Welcome! My name is...

Kaianna Kaneshiro

Business owner, multimedia creative, illustrator, and storyteller. Explore my work below!

Welcome to my creative world! Expand on any project by clicking around.

my small business...

ohwhale.co

My magnum opus, established in July of 2023. ohwhale.co is a Japanese-owned business focusing on original kawaii illustrations, sea creatures, and K-pop fan merchandise! Everything is uniquely-designed and created by hand.Owner, Designer, Social Media Manager, Illustrator, Photographer.

Here are my...

other projects!

Nice to meet you!

My name is Kaianna.

Studying in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California under the Media Arts + Practice degree and 3D Animation minor at the School of Cinematic Arts, my experiences are based in collaborative creative work with my peers. I have also explored several different creative expression outlets such as coding/programming (HTML, css, JavaScript), fine arts (oil painting, clay sculpting, charcoal), and digital arts (Adobe Suite, MAYA, Blender, Unity, Procreate).Utilizing my knowledge in the fine arts, I have been recognized for my works through various awards in cultural, visual, and advocacy aspects.My mission is to be the artistic voice of creative storytelling through visual or tactile medium, cultivating a community through the appreciation of the arts.

I am also a...

it's nice to see you here!

My role in creating ohwhale.co stems as far back as 2018, when people sometimes told me they would want to buy my artwork (yet I had no means to sell my work). However, I only garnered the confidence to open a business after participating in a small market in February of 2023. Since then, I have communicated with manufacturers worldwide, connected with artists in a similar field, managed and maintained a social media presence, and obtained valuable skill in marketing.

My Branding Style

ohwhale.co uses a theme of simple illustrations, Futura bold font, and modified primary colors (blue + yellow). Designs and social media posts are created in both Procreate and Adobe Illustrator, occasionally utilizing Canva as well.Constantly creating engaging branding through a minimal color palette allows me to experiment with layouts and artistic themes.Click on any image to expand!

Product Photography

Bright and vibrant colors are used to showcase my products. All product photos are shot on an iPhone and edited in Adobe Lightroom. Please visit my business portfolio page for more product photography.Click on any image to expand!

Product Design

With a dual emphasis in both Korean-pop and Asian culture fan-art and original characters, I aim to create a cute and inviting environment for people of any age or background to display their appreciation for cute items through items such as keychains, stickers, and lanyards. All items are designed by me.Click on any image to expand!

Sales + in-person events

I have been able to sell my artwork at both small-scale and large-scale events. In both Hawaii and Los Angeles, I have participated in the Artist Alleys at conventions such as Anime Expo Chibi, Honolulu Comic Con, KPlay!Fest, and Super Saturday Hawaii. I also participate in smaller craft fairs. Each of these events garner around 100-300 new customers as well as valuable connections with other artists like me!

In addition to in-person events, I also maintain an online presence through social media such as Instagram especially, with a follower count of over 14,000. Through engaging shortform content, graphic design, and simple photography, I curate a following towards my brand image that allows customers to recognize my artwork easily.Through this, it allows me to sell online on small-business platform Etsy, where I cultivate an audience that allows me to make 100 sales per month just online.Through this process, I have learned valuable physical marketing and customer service skill.

my purpose

On a more personal level, I feel instant gratification whenever I am able to connect someone to their interests through my artwork. Whether it be through Korean Pop culture, Japanese snacks, or even simply anything they find cute, I know I have served my purpose to its fullest.As my business evolves, I recognize how important this outlet is for people across not only the nation, but the world. Having garnered a large audience, vended at events in multiple states, met artists I look up to, ohwhale.co fulfills me in a way that's way larger than just myself.

success thrives on love.

Illustrations

Drawing and illustration are fundamental aspects of my creative processes. Whether it be to ideate a larger-scale project, to create designs for my business, or to simply illustrate for enjoyment, I have dabbled in almost every form of traditional and digital illustration work.

Below is a collection of various traditional artworks created with various medium. Most works done for art classes.Mediums: Oil, Pencil, Acrylic Paint, Ink, and Colored Pencil.

Below are several examples of my digital artworks. They range in different styles from cute and simplistic to more complex and detailed.Program used: Procreate

Awards

University of Southern California's Discovery Honors Award
Awarded to NO SIGNAL FOUND in 2026.

Clarence T.C Ching Foundation: 2022 - Inspired in Hawaii Poster Contest First Place
First place in the Senior (12th grade) category, competing against students across Hawaii.

