#One time she conned me into helping her paint a huge welcome back banner for a teacher that was on leave for a major illness

[solradguy]

AI "artists" really are the modern day digital version of that kid in high school that'd trace art from printouts or from their classmates' works and say they drew it despite never having drawn a day in their life. Fuckin grifters

[woohooligancomics]

Artist Spotlight: Olivia Whitt, cute, whimsical, sarcastic, fierce

Welcome to the Laugh It Forward Kickstarter Artist Spotlight! Every day you'll meet new cool artists doing amazing things, so check them out!

Today I'd like to introduce you to Olivia Whitt!

Olivia is a freelance illustrator living in Florida with her assistant Foster. (Who also happens to be her cat.) She enjoys illustrating sarcastic and fierce imagery of cute and whimsical subject matter, and the occasional fan art. When she's not busy drawing, she's playing video games or reading inspiring works of fiction.

Sam: I used to make the mistake most artists make when asked about my work, and get into the details like characters, plot and story elements. Those are important in telling stories, but I learned they don't really draw people in. So I'm going to ask you to tell us a short story about the more important question:

why do you create your art?

Olivia: I think like most artists I got my start early on creating things as a kid. I love art just as much as I did then and when I graduated college with my Bachelors in Graphic Design, I felt lost and unmotivated in that space. I quit my job and started drawing and painting full time as a freelance artist!

I always knew I wanted to create stories that people would enjoy and now I'm lucky to be able to do that! I love creating comics because I want to give others that same feeling I get when I pick up someone else's labor of love.

Sam: Quitting is so scary, isn't it? But in the end, I think it's ultimately necessary for a lot of us.

My second question is who or what has most inspired your work? If I compared you to someone, what names would you be most flattered to hear?

Olivia: When I was younger Courage the Cowardly Dog was my favorite show. I was obsessed with the creepy atmosphere it had. John R. Dilworth the creator, was a huge inspiration for me then in terms of my love for the "bizarre".

Hayao Miyazaki of course was I think a lot of artists' first real exposure to what beautiful artwork could look like. He made "cartoons" more adult with serious themes that we can all still appreciate well into adulthood.

And if I'm being honest, Fran Meneses or how she's known online Frannerd, was one of the huge contributing factors to me jumping into the creator space. I would watch her videos on her Youtube channel tirelessly! Soaking up whatever I could from her wisdom. She made this career seem like it was really possible for me and I couldn't ever thank her enough for that.

Sam: I enjoy Miyazaki's work. I might have to go back and check out Courage -- I've never watched a full episode.

I think seeing other people's success is an important part of feeling like it's possible for us. I would look at Zack Weinersmith and see how well he's funded on Patreon, knowing that I could have written or drawn many of the same comic strips that were on SMBC. What I lacked (until recently) was what I think most of us artists feel is the scarier part of this career: knowing how to market myself. And now that I'm learning how to do that, I'm trying to share it as much as I can -- I hosted my first comic-con panel at Animatic Con in Cincinnati last weekend on how to market your art. Everybody was awesome! :D

Sam: What have you learned from your work? What advice would you give to younger creators?

Olivia: I've learned a lot in my short time. I've only just started my journey as an artist but if I could give anyone advice for creators of all ages, it's that you should always be willing to help your fellow creators. Don't always assume they're out to get something from you. And never stop being grateful for any support you get. Pay it forward and make friends. We're all too busy guarding our art and our careers like someone is gonna swoop in and snatch up an opportunity we "deserved". Be happy for someone who gets that opportunity and work hard to find your own avenues!

Sam: I feel a little weird whenever I see someone's DeviantArt profile and they've got a big banner that says "DON'T STEAL MY ART!" I can't really say anything to them about it, because I don't want to be that guy who's barging in with unsolicited advice, but I can't help but feel like they're focusing on the wrong thing.

Yes, having your art stolen is frustrating and it shouldn't happen. The same is true of having money stolen, but you don't see people walking around on the street shouting, "DON'T TAKE MY WALLET!" If you saw someone doing that in public, someone would be referring them to counseling, but you see it on DeviantArt all the time. :P

It's a rare enough event, you're unlikely to lose any real money from it over your lifetime. So in most cases you should probably just focus on whatever your current projects are and on opening doors for other creators.

Last question. What one thing would you change about the world?

Olivia: If I could change one thing about the world it would be to see that people stop being so hateful. It saddens me that even in 2018 were still behaving like were not all equals and that the voices of people trying to change that are seen as radicals for wanting a better life.

Sam: Why is it "radical" to think that rates of incarceration shouldn't be radically different for white people than they are for black or brown people? Why is it "radical" to think that the Supreme Court should have allowed women working at Wal-Mart to make their case in court that the company was underpaying them compared to the men? Why is it "radical" to think that someone working at McDonalds deserves to earn a living working only 40hrs a week and not being forced to work two jobs?

Any final thoughts?

Olivia: Thank you to Sam for putting all this hard work into this Artists Showcase! It's people like him that are helping people like me succeed and I'm very grateful for that.

Sam: Thank you, Olivia, you're so kind! And thanks for taking the time for this interview, it's been a pleasure.

To see more of Olivia's awesome work, check out her website. You can also find her on Twitter, or Patreon, and most importantly, if you enjoy her work, share this interview!

p.s. If you are also an artist and are planning a Kickstarter, you might find my Six Tips to Kickstarter Success helpful, plus links to other helpful resources. Also thanks to Andrea Demonakos who's handling the bulk of our rewards fulfillment to help our Laugh It Forward project go smoothly!