Messy Art Teacher

5.02 Robin Martéa, Illustrator

Hi Everyone, on this episode of My Creative Life I have Robin Martéa a fellow grad illustration. I got to speak with Robin and discuss your work and her process. She offered some great marketing advice for artists starting out. Here is a bit more about Robin.Robin Martéa is a visual artist, born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. Since grade school, she has been heavily involved in the visual arts and has since then, developed a strong foundation in mediums ranging from painting to photography. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is currently pursuing her M.F.A. degree in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

“I like to think of my paintings as a window into my daydreams. Chasing my dreams is often done in the most unconventional way: through a brush and a canvas. My art, which is a direct reflection of my imagination, is illustrated through drawings that are grounded in hope. What motivates me are the works of artists and illustrators whose art tells a story in an imaginative way. When viewing my work, I’d like for the audience to bring all their aspirations to the table. Whether young or old, my hope is that they leave with their minds full of imagination and their hearts full of inspiration.”See her work at https://www.robinmartea.com/

Listen to the interview at My Creative Life.

#mycreativelifepodcast #illustrator #robinmartea #artist

5.01 Jamie Zollars, Children’s Book Illustrator and Author

Jamie Zollars Children's Book Illustrator and Author The Truth About Dragons.

This season I have many more illustrators since I’ve been focusing on children’s books. It is exciting to have Jamie Zollars on the podcast. Here is a bit about Jamie. JAIME ZOLLARS began making art at a young age, but her illustration career didn’t take off until second grade, when she started drawing unicorns on friends’ Trapper Keepers for shiny nickels. She went on to draw local library brochures and elaborate student council campaign ephemera, quickly sealing her fate.

To make it official, Jaime spent seven years in college, earning a BA in photography from UMBC in 1999, and a BFA in Illustration from the Art Center College of Design in 2003.While waiting for her first illustration jobs, Jaime worked as an extra on movie sets, tried out for every game show imaginable, and went for runs on the beach, because this is what people do in Los Angeles. Five game show appearances and a first (and last) marathon later – she was making art full-time.Jaime has illustrated children’s books, magazines, newspapers, and ad campaigns. Her clients include United Airlines, Random House, The American Red Cross, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic, Little, Brown, Clarion Books, Quarry Books and the L.A. Weekly.

She has also created artwork for galleries including Copro Nason, Gallery Nucleus, and Giant Robot.Jaime’s art has been recognized by a bunch of great publications and societies, including Taschen’s Illustration Now, American Illustration, Communication Arts, The Society of Illustrators, 3×3, Spectrum, Curvy Australia, Design Taxi, XFuns Taipei, DPI Taiwan, BBC’s Culture Shock, Small Magazine, Creative Quarterly, the SI-LA, and the SCBWI.You can see her work at http://www.jaimezollars.com/ or on IG Jamie Zollars Art

Listen to the interview at My Creative Life.

#childrensbooks #childrensbookillustrator #mycreativelife #jamiezollars

Deborah Lee’s Talk Gives Inspiration for Becoming an Illustrator

I was watching a video of Deborah Lee and her story about how she became an illustrator. She started with a compromise with her parents to study design at Carnegie Mellon. She talks about how she got an internship at Linkedin. I then heard her story about how she met another illustrator Alice Lee in the Bay area. She later became an illustration assistant to Alice Lee.

Those types of relationships can go a long way. I’ve found that I’ve learned so much from talking with other artists and creatives. These learning experiences I feel like they are a great opportunity to not only learn but creative an archive to share with my students in the future. That’s why I have the podcast I’ve been working on for the past 3 years. It’s gone by fast.

It’s hard to imagine where things can take you, and that it’s great hearing from Deborah Lee about her journey to becoming an illustrator. Here is her talk with Procreate. Which eventually she got commissioned to do work for Procreate.

Every creative’s path is different and she talks about how she talked with other creatives to get help. Networking and having an honest passion to learn and pursue your dreams is amazing.

I think becoming a freelance illustrator is about being persistent and trying to keep at it. You have to be mentally tough enough to realize there is a lot of competition, but during the process you are working on improving your work.

She learned a lot from her mistakes and kept working at it and improving her craft. She would redo illustrations and trying to enter competitions. She looked at her work objectively and tried to make her work standout.

Lee explains how style and voice in illustration are different from each other. I could go on and on about the great content in this video. She talks about her graphic novel that ties into her feelings about not fitting in as Korean or American. The dysphoria that it created in her life. I can identify with her feelings on this. Inspiring and motivating.

