MAKING a name for yourself as an artist can be extremely different - but a teenage illustrator is hoping Facebook will help her expand her talents.

Though Stephanie Johnson knows that launching a page on the social network site could open her up to a lot of criticism she is hoping it will be a learning experience and help her forge ahead as an artist.

The 19-year-old from St John's, Worcester, draws manga and cartoon characters alongside her second year illustration studies at Hereford College of Arts.

Though the page has only been live since Saturday, December 13 she hopes her page Steph's Illustrations will attract more and more followers interested in her quirky designs.

She said: "I launched my Illustration page in the hopes of creating some interest in my work on a platform that I use so frequently, but only personally.

"I've been using Facebook since 2007 but posting my art where friends and family could see it always felt a little embarrassing."

When she joined university, she hoped to expand a bit on what she could do.

"I've always drawn manga and cartoons characters since I was young, as I got my first Wacom Tablet when I was 12, so I hoped to improve myself, create my own style and explore a range of new things that I might enjoy.

"My teacher recently encouraged us to start making a name for ourselves by creating a facebook page.

"I've always posted my art to blogs and such, with a following of around 900 on my personal blog and around 2,700 on another that I left around 2 years ago due to starting uni because it ate up a lot of my time.

"I could no longer provide drawings for people on a regular basis."

Her inspirations are far and wide - her favourite Mangaka is Eiichiro Oda, creator of One Piece, but she also loves Chris Riddell's work, alongside DeviantART artists such as Sakimichan and Babsdraws.

"They're all very different but I love their styles equally as much."

Though there are currently no physical exhibitions in the pipeline she will be keeping her digital exhibition space updated as often as possible.

"I've got a long way to go before I can really feel confident with my artwork but I'm going to draw as much as I can to keep getting better.

"It's always felt very awkward to show people my artwork.

"I'm easily embarrassed when it comes to showing someone something I've put a lot of effort into especially when it's not often that I'm happy with the outcome, but I think it's about time I pushed myself to get out there.

"Although I know it will leave me open to a lot of criticism - I know that's one of the best ways to improve."

To see more artwork, log on to facebook.com/stephsillust?ref=ts&fref=ts.