I’m Nalena Kumar, an artist, illustrator, and animator based in San Diego.
Nalena is my more personal creative world. It’s where drawings, characters, small stories, and visual experiments come together. A lot of the work begins with sketching and grows through play, color, texture, and mood.
I’m drawn to imagery that feels tender, strange, playful, and a little offbeat. This space holds the side of my practice that is less about polish or problem-solving and more about curiosity, atmosphere, and building worlds one image at a time.
When I’m not working, I’m usually surfing, sketching, or collecting fragments for whatever wants to become a story next.