Bea Schares is a nonbinary designer, illustrator, and self-proclaimed weirdo who lives in the midwest. They adamantly believe in the power of curiosity and fun, and have never met an art form they didn’t want to try.

Bea currently serves as Chief Editor of Emily Cotton Cram’s The Vampire Librarian, which has been featured as a Webtoon CANVAS staff pick several times since its January 2022 launch. They also recently edited Jessica Walsh’s queer supernatural mystery novel, Uncertain Aspects.

Bea debuted as a print illustrator in 2012, on friend and longtime-collaborator A.R. Kahler’s Runebinder and Immortal Circus books. Their newest designs can be seen on the covers of Gary Arms’ Jack DeWitt novels and Katie Sinn’s Millennial Poetry: Classic Poems as Interpreted by a Millennial.

Bea is also a professional costume designer and technical theater artist. Most recently, it was their distinct honor to be chosen to design costumes for the world premiere of Joe Klinebriel’s sabbatical project, PersonA: A Theatrical Journey of the Self, at Clarke University.

Between collaborations, Bea can be found displaying at art shows, drawing comics of their own, writing poetry, reading picture books to toddlers, and enjoying their garden with their spouse.