Scholastic Regional Art and Writing Awards - Gold and Silver Keys (2022)
Two artworks received Gold and Silver Keys from Scholastic, as part of their annual Art and Writing awards. Artworks were then displayed in the Hawaii State Art Museum from late February to late March

HATJ Nengajo (New-Years Card) Contest 2019 - Third Place
Artistic category voted by students and teachers of Hawaii.

HATJ Nengajo (New-Years Card) Contest 2018 - Runner Up
Artistic category voted by students and teachers of Hawaii.

Clarence T.C Ching Foundation: 2018 - Inspired in Hawaii Poster Contest First Place
First place in the Freshman (9th grade) category, competing against students statewide in Hawaii.

Emergence

Original board game created in collaboration with Leticia Gomes Carvalho, Theo Pleasure-Park, Zachary Sullivan, and Reese Madison for IML202, Media Arts Studio. Card layouts, illustrations, color palettes, and logos designed by me.

Card designs & final product

Roles: Illustration (Procreate and Photoshop), formatting, narrative design, art direction.

”It's a typical morning in EMERGENCE CITY when an earthquake suddenly hits the city—or, at least that's what we thought! In the center of EMERGENCE CITY, a giant hole has opened up and strange, mysterious creatures known only as "Gleekers" begin emerging in massive numbers!"

hellcats costume design

As a lead costume designer, I curated costume pieces to fit a pirate theme. Below are examples of initial sketches/final renditions based on character descriptions and personalities, also accounting for agility and swordfighting.

Roles: Costume sourcing, tailoring, art direction.

initial costume designs

Final photos

Once the sketches were approved, clothing items were sought, modified, and perfected for the production. Below are images taken from the Dress Rehearsal.

In April 2023, the culmination of these efforts manifested during HELLCATS' successful performance at the USC Massman Theater. Witnessing the costumes harmonize with the narrative on stage underscored the success of the collaborative and meticulous design process, reinforcing the pivotal role of creativity and functionality in the realm of live production.

Sesame Seeds

Co-director, animator, and storyboarder of original short film 'Sesame Seeds' under the Asian Pacific Cinema Association at USC.

A short slice-of-life Asian-American film about a mother and daughter's love, connected through the familiarity of a homecooked dish.

animated shots

still backgrounds

mistfits

Art Director, designer, and collaborator of Mistfits, a merchandise line created for Hawaii Pop Boygroup, Crossing Rain. Created under the guise of Pono Entertainment, and Creative Director Karen Abe.

Pitch deck for initial production, confidential information redacted.

Final product photos

Final product videos

NO SIGNAL FOUND

Senior thesis capstone created entirely by me. No Gen. AI used in the process of writing, formatting, or illustration. Current WIP.

ARtist statement

I opened my Instagram account when I was eleven years old. This means over half my life is documented and archived on the internet, and half of my life has been spent in a digital space. I was the first of my elementary school friends to have ventured into this new realm, unaware of the long-term effects it would have on my perception of the world. This epiphany became the catalyst for my initial interest in dependency on the digitized world, the internet, and social media. Taking the form of a fully-illustrated graphic novel, I want the readers of my science-fiction story to look inwards on their online media consumption. In doing so, I don’t expect the complete removal of technology or AI from their lives, but rather also develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for in-person interactions and relationships. For accessibility purposes, I intend to also develop an online version of the comic, but its primary method of consumption should be through a physical publication. The minimal digital format of this project is intentional; immerse the reader in a space without screens, undistracted by the noisiness of the digital world. I strive to create an immersive and thought-provoking experience using lessons I wish I had learned when I was eleven.

COVER

BACK COVER

Page examples

abstract

NO SIGNAL FOUND is a graphic novel thesis exploring how hyper-digital socialization erodes authentic human connection. Set in a cyberlike-future where (participation in) mandatory algorithms dictate human connections, 12-year-old Skye discovers the unfulfilling reality behind her falsified life when a glitch exposes her to a fault in the system: a dying mall where the elderly gather offline. Through monochromatic, techy visuals (ex: sterile digital interfaces vs. real, decayed environments), the novel brings about a couple questions: How does community shape character? Can human interaction be replaced by automation? The narrative develops the environment through personal revolution and epiphanies: Skye's journey isn’t about destroying the system, but reclaiming awkward, candid moments as acts of resistance. Combining visual comics/art with futuristic worldbuilding, the novel challenges readers to reflect on their own digital dependencies. In an era where teens and tweens report unprecedented loneliness despite constant connectivity, Skye argues that human presence requires reality.

PRocess