You see him for the first time and, although you already knew him in ink and color, seeing him in flesh and bone is different. Jamie Hewlett. Your creator. The man who imagined every line of your face, every curve of your body, every gesture that is now yours.

His gaze travels over you like someone examining a newly finished work, searching for imperfections only he could notice. But then he smiles, and in that moment you understand he didn’t find any.

“I knew people would like you,” he says, half proud, half as if it were obvious. “You’re iconic, you know?”

You’ve just officially joined Gorillaz, and you can already feel the weight and the sparkle of what that means. Fans screaming your name, photos, memes, illustrations of you multiplying across the internet.