Who is Eric Nyamor?

Who is ...
Eric Nyamor?
Brief Erihii Nyamor (aka Eric) keeps things grounded and real while being one of the team’s biggest dreamers. His anime-influenced art adds both vibrance and credibility to the project. Since the launch, he’s played a key role in artistic and character development.
Core Personality Traits & Values Eric combines his passion for storytelling with a strong belief in the transformative power of art. He’s both a visionary and a collaborator, using creativity to connect and inspire.
Archetype The Creator
Motto "No matter how hard or impossible it is, never lose sight of your goals."
Collaboration Background Erihii has been creating dynamic art and characters for as long as he can remember. His recent projects include collaborations with the Nashville Black Market and illustrations for children's books across Tennessee.
Latest Work Linked below you'll find Erihii's Instagram for the latest on work and appearances. Further info can also be found on his "I Can Draw" website. The Yas x Yen IG is a production journal of Nyamor's graphic novel in progress.

The Call to Adventure: Eric’s Early Journey

Erihii Nyamor, born in Grand Rapids to Nigerian parents, discovered his love for art at an early age. His passion for drawing often got him into trouble, but it was his unwavering determination to create that set him apart.

From sketching his early characters to collaborating with authors and local creatives, Erihii’s journey as an artist was always fueled by his vibrant imagination and desire to inspire through his work.

Trials and Triumphs: Erihii’s Rise

As Erihii continues his artistic journey, he stands at the threshold of a new chapter. Having faced the trials and tribulations that shaped his path, he is now more determined than ever to push the boundaries of his creativity. His work, infused with a blend of cultural pride and imaginative flair, continues to inspire those around him.

With each new project, Erihii not only hones his craft but also empowers others to find their own artistic voice. His journey has been one of growth, resilience, and transformation, but the ultimate adventure lies ahead—one where he fully realizes his potential and leaves an enduring legacy in the creative world.

 

Memories...

The Final Ascent: Erihii’s Path to Legacy

Erihii now stands at the threshold of a new chapter. After facing the trials that shaped his path, he’s more determined than ever to push his creative limits. His work, rich with cultural pride and imagination, continues to inspire.

With each project, Erihii sharpens his craft and empowers others to discover their artistic voice. His journey has been one of growth and resilience, but the greatest adventure lies ahead—where he fully realizes his potential and leaves a lasting legacy.

Let’s Collaborate!

Let's Collaborate

Yaz x Yen is Erihii's current graphic novel project.

Yas is an emo angel from Paradise. Unlike most angels, she’s a badass. She cusses, listens to metal, and loves dark clothing.

Yen is a demon from the Phantom Realm. Unlike most demons, she’s a softie. She’s kind, likes fairies, and loves sunflowers.

Sunflowers do not grow in the Phantom Realm, so Yen goes to Purgatory to pick some. There, she meets Yas, and the two form an unlikely bond.

Table of Contents

Related Studio Cards

Who is…
Tamia Parker?

12 | Issue #3 Collaborations

QR Code for 12 | Issue #3 Collaborations
Summary
For our second Issue #3 collaboration centered on Tamia Parker - and the final collaboration in this series - we're returning to a transformation that began much earlier in the Studio. Tamia has spent Issue #3 questioning her dreams, her perceptions and what is happening to her. Now we're inviting you to help us explore what she has become, what she finally understands - and what Tamia might say when she is given the final word.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Tamia is extremely bright, curious, introspective and creative. She is an artist at heart, with empathy that forms connections with others in ways that she even doesn’t fully understand yet…
Archetype
The Creator
Motto
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” - Leonard Cohen
Collaboration Background
Tamia’s character was initially developed during the original Made Collaborative in-person classroom collaborations with youth in the fall and winter of 2013, as part of an after school program in the West-Side of Chicago.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
Read more

All Stories Start With

A Great Character!

