Nicole 🪲

@fossilforager.bsky.social

18661 Followers 529 Following

Artist & naturalist based in California! Draws bugs & other critters 🐛 (she/her) 🛒 shop.fossilforager.art 💌 Patreon mail club, newsletter, & more: fossilforager.carrd.co

A mockup of a natural colored T-shirt featuring a screen printed dark brown ink design. The design has arched circle text that reads “Celebrate Invertebrate Biodiversity” with illustrated insects and other invertebrates enclosed inside the circle.
An image showing a mockup of my monthly illustrated mailed rewards for August, featuring butterflies of western North America. There are 3 separate tiers at different price points offering rewards such as a vinyl sticker, postcard, and vinyl sticker sheet. The sticker is several western butterfly species flying together, while the postcard and sticker sheet feature numerous species illustrated from a top-down view. The link to sign up for my mail club is typed out as patreon.com/fossilforager.
An image showing a mockup of my monthly illustrated mailed rewards for August, featuring butterflies of western North America. There are 3 separate tiers at different price points offering rewards such as a vinyl sticker, postcard, and vinyl sticker sheet. The sticker is several western butterfly species flying together, while the postcard and sticker sheet feature numerous species illustrated from a top-down view. The link to sign up for my mail club is typed out as patreon.com/fossilforager.
An illustrated poster illustration featuring 33 species of colorful butterflies of all sizes native to western North America. They are each numbered to correspond to a typed key at the bottom of the illustration that displays their scientific and common name. They are illustrated on a light blue background.
A photo of a brown larval California giant salamander resting against a pebbly and muddy stream bottom. It is brown with darker brown spots/markings and has feathered gills.
An photo of a yellow-faced bumblebee enamel pin depicted flying near a larger sky lupine enamel pin. The lupine has blue pea-like flowers with purple and white markings. The bumblebee has a yellow face and a single yellow band on the abdomen. They are photographed on a purple amethyst crystal in front of a wooden and leafy background.
An illustrated sticker of a black and white scaled California kingsnake. There are blueish-purple lupine flowers and hand-shaped green leaves growing in the snake’s coils. There are small grey-ish blue butterflies flying around the kingsnake and on the lupine. It is illustrated on a light blue-purple background, and photographed being held in my hand in front of a reddish Japanese maple tree.
A graphic showing 6 enamel pin designs created by me: Anomalocaris, a peacock mantis shrimp, a leopard shark with kelp + ray + garibaldi fish, a giraffe weevil, Goliath beetle, and garden eels. In between the 6 designs laid out, white text on a green background reads: “ENAMEL PIN SALE! Take 15% off ALL pins!” A link next to a shopping cart reads “shop.fossilforager.art”. Text below the link reads “sale ends 6/28 @ 11:59 pm PDT”.
A tiled pattern of various pond animals and water lilies with yellow flowers. The animals featured are mostly invertebrates and herps, such as a dragonfly, damselfly, water bug, caddisfly larva, water beetles, water strider, dragonfly larva, tadpole, rough-skinned newt, and pacific tree frog. There are small duckweed plants interspersed in between. They are illustrated on a blue-teal background.
An image showcasing my monthly mail club rewards for July, which are a clear vinyl sticker, postcard, and vinyl sticker sheet. All feature critters that can be found at a pond. The postcard and sticker are the same illustration of a pond ecosystem cross section, while the sticker sheet features individual species illustrated separately. The art features a turtle, frogs, water striders, dragonflies, damselflies, newts, water bugs, diving beetles, and macroinverts, all illustrated on teal backgrounds. My mail club link is patreon.com/fossilforager.
An illustration featuring various species found in a western North American pond. There is a western pond turtle basking on a gray piece of wood in the pond. A cross section of water shows a California red-legged frog, diving beetle, tadpoles, and a rough skinned newt + newt larva swimming around. The bottom of the pond has hornwort plants, leaf litter, and algae-covered stones. Growing around the pond edges are cattails, rush, water plantain, a water lily, and a flowering Douglas iris. A yellow and black dragonfly is flying over the pond, while a vivid dancer blue damselfly and green pacific tree frog are resting on the iris. They are all illustrated with vibrant colors on a teal blue background.
