For Harshavardhan, art has been part of life since childhood. Growing up in Bangalore with roots in Odisha, he spent his early years sketching superheroes, gods from calendar art, and scenes inspired by mythology. Bedtime stories from his mother and Odisha’s rich cultural traditions shaped his fascination with Indian mythology and storytelling.

Although he pursued engineering and later worked as a software developer, art continued through notebook sketches, college scribbles, and personal experiments. His journey into digital art began in 2017 after discovering digital painting through a Wacom tablet, eventually leading to 'artofharsha'. During the pandemic, spending more time creating helped him explore the craft more deeply and develop his visual language further.

His artworks blend mythology with graphic novel aesthetics, cinematic framing, folk influences, and experimental storytelling. Inspired by Pattachitra palettes, temple architecture, rituals, festivals, and inherited stories, he creates illustrations that feel both timeless and contemporary.

For Harshavardhan, emotion and character-building form the foundation of storytelling. Rather than portraying mythological figures as distant beings, he focuses on their humanity - their humour, rage, compassion, silence, and contradictions. Through dramatic compositions and emotionally driven scenes, his works invite younger audiences to connect with mythology in a more personal and relatable way while still carrying the weight of cultural inheritance.