Nilah Ate the Blog

Illustration, books, and baking… probably

just things

Digital drawing of a brown-skinned woman with dark wavy hair wearing a dark trench coat, a magenta sweater, gray slacks, and brown shoes. There is a pendant on her chest hanging from a chain around her neck.

They Only Come Out at Night

This post is mirrored on my ko-fi page. Follow me there! I’ve been trying to get back in the habit of posting regularly online, and let me tell ya, it’s hard! For like ten years I’ve mostly just been working…

Sketch of the back of a woman's head. She has shoulder-length hair, glasses, and a piece of paper stuck to her forehead.

Keeping Busy

This Friday is my last day on Disney Junior’s Ariel, the production I’ve been working on for the past two and a half years. As of next Monday, I’ll be on the job market! I decided to jot down a…

A ghost braids a werewolf girl's hair.

I Woke Up Like This

In early 2020, I left Los Angeles. I’d spent nine years there trying to kickstart my career in animation, but felt like I was getting nowhere. I decided to return to my home state and throw myself into publishing books,…

Digital sketch of a woman with long wavy hair looking down at a small fairy lying in her cupped hands.

A Spark of Life

Well, hi there. I find myself lacking focus when it comes to posting online, particularly with regards to my own art. In the distant past I used Livejournal, then Elfwood and DeviantArt. After that it was Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram,…

Photo of a basket full of garden-grown vegetables: cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes.

So I Started a Homestead

All right all right all right, this is a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while.   For nine years, I lived in Los Angeles, renting a room in San Fernando Valley and hustling in Hollywood. Now I…

Screen cap from the film Jurassic Park. A Tyrannosaurus Rex leans close to peer inside the windows of a Jeep.

Jurassic Dreams

I have recurring dreams. One of these recurring dreams is Jurassic Park. Why, oh why do I dream about Jurassic Park? It is one of my favorite movies, but I tell you now, it makes a terrible dream scenario, especially…

All Tweeted Out

There’s this thing about Twitter. And I know, like, one of the weird quirks of Twitter is you’re in this space occupied by millions of other people the majority of whom you don’t know personally and will never know past…

from the camera roll: coal, all ready for a quiet, relaxing morning

Why am I here, again?

I started this blog to stay focused. What I mean to say: I left Facebook and Twitter. It felt like they were consuming too much of my life, and I needed a break. It’s a hard transition. Back in the…