S.S. Julian
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octopolis.bsky.social
S.S. Julian
@octopolis.bsky.social
1.4K followers 350 following 1.1K posts
Cartoonist and creator of Octopolis, a sci-fi fantasy about the future where humans are extinct and octopuses have inherited the Earth. Get Issue #1 now at octopoliscomic.com
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octopolis.bsky.social
Appropriate considering how much time I sank into this
Screenshot of squid eye game
November 27, 2025 at 6:56 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
My Thanksgiving has been blessed by wild turkeys
A photo of wild turkeys on a hillside in low golden light
November 27, 2025 at 6:53 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Happy Thanksgiving from Octopolis!
A drawing of an octopus cornucopia: conch shell, fish, shrimp, urchin, oysters, sea grapes, crabs, snails, seaweed, coral, etc. by ss Julian
November 27, 2025 at 4:00 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
I'm grateful for the training, the friends, the memories. And I'm grateful to the staff for gifting me this sick sign, which always adorned the toilet in the SF shop!
A photo of SS Julian in front of Bamboo Reef SF shop. Blue paneling, red door and a mural of a jellyfish beneath the window. Photo. A sign that reads 'Beware of Octopus'.
November 26, 2025 at 7:10 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
My local dive shop went out of business this week. I've met many great people through the shop. It was there I met the person who introduced me to the dive volunteer program at the @aquariumofthebay.bsky.social Really bittersweet to visit one last time.
A photo of Bamboo Reef SF shop. Blue paneling, red door and a mural of a jellyfish beneath the window. A photo of Bamboo Reef SF shop. Wider angle. Blue paneling, red door and a mural of a jellyfish beneath the window.
November 26, 2025 at 7:10 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Inspired by this octopus I saw at the Monterey Bay aquarium
November 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
This piece was hard to finish. I have a tendency to get caught up in perfectionism, and this subject was particularly important to me because one of the first pieces of artwork I made for Octopolis was this piece also titled The Oracle.
November 24, 2025 at 6:23 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
The Oracle
#octopolis #tarot #octopus 🐙🐡
Digital illustration title The Oracle. An octopus sits on a throne made of an open oyster shell, holding articles of divination: coral, sea grapes, and an ancient scroll of sacred knowledge preserved in a corked bottle of glass. A pearl sits on her mantle. She is framed by two billowing columns of hydrothermal smoke. He skin reflects the world around her, balancing forces of dark and light. Around her swim moon jellyfish. At the base of her throne is a stargazer fish, like her, reading the future in the night sky.
November 24, 2025 at 6:21 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
The Electric Monk, considered somewhat frivolous back on its home planet, is quite a hit on Earth.
An excerpt from Douglas Adam’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (1987). Text: He was appreciated. All day he had gone up to people, fallen into conversation with them, listened to their troubles, and then quietly uttered those three magic words, "I believe you." The effect had invariably been electrifying. It wasn't that people on this world didn't occasionally say it to each other, but they rarely, it seemed, managed to achieve that deep timbre of sincerity which the Monk had been so superbly programmed to reproduce. An excerpt from Douglas Adam’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (1987). Text: On his own world, after all, he was taken for granted. People would just expect him to get on and believe things for them without bothering them. Someone would come to the door with some great new idea or proposal or even a new religion, and the answer would be, "Oh, go and tell that to the Monk." And the Monk would sit and listen and patiently believe it all, but no one would take any further interest.
November 4, 2025 at 3:32 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Douglas Adams predicted ChatGPT in 1987
An excerpt from Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adam’s (1987). Text: The Electric Monk was a labor-sav-ing device, like a dishwasher or a video recorder. Dishwashers washed tedious dishes for you, thus saving you the bother of washing them yourself, video recorders watched tedious television for you, thus saving you the bother of looking at it your-self; Electric Monks believed things for you, thus saving you what was becoming an increasingly onerous task, that of believing all the things the world expected you to believe. Unfortunately this Electric Monk had developed a fault, and had started to believe all kinds of things, more or less at random. It was even beginning to believe things they'd have difficulty believing in Salt Lake City. It had never heard of Salt…
November 4, 2025 at 3:27 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Gone fishing
🐙🐋🐡
A cartoon drawing of sardines with a purple octopus holding a fishing rod in the foreground. By ss Julian octopoliscomic.com A cartoon drawing of sardines with a purple octopus holding a fishing rod in the foreground. The fishing rod has a letter attached to it. By ss Julian octopoliscomic.com
October 30, 2025 at 6:34 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Words to live and die by.
🐙🐡🐋
A digital ink illustration of an orange octopus grasping a striped pyjama shark. The text reads ‘Devour that which would consume you’. Octopoliscomic.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
I got to tour my local recycling center! The good folks at @republicservices.bsky.social were kind enough to show us around. I left with a renewed respect for the complexity of the work involved. Below are some key takeaways:

#environment #recycling
October 27, 2025 at 5:58 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Thanks @octonation.bsky.social for drawing with me! That was a blast. I loved diving into coloring octopuses at the end, that’s a whole area of exploration in itself!
Screenshot from How to Draw an Octopus with SS Julian and Octonation Screenshot from How to Draw an Octopus with SS Julian and Octonation Screenshot from How to Draw an Octopus with SS Julian and Octonation Screenshot from How to Draw an Octopus with SS Julian and Octonation
October 23, 2025 at 6:17 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
You may be wondering about the monkey. I wanted the magician to be doing some magic, but I was further inspired by the Thoth deck, which has an ape floating underneath Mercury. In a sense, we're the monkey... primates from the far past watching these aliens of the future transmute reality.
