These cartoons perfectly capture what life feels like in New York right now

If you're like us and quarantine memes are giving you life right now, check out Fort Greene resident and cartoonist Arielle Royston's drawings.The 29-year-old product designer is using her at-home downtime to churn out a new cartoon every day, depicting this new world we live in, from the tragicomic ways we spend our time at home and weirdly dating on Zoom to clever perspectives on what's going on in the news.

Photograph: Courtesy Arielle Royston

Photograph: Courtesy Arielle Royston

"I love to run and often come back with a ton of ideas," she tells us. "The constant flood of scary news headlines, mixed with memories of my former fast paced, busy life, inspires me to make content people can relate to. Plus, I live in NYC, and it's hard not to be inspired by the energy of the city and crazy things we see here."

Photograph: Courtesy Arielle Royston

She tackles some heavier subjects with humor, hoping to give people a reprieve from the news.

"Laughter–even for a few seconds–can help us feel good during a terrifying and uncertain time," she says. "Plus, right now, we're all bored and glued to our phones, so content production needs to be at an all-time high!"

But how is she being so productive, creating a cartoon a day, when fear can shut down motivation?

"Like many people are experiencing, Coronavirus has me reaching record levels of anxiety, and I always get extra creative when I'm anxious," she says. "Typically bad break-ups fuel my anxiety-induced creativity, but I've recently learned that a global pandemic makes my heartbreak seem like a picnic. Also, I have a ton of energy, and I need an outlet while I'm cooped up inside. I can't concentrate on shows or books right now, but for whatever reason, I'm easily able to get into the 'drawing zone.' Plus, I've always had the goal of being a cartoonist, so I figured why not get serious about it now with all this extra time."

To see more of her work, follow her Instagram account at @relscartoons!

Photograph: Courtesy Arielle Royston

Photograph: Courtesy Arielle Royston/@relscartoons