Exploring Naburok’s world up, side, and down
There’s a fleeting moment before the world shifts, before a blank canvas floods with color, or before a character opens their eyes in a universe built just for them. For Aleanah Joy De Jose, better known as Naburok, that moment is a feeling.
De Jose is a Manila-based artist who finished her Bachelor of Multimedia Arts in Graphic Design at Mapúa University, a background that sharpened her skills to wander with her imagination freely. Today, she moves between digital and traditional illustration, often inspired by her daydreams and daily encounters featuring reimagined structures, nature, and familiar Manila silhouettes, stitched together into peculiar sceneries.
At the center of it all is Naburok, the figure navigating her world.
“When I started to put my experiences, feelings, manifestations, and all the things I like into the world that I made, it just happened,” she says. “I’m not just creating a visual world, I’m pouring my essence into the illustrations I make.”
Shades that lift up
In Naburok’s universe, structure serves as an emotional anchor.
“I still want some touches from our world to Naburok’s world, not only because it is where we are but also to ground it and let their world be digestible to the audience. But what makes it fun is that I can also play with the levels from tangible to bizarre, depending on how grounded or extraordinary I want the story to evoke.”
Her colors, often bright and abundant, never overwhelm. They invite. They let viewers exist without asking them to decode anything. “With my art, I just want people to feel welcomed, to be able to exist without needing to explain themselves,” she says.
That belief traces back to her childhood companions that shaped her visual language long before she understood why. From “Steven Universe” to “Adventure Time,” she learned that even the heaviest stories can live inside strange, playful, and colorful worlds.
“They have become my guide and inspiration, that telling intense stories doesn’t always have to be dark and serious,” she shares.
The sides of her world
Growing up taught De Jose that becoming an artist is not about choosing one side of herself. It’s about learning to move between them.
Some artists treat their alter egos as masks for their personality, but De Jose and Naburok are figures orbiting each other and pushing each other forward. “Aleanah is the artist who serves to make Naburok’s world,” she says.
But on the days when De Jose gets lost, Naburok becomes her map. “Sometimes Naburok will serve as inspiration to the artist to be more courageous, try new things, and sit with the uncomfortable because it’s a new pathway to somewhere De Jose has never been before.”
In this case, her “sides” are not about separation but an exchange between Naburok and De Jose as she shapes the world where Naburok lives, while Naburok reshapes her into something that can make her better.
A hint of downstrokes
With feelings at the center of her art, the expectation to constantly share can feel like a trap for her. The world wants to see the process and behind the scenes, but not all moments are meant to be shared with everyone.
“In my mind, I want to share the process once I have overcome the obstacles that I went through, but in my heart I also want to share my struggles with the public because if a person is going through the same, maybe I could be the one who’ll make them feel less alone.”
She shares slowly and carefully, not for the sake of pressure but for respect to herself, the audience, and the emotions that fuel her work. “I think I can protect myself and others by reflecting first and being careful of showing what’s too raw for me and viewers that’ll make us all too uncomfortable.”
The heavy downstrokes are no longer barriers to her work. They’re part of the art that makes her work whole.
Her universe expanding
If Naburok ever took a physical space, she imagines her world like a high-floor condo with plants, odd furniture, curated colors, and a kind of vibe where time slows down, and imagination expands. Ten years from now, she hopes her universe expands the same way. “I hope that the artworks from Naburok’s world won’t come from shame and guilt anymore. But from a place of healing, maturity, peace, and also more characters, locations, and adventures unlocked,” she says.
“When looking back to reflect, I want it to feel like a universe that is familiar, where the past is acknowledged but no longer heavy. The journey ahead might be harder than before, but knowing that Naburok has conquered a lot of paths, starting anew will be easier and with no hesitation.”
In her belief, connection to her and her artworks is the thread that ties everything together.
“In art, connection feels like a quiet meeting place between two worlds. I put a piece of myself into my work. And when someone else meets it with their own stories, it’s the point where intention and interpretation overlap, even just a little. It’s when a viewer sees something I never planned, but it still feels true. It’s when the artwork becomes a shared space, a small universe where both our experiences can coexist for a moment.”
In the end, when De Jose successfully creates the spark. Naburok carries it forward. And the viewer completes the universe she began with a feeling.
This story was originally published in Scout 2026 Issue 1
