Welcome to a very special project that is incredibly close to my heart.
This series is a special collaboration with my sister, Johanna Vigfusdottir, a clinical psychologist, and her colleagues at Helse Møre og Romsdal in Norway. They specialize in using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to support adults on the autism spectrum with emotion regulation. While her team provides the scientific backing and psychological purpose, I used my art to bring these complex feelings to life.
Sometimes, standard treatment models rely too heavily on text, which can be exhausting. Our goal was to create a warm, visual, and sensory friendly tool. By turning internal states into physical characters, we hope to make it easier for neurodivergent individuals or anyone who masks their feelings to look at an image and say, "Yes, that is exactly what I am experiencing right now."
The collection features 12 unique creatures, each mirroring a specific emotional response through color, texture, and involuntary body language. From the white-knuckle grip of Anxiety to the protective shield of Shame, these characters map out the vulnerabilities we all carry inside.
I invite you to explore the collection, and I hope these creatures bring comfort and insight to your own inner world today.
Neutral
When designing Neutral, I wanted to capture that quiet, blank space where you are simply resting between emotions. I chose a very light tan color to keep him free from any emotional weight, giving him a completely relaxed stance and an expressionless face. For me, this creature represents that calm, flat baseline—the peaceful (or sometimes protective) state of just being, without the need to show anything to the world.
Anger
To me, anger is a rigid wall of hot resentment. This deep red creature stands with his feet apart and arms crossed, his fur prickly and his tail puffed up in pure frustration. I chose this aggressive, tense posture to show that internal boil where you harden your body to block out the world and protect your hurt inside.
Anxiety
I wanted to show how overwhelming and paralyzing it feels when your mind starts racing. I made him entirely grey to reflect how anxiety drains the color out of your world. To capture that restless, frozen tension, I drew him in a tight, protective pose with his knees turned inward, covered in cold sweat and holding onto his tail as tightly as he can—just trying to hold himself together.
Guilt
To me, guilt is an emotion that weighs heavily on your entire body. This dark purplish-grey creature stands with a deep blush and hunched shoulders, hiding his hands behind his back with his tail tucked tightly between his legs. I gave him a nervous, toe-twisting stance to visualize that uncomfortable, self-conscious feeling of carrying a mistake you don't know how to fix.
Envy
For Envy, my thought process was all about the quiet, internal restraint of wanting something that isn't yours. I chose a calm aqua blue and gave him a guarded, almost expressionless face to show how he is actively holding back his true feelings. By drawing him gripping his own forearm, I wanted to visually represent that painful inner battle of telling yourself, 'No, I can't reach out, I can't touch that.
Disgust
To me, disgust is a powerful instinct to protect yourself and set a boundary. This dark green creature turns his face away in nausea, but extends his hand directly toward whatever is causing the feeling. It’s a visual representation of a sudden 'Stop, don't come any closer' gesture, using his tail as a shield while pushing the unpleasantness away.
Love
I wanted to capture that warm, fuzzy feeling that completely takes over your body. I chose a dark pink hue and drew him holding his blushing cheeks in absolute adoration. My thought process for his details was to hide symbols of affection throughout his body—like his curly, heart-shaped hair and a tail that is curled all the way up in pure contentment.
Jealousy
I wanted to capture that tense, defensive friction of wanting what someone else has. I chose a light green hue and gave him an angry blush with crossed arms and a puffy tail standing straight out in frustration. My favorite part of his design is that he is turning his head away, yet his eyes are still locked on you—perfectly mirroring how jealousy forces us to secretly obsess over what we pretend to ignore.
Shame
To me, shame is a feeling that makes you want to curl up and turn away from the world. This light pink creature is visibly blushing, with his toes pointed inward, using his own tail as a shield to hide his face. I wanted this image to reflect that vulnerable, self-conscious moment when you feel entirely too visible.
Sadness
For Sadness, my thought process was all about the instinct to protect yourself when you hurt. I chose a dark blue color and drew him standing tense, clutching his own tail and trying to make himself look as small as possible. The tears in his eyes capture that heavy, quiet moment right before you completely break down.
Fear
To me, fear isn't just an emotion; it’s a physical reaction. This purple creature sits locked in a cold sweat, tightly gripping his hair. I chose this specific imagery because it represents that silent, internal panic that so many of us try to hide from the world.
Joy
For me, joy isn't quiet; it’s loud, bouncy, and bright. I chose this vibrant yellow and gave him the hyperactive personality of an excited puppy because, to my mind, that is exactly what a burst of pure happiness feels like