A mockup image showing monthly mailed goods for my Naturalist Mail Club, with everything illustrated by me! The theme for June is baleen whales, so the postcard and sticker sheet feature various baleen whale species drawn on a blue-gray background. There is a humpback whale and calf sticker as well. The sign up link is patreon.com/fossilforager, and deadline is end of the day May 31st.
A photo of a small plush keychain of a nudibranch/sea slug. It is blue with a lighter blue stripe along the top of the body, and bright yellow stripes to the sides and on the “forehead”. It has a blue beaded keychain attachment and is photographed in my hand in front of a red Japanese maple tree.
A photo of a large yellow-faced bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii) getting ready to fly out of a bright orange-yellow California poppy flower. The bee is mostly black with a yellow “forehead” and yellow fuzz on the front half of the thorax.
A mockup of my monthly mail club rewards for June, showing a baleen whales postcard, sticker sheet, and a humpback whale with calf sticker. They are all illustrated on a gray-blue background. The link to sign up is patreon.com/fossilforager.
An illustrated poster featuring baleen whales of the world. 14 species are illustrated on a gray-blue background, such as a blue whale, humpback whale, right whales, bowhead whale, minke whales, a sei whale, a gray whale, an Omura’s whale, a fin whale, and a Bryde’s whale. A number next to each whale is associated with a key below that has the species and common name.
A photo of my hand holding two sea slug plushies. A keychain sized one is stacked on top of a larger one that is slightly bigger than my outstretched hand. They are a deep cerulean blue with lighter blue details, and bright yellow stripes across the head and sizes of the body. They have dark blue “ears” (rhinophores) and “tails” (gills). They are photographed in front of a red Japanese maple.
A photo of two sea slug plushies sitting on a gray stone. A keychain sized one is stacked on top of a larger one. They are a deep cerulean blue with lighter blue details, and bright yellow stripes across the head and sizes of the body. They have dark blue “ears” (rhinophores) and “tails” (gills). They are photographed in front of some pebbles and plants in my yard.
A photo of my hand holding two sea slug plushies. A keychain sized one is stacked on top of a larger one that is slightly bigger than my outstretched hand. They are a deep cerulean blue with lighter blue details, and bright yellow stripes across the head and sizes of the body. They have dark blue “ears” (rhinophores) and “tails” (gills). They are photographed in front of a red Japanese maple.
A photo of my hand holding two sea slug plushies. A keychain sized one is stacked on top of a larger one that is slightly bigger than my outstretched hand. They are a deep cerulean blue with lighter blue details, and bright yellow stripes across the head and sizes of the body. They have dark blue “ears” (rhinophores) and “tails” (gills). They are photographed in front of a red Japanese maple.
A photograph taken by me of a rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa) gently swimming through murky brownish yellow pond water. The newt is mostly brown with an orange underside, and appears to be suspended in the water.
A photo of colorful acrylic keychains, featuring illustrations by me of various Cambrian invertebrate animals. They are photographed against a grey stone background.
A photo collage on a black background showcasing several of my new Cambrian-period themed items that are now available in my online store! There are stickers featuring a fossil from the Burgess Shale, Hallucigenia, and Anomalocaris with funny text that reads "Back in my day, this was the apex predator". There is also a sticker sheet containing an assortment of weird Cambrian invertebrates, a tea towel, and Burgess Shale iron-on patch. At the center of the collage is white text that reads "Cambrian Collection, now available!" and a URL to my shop: shop.fossilforager.art
A mockup image showcasing the mail club rewards from me for May. The postcard and vinyl sticker features a black and white striped California kingsnake coiled around miniature lupine flowers. Small silvery blue butterflies are on the flowers or flying. The artworks have a pale purple-blue background. There is also a third vinyl sticker featuring just the miniature lupine and silvery blue butterflies. The sign ups end April 30th for this monthly mail.
An illustration of a black and white scaled California kingsnake. There are blueish-purple lupine flowers and hand-shaped green leaves growing in the snake’s coils. There are small grey-ish blue butterflies flying around the kingsnake and on the lupine. It is illustrated on a light blue-purple background.
An illustration of a bearded vulture on a light orange background. This is an ivory and light orange colored vulture with a feathered head, and black markings on the face. It has long black feathers growing over its sharp beak, giving it its name. It has dark grey/black wing and talk feathers with a white stripe on each feather. It is holding a bone in its mouth.
