Riley Samels is an illustrator who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Kent State University and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications and Design. After graduating he moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where he spent a few years as an illustrator for gifting goods including greeting cards and wrapping paper. He now resides in New Haven, Connecticut where he Illustrates Pop-Up Greeting cards daily. Riley is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and allows this and other minority communities to inspire and fuel his work to amplify unheard voices. In his free time, he is probably tending to his collection of 112 (and growing) plants. Riley is a green thumb with a passion for illustration, social justice, traveling, and good food.

Riley Samels is represented by James Burns — to work with Riley please email James