Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jodi HIll. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jodi, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

Sometimes I wish I would have stuck with my original major in college at San Diego State University as a “commercial artist” back in 1984. I was having a great time learning about all the different styles and forms of creative arts until one day in my second year of college I was introduced to a computer and its ability to create art. I was totally closed off to the idea of how we as artists could ever be considered creative with a computer and therefore giving up using our hands with a pencil, pen, or paintbrush to make art. That was insane! I soon switched my major to Liberal Arts/Education and eventually had a career as an elementary and high school teacher. Still a wonderful life choice and my artistic skills really did add to my gifts in the classroom but I still have no idea of what I could have developed into as an artist if I would have stuck to it in college instead of dropping my original major completely. Well, apparently I felt incomplete because almost 10 years later I enrolled in Platt College and received an AA in Graphic Design using all my previous SDSU art credits and finally accepting the process of learning all the tricks of art that are available on with the assistance of a computer. Today I use both when doing projects but I still create with the use of real pencils, erasers, inks, paintbrushes, watercolor paints, cups of water, paper towels for blotting, and then yes, I use a computer to scan, adjust colors, sizes, and send off my finished products.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always loved drawing cartoons and silly animals but I have never felt I was any good at realistic drawings or scenic type art. As a kid I wanted to be a mailman, or rather mail-lady. Weird huh? I just loved sorting things and organizing. As time went on I realized I could copy other cartoonish features and learned how to create my own characters. When teaching elementary kids I was able to amaze my kiddos with a sketch on the chalkboard, teaching them to copy and showing them if they just draw what they see, with practice, they could be an artist too.

Eventually I met an author on Craigslist who was looking for an illustrator and we created our first self-published children’s book together titled, “Albert Lag Behind”. This production made me so proud and hopeful of what I could do as an illustrator and story teller while having fun at the same time. Wow! Sign me up! Later I met other authors who hired me as their illustrator for their stories. I created my own contract asking for deposit and final payment deadlines, price per colored page, as well as option to purchase the books at cost from the publisher. It was always a very satisfying partnership, getting together and brainstorming ideas for the characters, settings, deciding on colors, and everything that represented their creative stories in the best light. I was impressed with their gift of creative writing and they of my artistic vision. I currently have thirteen illustrated books that have been published and that does make me smile.

I love a sharp pencil and a fine tip pen. Using all the techniques I picked up in college and on my own I found that I very much agree with watercolors and colored pencils for their blending beauty. For my own creative exploration I practice other forms of art with acrylic paints on a canvas perched on my easel, word prompts in my sketch books, painting rocks, beading, some wall mural projects, and even painting a local electrical box in the town I lived in for a neighborhood clean up/beautify project.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is seeing the story come alive. Seeing the writers of the stories that I illustrate express their happiness when they see how I interpret their work. Then of course seeing it all come together in a book, and of course when I see it for sale on Amazon.com. These are sweet rewarding emotions and I think it makes my family proud too.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

As I grew up, finished college, became a teacher and then a mother, I wish I would have known that I could have had this side gig earlier in life. If I would have known that computers would not take over the natural skill of “real” artists, the craft of using my hand and creative mind, then just maybe I’d have even more books out there for people to enjoy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jodsdesigns1
• Facebook: jodsdesigns

Image Credits

Mike Weiss, Patricia Rebollar, Erika Morse