08 | Issue #3 Collaborations

QR Code for 08 | Issue #3 Collaborations
Summary
For Issue #3, we're returning to our Create a Character framework - but this time, we're opening the halls of New City High and inviting you to help us populate them. From students and teachers to administrators, friends, rivals and unexpected personalities, we'll use the same creative process introduced earlier in the Studio to build the community surrounding Andre and Tamia. At least two of the characters created through this collaboration will appear in Issue #3 - with the possibility that others may return in stories still to come.
Background
New City High is filled with students, teachers and personalities whose stories are still waiting to be told. As we develop Issue #3 of Back of the Yards, we're inviting collaborators to create original characters who might walk its halls, form new relationships and help bring the school community to life.
This & That
Selected ideas and artwork may be featured through Made Collaborative and considered as we develop new characters that may ultimately appear in Issue #3 or future issues. Contributors whose ideas are incorporated into these new characters will be credited as part of its development.
Read more

Who is…
Big Earl?

Beyond the Issue | Bonus Studio Collaboration

QR Code for Beyond the Issue | Bonus Studio Collaboration
Summary
“Big Earl” Perkins is one of the neighborhood's beloved Elders in the Back of the Yards comic series, a Creative Commons project developed by the Made Collaborative Studio. A big man with an even bigger heart, Earl is known throughout the neighborhood for his warmth, wisdom and the stories he's collected over the years. But behind this gentle giant lies a lifetime of experiences and untold stories. With this bonus Studio collaboration, we invite collaborators to explore Earl's past, his relationships within the community, and the moments that shaped him, helping imagine how his story might unfold in future issues of Back of the Yards.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Earl was the neighborhood football hero before an injury pushed him to the sidelines. And undiagnosed dyslexia prevented him for excelling in school. But Earl’s kind soul and balanced nature granted him resilience through life’s toughest struggles.
Primary Archetype
The Everyman
Motto
“If I didn’t get hurt, then I would never have found me.”
Collaboration Background
Big Earl was developed by Jimmy Briseno and Len Kody in 2015 as part of the initial Issue 1 scripting process.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
Read more

All Stories Start With

A Great Character!

OLD Studio Card #1 | Let’s Create a Character(s)!

QR Code for OLD Studio Card #1 | Let’s Create a Character(s)!
Brief
Welcome to the Made Collaborative Studio! This Studio Card #2 represents your first step on a creative journey with us. We begin this collaborative virtual studio just as it began in a classroom in the West Side of Chicago years ago - by providing you with an opportunity to create your own original comic character(s).
Scope
As you might expect, creative collaboration is at the heart of the Made Collaborative Studio. We believe in sharing stories, intertwining ideas and giving a voice to participating urban youth and collaborators like you. ALL OF YOUR STORIES MATTER. And that's why we begin this virtual journey with the creation of your own original character, some of which may be including in our Back of the Yards comic series!
This & That
The most intriguing submissions to this and all of our Studio Card may highlighted on our website. We'll showcase them on our "This & That" blog. And a few of you may also be invited to take part in one of our regular Zoom workshop sessions to further develop selected characters.
Read more

Who is…
Tamia Parker?

04 | Issue #3 Collaborations

QR Code for 04 | Issue #3 Collaborations
Summary
For Issue #3, we're opening the next stage in the journey of Tamia Parker - another character born from our earliest youth collaborations - to collaboration. As Tamia's dreams begin to blur with reality and she senses that something within her is changing, we're inviting you to help us explore what her transformation might become—and what it could ultimately mean for her.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Tamia is extremely bright, curious, introspective and creative. She is an artist at heart, with empathy that forms connections with others in ways that she even doesn’t fully understand yet…
Archetype
The Creator
Motto
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” - Leonard Cohen
Collaboration Background
Tamia’s character was initially developed during the original Made Collaborative in-person classroom collaborations with youth in the fall and winter of 2013, as part of an after school program in the West-Side of Chicago.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
Read more

Who is…
Russell Patterson?

Beyond the Issue | Bonus Studio Collaboration

QR Code for Beyond the Issue | Bonus Studio Collaboration
Summary
Russell Patterson is a shy, imaginative young student at New City High and one of the original characters from the Back of the Yards comic series. A grade or two younger than the other principal youth characters, Russell often retreats into his extraordinary imagination and vivid dream life. With this bonus Studio collaboration, we explore Russell's mysterious past, emerging abilities, and relationships with Tamia and Draymond, inviting collaborators to help imagine how his story might unfold in future issues of Back of the Yards.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Russell Patterson has an extremely vivid imagination and a very active dream life. He just may be the most talented and creative student at New City High, but he lacks confidence so he too often daydreams as a means of escape.
Archetype
The Dreamer
Motto
“It is okay to live a life that others don't understand”
Collaboration Background
Russell’s character was initially developed during the original Made Collaborative in-person classroom collaborations with youth in the fall and winter of 2013, as part of an after school program in the West-Side of Chicago.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
Read more

Who is…
Dex?