A closeup of a tarot card illustration by SS Julian of the Alchemist. A ghostly monkey watches in surprise.
October 22, 2025 at 4:51 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
In classical tarot the Magician is displayed with ritual tools: wand, sword, cup and disc. In Octopolis, their analogues are branch, shell, siphon and pearl. I'll talk more about my reasons for choosing those items in a later post.
A close-up of tarot card illustration by SS Julian of the Alchemist. An alter of scallop shells on which sit a giant pearl, tunicate and shell.
October 22, 2025 at 4:51 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
I chose the harlequin or larger pacific striped octopus for this piece. It a beautiful hypnotic pattern into which I've incorporated the infinity symbol on the mantle. It's one of the few species IRL to socialize with one another, and therefore among the first octopus magicians.
Photo of the black and white larger Pacific striped octopus. Source: California Academy of Sciences A closeup of a tarot card illustration by SS Julian of the Alchemist. A spotted octopus wields a piece of coral.
October 22, 2025 at 4:51 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Next up in my Octopolis Tarot deck: The Magician! As in classical antiquity, these reality-shapers are called 'alchemists'.
#octopolis #tarot #octopus 🐙🐡
A tarot card illustration by SS Julian of the Alchemist. A spotted octopus wields a piece of coral before an alter of scallop shells on which sit a giant pearl, tunicate and shell. Above the scene a ghostly monkey watches in surprise.
October 22, 2025 at 4:51 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
I will be doing a 'How to Draw an Octopus' livestream with @octonation.bsky.social this Thursday at 10AM PDT! The event is free to join, so please drop in if you're so inclined. Link to calendar event below:
A promotional image of a cartoon purple octopus half-way illustrated with blue tracing lines visible on one side. Text: Octonation + Octopolis: How to Draw an Octopus Live-stream with SS Julian. October 23, 10AM PDT
October 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Great to have a batch of new followers overlap with #portfolioday! Welcome all, I'm S.S. Julian: cartoonist, designer and #sciart artist. I make Octopolis, a science-fantasy comic series about the future when humans are extinct and octopuses have inherited the Earth!

Portfolio: ssjulian.com
A digital illustration by SS Julian. Title: Octopolis purple and yellow octopuses wearing clothes float in front of a host of other characters... a dangerous-looking yellow octopus, an angry orange octopus riding a wolf eel, all before a castle wall of coral. A digital illustration by SS Julian of a rainbow-colored octopus that appears to adopt the colors of the pride flag. A digital illustration by SS Julian featuring a repeated pattern of nudibranchs A digital illustration by SS Julian. Two kids dive into a watering hole filled with fish that look like maple leaves.
October 16, 2025 at 11:19 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
The octopus is described as having a very short mantle with almost straight fins, and very large large eyes, diameter ~2/3rds the length of the width of the head. It's a deep red-orange, with white (uncolored) spots along the arms. Single row of suckers framed by rows of cirri.
Close-up of a digital illustration by SS Julian of the newly described Carnarvon flapjack octopus. focus on the eyes Close-up of a digital illustration by SS Julian of the newly described Carnarvon flapjack octopus. focus on the arms and suckers Close-up of a digital illustration by SS Julian of the newly described Carnarvon flapjack octopus. focus on the fins
October 16, 2025 at 11:06 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
The description itself was based on collected/deceased specimens, which makes sense since a lot of the species-specific morphology is internal. But it doesn't make for pleasant viewing! Though in all fairness they also included a charming black-and-white scientific illustration.
A photo of a deceased specimen of the newly described carnarvaron flapjack octopus, taken from the Australian journal of taxonomy. https://doi.org/10.54102/ajt Photographic diagrams of deceased specimens of the newly described carnarvaron flapjack octopus, taken from the Australian journal of taxonomy. https://doi.org/10.54102/ajt A diagram of scientific illustrations of the newly described carnarvaron flapjack octopus, taken from the Australian journal of taxonomy. https://doi.org/10.54102/ajt
October 16, 2025 at 11:06 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Were you excited about the ‘Carnarvon flapjack octopus’, but disappointed at the lack of cute photos? To rectify this, I have read the article and here offer my artist's interpretation of the newly described species:
#sciart #octopus
A screenshot of the article abstract in the Australian journal of taxonomy by Tristan Joseph verhoeff. A digital illustration by SS Julian of the newly described Carnarvon flapjack octopus. the octopus is red-orange with white spots. it has big eyes and cirrate fins on either side of its small mantle.
October 16, 2025 at 11:06 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Yes
Beetle Moses comic about squids listening to Nelly
October 11, 2025 at 1:17 PM
octopolis.bsky.social
Hey Bay Area! Come join us in celebrating Octoberfes— I mean, OCTOfest, this Sunday at Ocean View Brew Works in Albany! @dannastaaf.bsky.social will be speaking at 4 pm about why octopuses are the best animal, and I will be determining which of Ocean View’s beers pairs best with shellfish!
A poster promoting Ocean View Octofest. Join Octopolis October 12th. 4pm talk by Danna Staaf. Image is of a two-spot octopus wearing a little green hat and playing a horn while simultaneously cheering with three other beer steins.
October 10, 2025 at 2:49 PM