How did you become interested in Illustration toward ultimately becoming an Illustrator?
I didn’t know what illustration was until my senior year of high school when I found Sam Weber’s work in an awards-annual under the category “illustration.” Until that point, the only words I had were “art,” “artist,” and for some reason, “graphic designer.” Even if I didn’t have the language for it, what interested me about illustration was using pictures to tell a story—having a clear narrative goal. I loved illustrated children’s books and the idea that different people drew things in different ways. I had one book of mermaid stories from around the world, all illustrated by the same person but in a different style to match the region, which kind of blew my mind. My parents were very supportive and my mom had a habit of applying my art to things, like birthday invitations. All of this sort of culminated in the idea of illustration having this diverse power of communication and application, so when I finally found the word, I just followed it and headed off to college to major in it.
What methods/activities did you initiate to help you actually start working and living your passion? Because “Just do it” is easier said than done.
I graduated college with a job at a small design studio and a typical student portfolio, just sort of all over the place and more a reflection of the classes I took. I wasn’t using my illustration skills during the day so I was coming home and putting that energy into remaking my portfolio to reflect the work I wanted people to hire me for—in my case, I wanted to be trusted to tell difficult, emotional stories. That new portfolio got me an illustration job at Meta (at the time, Facebook) where I art-direct today, as well as a foothold into the freelance editorial world.
You’re, as you put it, obsessed with excavating and elevating the pathos of subject matter you’re illustrating. How do you realize this quality in your work?
I think a lot about this in my mark-making and at the color stage, though to say “think” is probably too generous. I find that my …
