Where emotions take shape.

The Motions live inside the mind of an entrepreneur in transition—each pair representing an emotional state we all experience but rarely have words for. Shadow States are the struggles we sit in when life feels heavy. Grounded States are the balanced versions we're growing toward. But neither is wrong. Living is nuanced, and The Motions honor that complexity without asking you to fix yourself or rush through the hard parts. They give you language to name where you are and a companion who gets it.

The Motions were born from identity compression—a process of peeling back layer after layer of what I thought I wanted until I found what was actually authentic. I started my business thinking I'd be a force in AI innovation and marketing, but it didn't feel like me and I couldn't make any decisions because of it. Pricing, services, positioning—none of it clicked. So I sat with identity compression: unpacking my experiences, my pain points, my patterns, and asking what's really underneath all of this? Clarity finally came. My target audience was me—the Overwhelmed Dreamer. Those pain points became archetypes, then esoteric archetypes, then character pairings. Inspired by Osmosis Jones, Soul, and Inside Out, I knew illustration could reach people in ways conversation won't. When you see yourself in something, you gain the language to navigate through it.

The Motions are becoming a graphic novel—a full visual story following Oliver Douglas as his inner world transforms under the pressure of entrepreneurship. I'm working with Echelon Graphic Novels and founder Ethan Murphy to bring this to life in print and digital. Beyond that, an interactive Mo Town experience is in the works where you can explore the boroughs, meet the residents, and discover which Motions resonate with your own journey. And dreaming even bigger? I'd love to see this become a movie or TV series one day. The story has room to grow, and I'm here for wherever it takes us.