An image showing a mockup of the dobsonfly illustration as a postcard, next to a vinyl sticker featuring the insect from a top-down, wings spread perspective. The graphic shows that these are the monthly mailed rewards for April for Fossil Forager’s mail club.
A photo of 4 rectangular shaped embroidered iron-on patches featuring bright colors and different invertebrates + text. From top to bottom, there is a dark blue “Nudibranch Admirer” patch with sea slugs, a teal blue “I Love Jumping Spiders” patch with peacock jumping spiders, a light orange “Awed by Isopods” with different isopods, and light blue “#1 Bug Enthusiast” with true bugs.
A photo of a rocky beach cove with at least 50-100 cormorants in the blue-green ocean water, feeding on fish in the waves.
An image showing a mockup of the dobsonfly illustration as a postcard, next to a vinyl sticker featuring the insect from a top-down, wings spread perspective. The graphic shows that these are the monthly mailed rewards for April for Fossil Forager’s mail club.
An illustration of a small biome featuring a rushing stream with mossy blue-gray rocks/stones and a twisted small brown branch. In the biome, there are two large adult eastern dobsonflies resting on top of a rock and the branch just out of the water. These are large insects with brownish bodies and translucent veined wings that resemble those of an antlion or dragonfly, but larger. The male has very long curved mandibles, while the female has much smaller ones. In the water, the larva of this species is illustrated next to the gray stones and pebbles. It has a long segmented body with a large head. Large, fearsome mandibles on the larva are used to grab prey. The entire illustration has a light blue-green background.
A photo of a kuhli loach. It is a long eel-like fish with little whiskery barbels on its face and small black eyes. It is yellow with darker striped markings along its body.
A photo collage showing various posters I illustrated/designed, featuring various organisms found in a particular biome or of a specific group. They are on colorful backgrounds. A rounded orange rectangle with text reads “Birthday Print Sale! Take 20% off all prints, applied automatically at checkout!”, along with a link to my shop (shop.fossilforager.art). The sale ends 3/15 at 11:59 PM Pacific Daylight Time.
A photo of my booth display at Emerald City Comic Con on Sunday (the last day)! It features a bright gold tablecloth and colorful nature/natural history themed artwork on stickers, prints, sticker sheets, enamel pins, patches, and bumper stickers. Many large prints are marked as “sold out”.
A photo of my booth display at Emerald City Comic Con! It features a gold tablecloth with a white table banner featuring my beetle in amber logo. There is a large photo backdrop stand with an assortment of colorful nature and natural history-themed prints. Several wooden and acrylic displays show my selection of sticker sheets, stickers, enamel pins, bumper stickers, and postcards all showing various animals and organisms.
A photo of my lunch from Nana’s Green Tea in Seattle, which consists of a raw ahi tuna bowl with rice & ginger + avocado + green onion toppings. There is a small white mug of miso soup & a small side bowl of potato salad and dressing. There is also a green matcha latte in a white mug with a heart latte art on top. Everything is served on a wooden tray.
A page from my catalog showing the various pins I will be bringing to Emerald City Comic Con.
A page from my catalog showing the various sticker sheets I will be bringing to Emerald City Comic Con (continued).
FOSSIL FORAGER ECCC CATALOG March 5 - 8, 2026 artist alley D17 seattle convention center summit floor 2 Showing various images of my illustrations arranged together on a redwood sorrel photo background.
A photo of a photography stand with various colorful natural history and nature inspired art prints
An illustration of three new starter Pokemon - a blue gecko with lighter blue markings and purple and black eyes, a fluffy orange pomeranian, and a light green bird with a big head and two green leaves attached to its green beak. They are illustrated on a light yellow-green background.
An image showing a mockup of a painted lady butterfly sticker and a postcard, both illustrated by me. These are part of my monthly sticker and print club!
An illustration of two painted lady butterflies on top of purple cone flowers in a tall grassy field. The butterflies are orange with dark brown markings and white spots. One of the butterflies is showing the underside wing pattern, which has more brown and white and a small amount of light orange. The background is a blue sky with large billowing white clouds.
