Dmitriy Astakhov is an artist, illustrator, filmmaker, and educator based in Southern California. Born in Russia, he immigrated to the United States at a young age. Growing up between cultural influences shaped his interest in identity, history, storytelling, and the ways people carry ideas and experiences across places and generations.

His work centers on the human figure, visual narrative, and the relationship between traditional studio practice and contemporary image-making. Rooted in drawing and painting, his practice also draws from illustration, animation, film, photography, and digital media. He is particularly interested in how gesture, anatomy, light, composition, symbolism, and environment can suggest a larger story beyond a single image. His background in filmmaking has shaped the way he approaches framing, staging, sequencing, and the relationship between figure and space.

Across both his studio work and teaching, Astakhov views traditional skills as a foundation for interpretation rather than an end in themselves. His work moves between observation and invention, with recurring interests in mythology, literature, history, popular culture, and visual storytelling. His own experience adapting to a new country also informs the way he approaches students with different backgrounds and experiences, recognizing that the perspectives they bring into the classroom can become part of their creative development.