NIHAO
A comic about memory, microagressions, and anger
Chrysalis (selected pages)
By Phillip Maira (Writing) and Kyla Smith (Art)
Phillip's Twitter // Phillip's Website
Single Page Comics
Ocean in My Kitchen
Square (Lyrics from Mitski's "Square)
An Open Letter to Someone Who Hurt Me
By Lucía Iannone (Writing) and Kyla Smith (Art)
Lucía's Twitter // Lucía's Website
Greatest Fear
Two kids talk about their greatest fears
Figure of Us
These samples are for private portfolio purposes only.
LETTERING EXPERIENCE
Lettering Assistant for Everything is Fine, a Webtoon Original
Creator (writer, illustrator, letterer) of Foxes, Fire, and Other Magic, a middle grade graphic novel from Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan
LOUIS' QUANDARY
by Julai
Lettering and Commissioned Mandarin Chinese to English Translation by Kyla Smith
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Original Art by Sara Linsley
Lettering by Kyla Smith
Greatest Fear
by Kyla Smith
NIHAO
by Kyla Smith
An Open Letter to Someone Who Hurt Me
Writer: Lucía Iannone
Art, Letters: Kyla Smith
THE ORGAN HARVESTER
Story, Art, & Letters by Julai
Mandarin Chinese to English Commissioned Translation by Kyla Smith
Vertical Storyboards
Chrysalis Thumbnails - Written by Phillip Maira
Suspense, Psychological
An Open Letter to Someone Who Hurt Me Thumbnails - Writen by Lucia Iannone
Memoir, Drama
Figure of Us Thumbnails
Slice of Life, RomCom
NIHAO Comic
Video Process
NIHAO Comic
Memoir
Color Design
Comic and Illustration
Inks and Ink Tests
This page is not public. Please do not share or distribute images on this page.
Deor by J.oori, unOrdinary by uru-chan
Color Tests
This page is not public. Please do not share or distribute images on this page.
The Kiss Bet by Ingrid Ochoa, Deor by J.oori
Foxes, Fire, and Other Magic
A middle grade fantasy graphic novel debut, coming Spring 2024 from Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan
Foxes, Fire, and Other Magic is set during the annual Obon Festival and follows a lost fox spirit and the nonbinary noodle maker who helps him find his way home.
Author/Illustrator: Kyla Smith
Editors: Emily Settle and Erin Siu
Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs
Coming November 2021 from Z2 Comics // Rolling Stone Press Release
Preorder here! http://z2comics.com/freddiemercury
For the first time in comics format, Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs will be a journey through Freddie’s life; from his childhood in Zanzibar, through his formative years in England, to becoming the rock star known and loved by millions around the globe. The story is told in his own words, with each chapter giving a glimpse into the many facets of his life.
Artists: Kyla Smith, Robin Richardson, Safiya Zerrougui, Tammy Wang, and Amy Liu
Writer: Tres Dean
Letterer: TBA
Editor: Camilla Zhang
Designers: Tyler Boss, Jason Ullmeyer
Cover Artist: David Mack
The Out Side
Fully funded on Kickstarter!
I'm excited to be a part of The Out Side, a comic anthology of trans and nonbinary comic artists.
Artists: Apakilyspe, Ashi, Jam Aden, Kyla Aiko, Lae Schäfer, Liam Coballes, Maddie Tacobus, Man Time, Min Christensen, Nifty Fox, Sage Coffey, Tara Madison Avery, Toonie, Veronica Triumphant, Wey, and Zhen
Organizers: The Kao, Min Christensen, and David Daneman
Cover: The Kao and Min Christensen
Frequently Asked Questions
I will never mint NFTs. Do not contact me about making NFTs.
What do you use to draw?
I draw digitally on an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil. I usually use Procreate and Clip Studio Paint.
What do you use to letter?
Depending on the project, I usually use Adobe InDesign or Illustrator. If you're looking for a non-subscription model alternative, Affinity Publisher is similar to InDesign and Affinity Designer is similar to Illustrator (and both go on sale frequently).
What digital brushes do you use?
I usually use brushes from these packs.
• Matt's Sketching Set (pay what you want)
• Trisketched Ink Brushes (pay what you want)
I also often use Procreate Pencil and Derwent (both are included with Procreate).