A colorful poster illustration featuring 15 species of animals from the Cambrian period 541-485 million years ago. These are mostly unusual looking invertebrates, such as Hurdia, Wiwaxia, Anomalocaris, Peytoia, trilobites, Marrella, Nectocaris, Hallucigenia, Opabinia, Plectronoceras, Lyrarapax, and Naraoia. An early chordate (Pikaia) is also included. The animals are brightly colored on a dark black background. White numbers with a key label each species.
A photo of my hand holding a whale fall iron on patch design. The whale skeleton is surrounded by various deep sea animals such as octopuses, hagfish, chimeras, a crab, and a deep sea isopod. They are surrounded by a dark blue, almost black, background. The photo is taken in front of a colorful bush with many shades of red and green leaves.
Title of infographic: Gift Giving is the Love Language for Ornate Bella Moths “Ornate bella moth females mate with multiple males over the course of their 3-4 week adult lifespan. In each sexual encounter, she will receive a nuptial gift from the male called a spermatophore.” An illustration of an ornate Bella moth, a colorful orange and cream colored moth with black spots, is surrounded by valentine’s presents and a chocolate heart. The tags on her gifts read: TO: BELLA <3 - JACOB FROM: EDWARD XOXO Text continues: “This gift contains sperm, nutrients to help the female lay her eggs, and toxic alkaloid compounds to protect herself and her offspring. She can secrete these toxins from her head when threatened, and infuse her eggs with them.”
A photo of my iPad, featuring colorful Cambrian animals illustrated on a black background.
A photo of a colored in opabinia next to some black and white line art of Cambrian animals
A photo of my iPad showing a white canvas with black line art depicting various Cambrian period invertebrates.
A photo collage featuring my new MILF (Man I Love Fossil) sticker. This is a circular sticker design with a tan and brown color palette, featuring various fossils (a T-Rex skull, a trilobite, a fern, and an ammonite fossil) illustrated at the center of the sticker. Brown arching text surrounding the sticker reads MILF and Man I Love Fossils. The background image are pink magnolia flowers growing on a magnolia tree.
An illustration of two morpho butterflies on a large leafed anthurium plant. One butterfly has its wings spread out to showcase a vibrant iridescent dark blue, while the other one has its wings closed and shows a brown underside with red eye spots and subtle lighter brown and gray markings. The anthurium is a dark green plant with large heart shaped leaves and lighter leaf veins. It is illustrated on a teal blue background.
A photo of an enamel pin of an orange prehistoric shrimp-like arthropod known as Anomalocaris, who lived during the Cambrian period. It has lighter orange side flaps and large front grasping feeding appendages. It is photographed in a purple amethyst crystal.
An image showing 3 differently colored isopod enamel pins arranged in a stack on my fingers. From top to bottom: dark brown and yellow, black and white, and orange and light orange.
A photo collage showing various new colorful enamel pin designs designed by me: a peacock mantis shrimp, a group of garden eels, a black and white isopod, a curled up rubber ducky isopod, and an anomalocaris. They are all posed inside a purple crystal.
An illustration featuring a Tyrannosaurus rex skull, a trilobite fossil, an ammonite fossil, and a leaf fossil all arranged in a tan circle. Brown arched text above the illustrations says “MILF”. The bottom arched text below the art reads “MAN I LOVE FOSSILS”. It is encircled by a brown border.
Screenshot from the show “Dexter”, showing a popular meme of Sergeant Doakes sitting at the steering wheel contemplating
An illustration of a piece of rock shale with various Cambrian organisms fossilized on it. Clockwise from the top is Hallucigenia, Opabinia, and Marrella. At the center is Naraoia. They are mostly blue-gray and illustrated on top of a dark blue-gray background.
A tiled illustrated pattern featuring various species found in the intertidal zone of the Pacific coast. There is a two spot octopus, sea cucumber, ochre sea star, California mussel, bat star, black turban snail, chiton, purple sea urchin, anemones, sea lemon, opalescent nudibranch, blue-banded hermit crab, purple shore crab, California aglaja, red abalone, and a green fluffy sculpin. They are illustrated and arranged on a teal-blueish background.
A photo collage featuring various colorful fungi-themed stickers, sticker sheets, and a bumper sticker. They are arranged in front of a forest background. Two of the vinyl stickers also have a tree frog and a tiger salamander.