Galen "Strop" Haecky

Queer comic artist and illustrator based in the PNW. I enjoy stories about magic, monsters, and horrible women in questionable relationships.

Test pages for You Are Alive, a horror comic about a chronically-ill surgeon and an immortal priest attempting to hunt down the animate force raging through their city. Drawn with dip pen (pgs. 1-3) and brush (4-6), with screen tones added digitally.

Backgrounds for the short film VIA. Layouts by V Plante and Cirian Burke.

Artwork for a commissioned deck of playing cards.

EDUCATION

BA - Studio Art (Multimedia) (2026)
BA - Theater (Costume Technology Focus) (2026)
Western Washington University | Bellingham, WA
Associates - 3D Animation and Video Game Design (2018)
Associates - Art History (2020)
Cañada College | Redwood City, CA


WORK EXPERIENCE

Promotional Officer | WWU Royal Gambit Drag Club, Bellingham, WA | September 2025 - June 2026
• Designed posters and social media graphics to promote upcoming club shows
• Ordered promotional materials and organized event RSVP pages
• Assisted with outreach at college events and hosting club meetings and drag workshops
Custom Framing Associate | Michael's Arts & Crafts, Sunnyvale, CA / Bellingham, WA | 2020 - 2022
• Worked with customers to design frames that suited their artwork
• Joined frames, cut glass and matboard, and assembled framing orders
• Tracked orders and materials, and notified customers of delays and order completion
• Performed additional store duties as needed, including cashiering, stocking, and cleaning
Marketing Assistant | Cañada College, Redwood City, CA | 2020
• Designed posters, pins, and other promotional materials following college style guidelines
• Collaborated with faculty to produce illustrated and video advertisements for specific departments and programs
Freelance | John Hayes/Career Peer | Summer 2016
• Collaborated with team to create advertisement for Career Peer’s interview assistant website
• Created 2D assets for animatics and final video
• Worked from script and storyboards to produce animatics in After Effects


PUBLICATIONS, SHOWS, AND AWARDS

Group Exhibition, Viscera, WWU B Gallery, Bellingham, WA (2025)
Group Exhibition, Making Space, WWU VU Gallery, Bellingham, WA (2025)
There Is Something In the Castle, published on itch.io (2024)
Contributor, Almost Real: A Speculative Biology Zine, Vol. 4 Biotechnology, ed. Jay Eaton & Hye Mardikian (2021)
Background painter, VIA (short film) — Campus Movie Fest Silver Tripod Award (Animation) (2020)


SKILLS

• Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and AfterEffects
• Google Suite and Microsoft Office applications
• Concept art, character design, illustration, comics
• Costume design and construction, propmaking, dollmaking, EVA foam construction