Proud Gunggari woman and artist Desirai Saunders is a digital illustrator known for her bold, character-driven portraits that reflect contemporary First Nations experiences and urban cultural identity.

The Magandjin / Brisbane-based artist told Style Up she enjoys "creating vibrant youthful works using strong colour, simplified forms and expressive characters".

"Creating works that feel both relatable and grounded in everyday life, particularly focusing on urban cultural identity and First Nations experiences," she said.

"I am starting to shift my focus in my practice and create more concept-led works. Using humour, satire, and youthful visuals to allow dialogue on more serious topics and undertones. This can be seen in my recent solo exhibition 'Tip the Bucket' with Aboriginal Art Co and some upcoming public art works."

Saunders involved herself in several commercial projects to build experience and confidence before a shift in direction.

"Early in my career I worked across a range of commercial projects with global brands like Nike, Apple, Canva and Adobe, but over time my practice has naturally shifted more toward editorial and purpose-led work," she said.

"I'll always be grateful to have had the opportunity to work with large brands like Nike, Canva and Adobe early on in my career as it really helped to shape my confidence and gain valuable professional experience as an illustrator.

"A lot of what I do now is collaborating with organisations to create illustrations for programs and campaigns that have a direct positive impact in First Nations communities, including health and education spaces."

Specialising in digital illustration, Saunders draws on her experience and cultural upbringing for all her projects.

"The consistent theme through everything I do is using illustration as a way to reflect lived experience and to create space for First Nations stories to be seen in honest, everyday ways," she said.

"I've always seen art as a form of communication and it's what I am the most comfortable expressing myself with.

"I specialise in digital illustration, particularly character-led work that explores emotion, identity and storytelling through expressive figures and bold visual language. I prefer to use Procreate on iPad as it's very user-friendly and accessible."

"My creative process often starts with a central feeling I want to communicate or a topic I want to find a new way to approach and view from a different perspective," she said.

"I think a lot about how to translate emotion into expression, especially through body language, facial expression and colour. I usually begin with loose sketches, testing composition and character direction before refining the forms and building out a strong colour palette.

"Sometimes I try and feel out a concept or design in my mind's eye before sketching, creating collages on Canva can sometimes help to refine a concept and straighten out all my ideas before I start sketching."

Saunders noted that how she begins a project varies.

"Other times I can see exactly what I want to create or how I want to translate my idea visually. Pinterest is always a fun way to get ideas and inspiration," she said.

"And if Pinterest fails for inspiration, sometimes it's fun to use a mirror to see how a certain pose or facial expression could convey a certain message. I love to explore body language, finding the right pose is key for me.

"Lately I've been experimenting with conveying my sketches into plywood cut-out acrylic paintings."

"The idea is to progress into experimenting with automaton with these larger pieces and make them move using sustainable materials. I just received a 6-month studio residency at the Caboolture Hub. Getting to have space to experiment more with these is really exciting for me."

Saunders said she has had several amazing opportunities, and hopes to see more First Nations artists have the same experience.

"Some of my most meaningful work has been in the editorial space creating illustrations for campaigns and programs that support health, education and wellbeing for the community," she said.

"These projects include working with the mob at 'Which Way?' for a quit smoking program, 'Deadly Diets' Mater Hospital x UQ and also Queensland Children's Hospital. That shift into more purpose-led work has been really important for me.

"A big highlight for my personal practice was holding my first solo exhibition 'Tip the Bucket' which was the result of an artist residency with Aboriginal Art Co. This felt like a significant step in sharing more of my own voice and experimental practice. I gained a lot of valuable mentorship during this residency and I feel like it helped me elevate my practice."

She said she believes there has been "significant growth" in opportunities for First Nations artists.

"I think there are more diverse opportunities as well and it's encouraging to see organisations recognising the value of our perspectives more," Saunders told Style Up.

"I think the conversation needs to move beyond access alone. It's not just about more opportunities existing, but about how meaningful, sustained and culturally safe those opportunities are.

"Fair pay, long-term relationships with genuine creative agency and collaboration are really important.

"From personal experience it's important when these opportunities are being created not to 'type cast' First Nations artists. Organisations should recognise and respect that as artists we all have our own artistic styles and levels of experience."

Digital art on printed vinyl. (Image: supplied)

Looking ahead, Saunders has a busy 2026 with multiple creative ideas and projects in the works.

"At the moment, I have a lot of motivation to return to personal projects that have been sitting in the background for a couple of years, my upcoming studio residency will give me space to experiment more with physical mediums, which feels like an exciting shift in my practice," she said.

"I'm in a really exploratory phase at the moment, still grounded in illustration, but actively pushing into new ways of working and storytelling.

"I've also been slowly developing a graphic novel over the past few years, and I'm hoping to secure funding to support its completion. I don't mind taking my time with this one as it's more of a passion project of mine."

Overall, Saunders is continuing to grow her editorial and community-focused illustration practice, "working on projects that sit within purpose-led spaces and contribute to positive outcomes for community".

"It can be really interesting to see what projects pop up and I have a few really cool public art installations in the works too in the Moreton Bay area," she said.

"I'm also increasingly interested in curatorial and exhibition work, and in creating platforms and opportunities for other First Nations artists through collaboration and shared creative spaces.

"I was recently a part of the Blak Creatives Exchange provided by Munimba-ja and Redcliffe Art Gallery. That exhibition will open to the public in July 2026."

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