#deborahlee #illustrator #illustrationcareer #procreate

2020 Youtube Videos for starting your Illustration Career

I took over decade break from freelancing illustrating and I’m trying to get back into the career of illustration. I’ve been doing lots of research to see how the market has changed. Some illustrators that have some great content on starting your career. Here is my list of top channels. They gave practical information for starting your freelance career. I wrote next to the channel name what type of illustration they specialize in.

SVS Learn – Specific to Children’s Book Illustration

I really enjoy listening to their podcast. That’s the most practical information for business of illustration.

2. Anoosha Syed – Specific to Children’s Book Illustration

3. Kendyll Hillegas – Advertising Illustration

4. Holly Exley – UK Illustrator, Editorial and Advertising Illustration

5. The Futur/Chris Do – Graphic Design Freelancing

6. Dan Ekis – Freelance Comic Book Artist

His suggestion for various streams of income as an artist is great advice!

7. SI – Society of Illustrators NY – All types of Illustration

This one was great for hearing how contemporary illustrators are working at building their client list. The talks that they have with 4 or more illustrators are really interesting to listen to.

8. Hello Young Illustrators – Robert Young, General Illustration Education

I agreed with him on several points about networking.

Here is a bonus one that is specific interview with Alex Kiesling.

If you have any youtubers you like please comment and share!

My Creative Life Season 5

I can’t believe I am on Season 5 of My Creative Life. Podcast about creatives and their art journey. It’s been amazing to talk with the fantastic creatives. I just had an interview with Samantha Cotterill the other day and learned that even the most established award winning illustrators have to draw limits on what they can get done. Take measured steps towards success. There’s always time in the future to work on things. Here is the schedule for season 5 that starts Jan. 3, 2021. Their IG handles are at the end.

1. 1/3/21 Jamie Zollars, Children’s Book Writer and Illustrator, @jaimezollarsart

2. 1/10/21 Robin Martéa, Illustrator, @robinmartea

3. 1/17/21 Chinmayee Bagade, Illustrator, @chinmayee_bagade

4. 1/24/21 Maggie Roth, Artist, @maggieroth_

5. 1/31/21 Yiyi Chen, Illustrator, @yiyich_chen

6. 2/7/21 Yevhenia Haidamaka, Professor/Illustrator, @yevhaidamaka

7. 2/14/21 JaVon Townsend, Aspiring Children’s Book Writer/Illustrator, @javonmakesart

8. 2/28/21 Caroline Hanlon, Illustrator, @caroline.imagines

9. 3/7/21 Reema Zoumut, Animation Teacher, @bolsagrande_animation

10. 3/14/21 Heather Tietz and Myself, Applesauce Books, @applesaucebooks_

11. 3/20/21 Ryan Bird and Stephanie Bott, Toy Designer Bird Bott Toys, @birdbotttoys

12. 3/28/21 Nikita Prokohova, Professor/Graphic Designer, @typebynikita

13. 4/4/21 Samantha Cotterill, Children’s Book Author and Illustrator

14. 4/11/21 still to come!

Thank you to everyone for their support in listening. It’s a hobby and something I enjoy doing and learning from.

Listen to past interviews at My Creative Life Podcast.

My First Blog Post

I’ve abandoned my blogger blog to start this new blog. I had been using Blogger for over a decade, but realized it hasn’t kept up with the times. It’s gotten kinda clunky and it doesn’t offer as many features that WordPress does for blogging. I decided to move it here. This blog will be about my graduate studies in illustration, freelancing, teaching, surface design, children’s books, and life in general as an artist.

About Nancy Miller Illustrator

I always loved drawing and creating images with stories. This led to me studying Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). I’m an illustrator and art educator. I try to instill in my students that visual arts takes effort, and it’s a big part of our culture and communication process. One of the highlights of being an art teacher has been watching my students pursue their own art careers.

I’ve worked as a graphic designer and staff illustrator. I’ve been able to see my illustrations and designs in magazines, newspapers, package designs, and picture books. My illustrations have been included in group exhibits with the Society of Illustrators LA, and the Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators (Georgia). I reside in Savannah, Georgia with my husband, son, and four guinea pigs. Thank you for taking the time to visit my site.

If you want to read more about my career visit About Me on my website.

#illustration #illustrator #illustrationstudent #graduateillustration #childrensbooks