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
Nancy Miller Illustration 