Flame Con 2017: Queer Artists of Color Representation

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the fantastic Flame Con – taking myself all the way from The Bronx, to Brooklyn. (I drove…it wasn’t that serious of a trip). Never before having attended, I was elated with the vibe, the energy, and the beautiful people. I have never attended a con in which everyone said excuse me when they bumped into you. What?! No one ever has time for politeness at Cons! Well, they do at Flame Con. I was super excited about the panels, the exhibitors and the artists, even sparking up a conversation with Tee “Vixen” Franklin!

As I was exploring this con for the first time, I was drawn to the variety of artists and styles exhibited on the show floor. I could not take my eyes off of the illustrations of beautiful brown bodies. I knew I wanted to talk more with the queer artists of color that caught my eye. I pulled up my iPad and interviewed a few artists who I felt particularly drawn to. Yesenia Moises & Shauna J Grant First are two women whose artwork gave me shiny anime eyes walking by. Yesenia Moises and Shanuna J Grant, the best part is – they are both from my town, The BX!

Yesenia (left) is a freelance toy designer and illustrator – who loves to draw cute girl characters! Shauna (right) an illustrator and comic creator known for her web comic “Princess Love Pon.” I stopped at table L122 to chat with these two lovely ladies. Black Nerd Problems: What inspires your artistic style? Shauna J. Grant: Well my reason to li…