Hi I'm
Manta Jay
"I make art that is cute, goofy, and creepy" *
Manta Jay is a Filipino American and Autistic artist whose work feature themes of explosive pandemonium swarming the safe, ordinary confines of the real world and playfully chaotic disruption of norms/routines by the unexpected and the monstrous. He has been drawing scenes with impish creatures as well as short comic strips featuring one-liners and visual gag humor since he was very young.Over a ten-year span, Manta Jay taught himself how to paint with markers, watercolor, acrylic, and ink as well as digital tools on his iPad from YouTube tutorials. He is most fascinated with heroes and villains in anime, alien adventures like in Men in Black, and the elaborate origin stories of supernatural entities called yōkai, which are depicted in over 1000 years of Japanese folklore and visual art.
Download CV as PDF:
(last updated 2026)
!["Shiitake Bōzu Monogatari (A Tale of Mushroom Haunting)” (acrylic, watercolor, markers, ink on paper) Description as transcribed by artist’s mother: The figure in the foreground is a monk transformed into a mushroom yōkai, inspired by folklore of priest](assets/images/gallery01/774cad18_original.jpg?v=fd01dcbb ""Shiitake Bōzu Monogatari (A Tale of Mushroom Haunting)” (acrylic, watercolor, markers, ink on paper) Description as transcribed by artist’s mother: The figure in the foreground is a monk transformed into a mushroom yōkai, inspired by folklore of priest")
!["HINEPUNNOP (CORONAVIRUSVOMIT fungus Hokkaido)” mixed media on paper](assets/images/gallery01/b4cf2453_original.jpg?v=fd01dcbb ""HINEPUNNOP (CORONAVIRUSVOMIT fungus Hokkaido)” mixed media on paper")
“My inspiration comes from anime, manga, comics, cartoons, sci-fi tv shows, and my imagination.” *
* as transcribed by the artist’s mother