Resources (all links open in new tabs)
All About Literary Agents (comic creator specific)
• Danielle Chuatico and JesnCin's "Comic Creator's Guide to Literary Agents" (downloadable pdf, pay what you want)
• Wendy Xu's "Why You Should Get an Agent and How to Present Yourself to One: A Primer for Comic Artists"
• Victoria Ying's "Finding an Agent as a Graphic Novelist"
How to Put Together a Graphic Novel Pitch
• Go Komikimok!!'s "Comics Creator's Guide to Graphic Novel Pitch Packet" (Part 1)
• Go Komikimok!!'s FAQ About Pitch Packets (Part 2)
• Go Komikimok!!'s How to Submit Your Pitch to Publishers, Editors, and Agents (Part 3)
• Ethan M. Aldridge's GN Pitch Packet Twitter Thread
• Literary Agent Maria Vicente's "Creating a Graphic Novel Pitch Package"
• Victoria Ying's "Scripting a Graphic Novel"
• Victoria Ying's "What's in a Graphic Novel Proposal?"
Complete graphic novel pitch packets usually have these components (there's no standard order):
• Sample Cover Page
• About the Book (back cover copy, page count, b&w/color, genre, demographic, comp titles)
• About the Author (include relevant publishing credits)
• 5 to 20 Completed Sample Pages
• Sample Script
• Character Descriptions and Drawings
• Full Outline/Synopsis
• Extras (concept sketches, thumbnails)
Lettering Tips
• Sara Linsley's Manga Lettering Wiki
• Sara Linsley's Manga Lettering Scripts for Adobe InDesign
• Nate Piekos's "Lettering Tips"
• Nate Piekos's "Comic Book Grammar and Tradition"
• Phil Christie's "The Basics of Manga Punctuation"
• Phil Christie's "Manga Balloon Basics"
Twitter (@kyla_aiko)
Instagram (@kyla.aiko)
Support me on Ko-Fi
Purchase art prints on Inprnt
Download comics on itch.io
PRESS
› Underblong Best of the Net 2021 Nomination
› Rolling Stone Freddie Mercury Graphic Novel Press Release
Kyla is an Asian American writer and artist who lives in a town with an ocean view.
When not writing or drawing, you might find Kyla learning the zhonghu, making handmade noodles, or listening to Mitski and Mao Buyi.
WORK
I'm currently working on my debut middle grade graphic novel, Foxes, Fire, and Other Magic, with Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan. Publication is planned for Spring 2024.
You can also see my work as an artist in the upcoming graphic novel anthology Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs from Z2 Comics and as a lettering assistant in Everything is Fine, a Webtoon Original by Mike Birchall.
I also maintain the Manga Font Directory, a small repository of fonts commonly used in North American English manga localization.
CONTACT
Literary Representation: Jennifer Azantian, at Jen (@) AzantianLitAgency (.) com
Other inquiries: hello (@) aikosmith (.) com
PRESS KIT
BIO
Kyla Smith is an Asian American cartoonist and story artist who lives in a town with an ocean view.
When not drawing or writing, you might find Kyla learning the zhonghu, making handmade noodles, or listening to Mitski and Mao Buyi.
Literary Agent: Jennifer Azantian
Jen (@) AzantianLitAgency (.) com
PRESS
› Underblong Best of the Net 2021 Nomination
› Rolling Stone Freddie Mercury Graphic Novel Press Release
BOOK INFO
Title
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan
ISBN-10: TBA
ISBN-13: TBA
Goodreads: TBA
Expected Pub Date: Spring 2024
Creator: Kyla Smith
Editors: Emily Settle and Erin Siu
Designer: TBA
BOOK INFO
Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs
Publisher: Z2 Comics
ISBN-10: 1940878861
ISBN-13: 978-1940878867
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58164126-freddie-mercury
Expected Pub Date: April 26, 2022
Artists: Kyla Smith, Robin Richardson, Safiya Zerrougui, Tammy Wang, and Amy Liu
Writer: Tres Dean
Letterer: TBA
Editor: Camilla Zhang
Designers: Tyler Boss, Jason Ullmeyer
Cover Artist: David Mack
hello@aikosmith.com
Literary Inquiries: Jen [at] AzantianLitAgency [dot] com