We recently connected with Kameron White and have shared our conversation below.

Kameron, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents worked hard to ensure that my siblings and I had a better life and childhood than they did growing up. I also have my parents to thank for supporting my work and being an artist. Originally in middle school, I wanted to be a surgeon. I was even close to applying to Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, a public high school in Houston, Texas known for helping students who wanted to be in the medical field. However, it was my mom who saw how passionate I was about art and creating my comics that she suggested that I apply to HSPVA, Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. As I went there, it fueled my love for art, especially making my own stories. It was in high school that I was serious about becoming a Comic artist.

My dad grew up as an avid comic book fan, meanwhile, my mom could not tell you the difference between Spiderman and Superman. She even at one point mistook the two for the other. Although both had no clue on how to even get started in comics, what that looked like as a career, and how to even get educated in that field. My parents still supported me every step of the way. They saw my passion for it and wanted to do their best to nurture that passion and let it grow.

Without knowing it, they’ve also instilled a work ethic and view of life in me that has helped me be unapologetically myself and in my work. By being proud of myself and my heritage, I’ve put that in my art as well so that other viewers and readers can see characters and illustrations of individuals that look like them and that they can relate to, so they can be proud of themselves and their heritage as well.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Kameron White, I’m an Afro-Indigenous (Choctaw and Cherokee), Comic Artist, Illustrator, and Designer. I attended Minneapolis College of Art and Design and graduated with a BFA in Comic Art in 2018. I was a bit stumped after graduation, but I kept working at it. I joined comic anthologies and continued to make my comics and illustrations. Since high school, I wanted to make work that made others feel represented. Growing up I did not see much of people who looked like me or my culture in media. And if it was in media, it was often harmful stereotypes.

With my work, I want people to see themselves represented in a positive light. My work mainly includes People of Color, LGBTQ+ individuals, individuals of different body sizes, individuals with disabilities, and individuals of various backgrounds. With my illustrations, I also place these characters in sceneries that are not common in history, especially Black and Brown bodies in mythological and religious imagery.

Recently I was a part of the DC Milestone Initiative program and was able to illustrate a comic about Hardware. Now I illustrate indie comics and am working on illustrating a graphic novel.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist to me is seeing people enjoy my comics or work and the light on their faces when they see themselves represented. Also, it’s been a joy to see young Black and Indigenous artists come to me asking questions on how they can get started in comics or that they’re happy that they’re finally being seen in a media that they love.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to learn that I’m a human and not a machine and unlearn that the more pages you do in a day, the better you are as a comic artist. In the comic art industry, it’s mostly seen as a good thing if you are working yourself to the bone. That means churning out multiple pages a day without much breaks or even enough sleep. I’m still trying to coach myself into taking care of myself, but I admit that it’s hard. I’m getting better at treating it as a 9-5 as well and giving myself time for breaks. It at some points has been detrimental to my mental state and my health. I even treated finishing pages as a reward to finally eat something or to take a break. I hope people going into comics learn that they should give themselves resting time and you’re not a failure if you didn’t get as much as you wanted done in the day.

Contact Info:

• Website: spacejamkam.com
• Instagram: spacejamkamart
• Twitter: spacejamkamart

Image Credits
Kameron White/Spacejamkamart