I discovered MTV in Kindergarten and became addicted immediately. I’d wake up at around five AM every morning and watch two hours of music videos before school, and turn it back on as soon as I got home. I don’t really know why my mom allowed this at age six but  thanks mom. Soon I began drawing my favorite bands, celebrities, etc. I’ve always been a pretty shy and quiet person, so when I saw that I could connect with some of my classmates through my drawings of celebrities something clicked. Pop culture is relatable and digestible, making it easy to bond over. I’m still shy, still quiet, and still drawing my weird little drawings, but now instead of getting attention from classmates I’m catching the eyes of art directors, and other artists hanging out on instagram and tumblr.

Probably my music video for “Sign Me Up” by Minneapolis-based rapper Ecid. It was a massive project, but so much fun to work on. It didn’t even feel like work. After listening to the song three or four times I knew exactly how I wanted it to look. I had almost total control over Art Direction, which can be rare with client work. I’d just get lost for days animating pizza skating, Kimye floating around the sky, and Snoop Dogg headbanging.

I learned a lot as an animator through this video. Since a lot of what I know about animation is self taught sometimes it feels more like solving a puzzle than work. I’d never morphed objects, animated a mouth talking… let alone rapping, or built an entire world around a song before. It was awesome. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my illustrations move around the screen. I’m very proud of the video, and it’s already led to some more music video work. It’s pretty exciting.

Check out the video here.

I’d probably say: “Don’t be afraid to take risks, as long as you work hard things usually fall into place.” I took a risk when I decided to spend an extra year in college so I could take some animation classes, if I didn’t take that chance I probably wouldn’t have half of the business that I have today. I took a risk when I accepted a job offer with Hallmark Cards, a company a thousand miles away from everything I’d ever known and loved. Everday at Hallmark I would draw,  learn, collaborate, and letter. It was an awesome first job, with awesome people.

Now on my own full time, I’ve learned the freelance illustration world can be an intimidating place. Amazing projects will come along, your favorite concepts will get killed and jobs will come and go. I would tell myself to celebrate success, learn from your failures and just keep working hard, it’ll pay off.