10 | Issue #3 Collaborations

QR Code for 10 | Issue #3 Collaborations
Summary
For our second Issue #3 collaboration centered on Dex Coleman, we're digging deeper into his past—and inviting you to help us explore what he knows about the world unfolding around him. Dex has lived through more of the neighborhood's history than Andre and the others realize, including his connection to Darius King and a criminal world that reaches back decades. What has Dex seen? What has he kept to himself? And why might it matter now?
Core Personality Traits & Values
Dex is a wisecracker, a sharp dresser and a straight talker. Even though his moral compass has evolved over the years into that of a respectable citizen of Back of the Yards, he’s still known to indulge in a few vices.
Primary Archetype
The Rebel
Motto
“I ain’t got time for dreamin’. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
Collaboration Background
Dex was developed by Jimmy Briseno and Len Kody as part of the initial Issue 1 scripting process.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
Read more

Who is…
John Golden?

Who is John Golden?

QR Code for Who is John Golden?
Summary Traits
John is a master illustrator who can take any transform any idea into illustrative magic. He is the owner of his own independent art studio, the Mortal Mirror Studio, and he was one of the early participating artists for Made Collaborative, his art featured in both Issues 1 and 2 of the Back of the Yards comic series.
Core Personality Traits & Values
John is smart, creative and always open for a new challenge. He hails from the great state of New York, moved to the windy city of Chicago, ending up where he is today in the mountain tops of Colorado, where he continues to apply his creativity to new creative projects. And if you'd like to collaborate with him, just hit the "Let's Collaborate" button on the left to start the conversation!
Archetype
The Magician
Motto
TBD
John's Projects
TBD
Debut
John started working with Jimmy Briseno and Manny Dominguez in the very early days of this Made Collaborative project back in 2014, during initial meetings with youth in the after school programs of Chicago.
Read more

Who is…
Nick Zomski?

06 | Issue #3 Collaborations

QR Code for 06 | Issue #3 Collaborations
Summary
For Issue #3, we're also introducing Nick Zomski - a veteran Chicago police officer whose past may hold clues to what is happening in the present - and opening his story to collaboration. More than thirty years ago, a younger Zomski crossed paths with Darius King and an investigation that was never fully resolved. As Zomski makes his debut in Issue #3, we're inviting you to help us explore what he remembers from 1994, and what he may recognize today that others do not.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Quiet, observant, and deeply pragmatic, Zomski values fairness, survival, loyalty, and maintaining order within systems he no longer fully trusts.
Archetype
TBD - [Tony to Determine]
Motto
TBD - [Tony to Develop]
Collaboration Background
Nick Zomski was developed by Tony Maldonado in collaboration with Eric Nyamor, Len Kody, and Jimmy Briseno as part of the Issue #3 pre-production workshops during the summer of 2026.
Debut
Issue #3 of the Back of the Yards comic series
Read more

Who is…
Russell Patterson?

Google Form Widget

QR Code for Google Form Widget
Summary Traits
Russell is a very shy and creative young man. He is a grade or two younger than the rest of our young principal characters.
Core Personality Traits & Values
Russell Patterson has an extremely vivid imagination and a very active dream life. He just may be the most talented and creative student at New City High, but he lacks confidence so he too often daydreams as a means of escape.
Archetype
The Dreamer
Motto
“It is okay to live a life that others don't understand”
Collaboration Background
Russell’s character was initially developed during the original Made Collaborative in-person classroom collaborations with youth in the fall and winter of 2013, as part of an after school program in the West-Side of Chicago.
Debut
Issue #1 of the Back of the Yards comic series
Read more
My Skill
Web Designer 50%

Submit Your Artwork

Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book. iPad/iPhone users, submit images from FILES (NOT from Photo Library). 

Submit Your Artwork

Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.

UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW 

Submit Your Artwork

Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.

UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW 

Submit Your Artwork

Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.

UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW 

Submit Your Artwork

Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.

UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW 

Submit Your Artwork

Collaborate with professional artists by contributing some artwork of your own! Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.

UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW