His abilities are broad and deep. It is an honor to have worked with him and continue to work with him. Jayel Draco creates worlds and invites you into them.
Carina Rosanna Tautu
Director/Producer
A brilliant, passionate artist and a great human being! He collaborated with me for my thesis project and his work was simply great. I wholeheartedly recommend him! Try to catch him now before he’ll become too famous.
John R Kazanjian
Chairman of the Board, LandMarkers Development Group LLC
Jayel Draco is a unique and gifted talent who takes “imagineering” to new frontiers. Never have I met such a creative visual artist that also possesses the complex technical programming capabilities in order to bring his productions vividly to life. Jayel is thoughtful, passionate and compassionate about his clients and their assignments. He dives into the creative process, draws you into it and makes it fun for all. We consider Jayel Draco an integral part of our marketing team and highly recommend him.
Erica Schultz
Writer
Jayel is not only incredibly talented, but he’s infinitely patient. He taught me a great deal about After Effects, and I was always amazed with what he could do. He’s an amazing artist and animator and I do hope to get the opportunity to work with him again. Anyone who hires him is getting a knowledgeable and fantastic animator.
Jen Williamson
Ancient History Fangirls Podcast co-host / Writer
Jayel has designed several promotional pieces for me as well as helped me set up my WordPress website. Throughout the process, I’ve found him highly professional, responsive, technically knowledgeable, and enormously creatively talented. He provided exactly what I wanted from a design standpoint, and helped set up my WordPress site to make it affordable and very easy to manage. He is highly recommended.
Chris Piazza
Director
Jayel and I have been working together for over 10 years – he is my go-to guy for anything to do with either web design or visual effects. … His visual effects work for my films, music videos and commercials has been astounding. I have never presented him with an idea that he said he couldn’t do – and he always pulls it off. The best part of his visual effects work is how seamless and unobtrusive it is. … “Wait, how’d they DO that?” That’s the feeling I get every time I watch Jayel’s work. I value Jayel’s hard work and friendship, and he is an asset to any production or project he is on.
Jon Fordham
DP/Cinematographer
Working with Jayel has been wonderful! His work is always top notch, his attitude is positive, and his creativity is unparalleled. As a Cinematographer who has shot multiple films that he has provided VFX for, I am continually impressed with his visual and technical prowess. As a client that Jayel has built a website for, I am thoroughly pleased with his ability to translate my ideas into an elegant and seamless website to showcase my work. He worked with me to build exactly the site I was looking for! Regardless of the medium, Jayel Draco always performs at the highest level, and delivers flawless results!
Mike Collins
Drummer/Songwriter
I asked Jayel to animate a music video for one of my songs a couple years ago. He took my basic vision and came up with something more amazing and with more depth than I was even hoping for. His artistry, his creativity and his talent are incredible! You can tell he knows his craft. He’s also very professional, open minded to input and has great attention to detail. Jayel truly is a one of a kind artist and I look forward to working with him again someday.
WkdWest
Sculptor, Artist, Entrepreneur – wkdwest.com
Out of all the folks I’ve hired and worked with in the last two years, Jayel has been one of the most reliable and professional.