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

Kevin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

The first dollar I had ever earned as a creative was way back in 2021. I was experimenting with creating watercolor paintings and was also freshly beginning the Spring semester at my university. I had connected with a friend of mine on campus who was also creating art at the time, and they had wanted to commission me for an original piece. Their only parameter was that they wanted it to be based on the cartoon ‘Adventure Time,’ but other than that, they gave me full creative liberties to paint it however I pleased. Also at that time, I had just finished playing the original Final Fantasy VII and it was still super fresh on my mind, so I decided to merge the two interests into my piece and create a spoofed version of the Burning of Nibelheim with Marceline in place of Sephiroth. What still gets a chuckle out of me to this day is that when they asked me about pricing and payment, I told them “eh, just buy me a Monster and we’ll call it even,” but they insisted on paying me much more than an energy drink for the work I put into the piece. It was both my first dollar I had ever earned doing art, and a much-needed lesson in knowing my worth as a creative.

Kevin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My internet alias is Kenny Ginkgo, and I am a budding variety creator who makes and posts both digital and traditional art, gameplay videos, as well as dabbling in atmospheric readings of short internet stories. Creepypastas, if we’re skipping formalities. My focus is mostly anime and video game art or videos, and a lot of it is comedic in nature. What I’m most proud of is my editing style – very fast-paced and able to pull a laugh out of you when you least expect it.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My advice is honestly to just keep posting. Keep trying new things until you find something that sticks for you. People will eventually catch on and voice what they like! But, more importantly than that, make things for YOU. Make things that you find captivating or poignant or funny. If you try too hard to work based on what’s popular, you won’t have any fun when you create.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

What’s most rewarding for me is being able to inspire other people to start creative journeys of their own. I had wanted to learn how to draw by watching my brother as a little kid, I thought it was so awesome because he made illustrations of my favorite things at the time – Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Mega Man, classic little kid things. I’ve been told a handful of times by people in my comment sections (I could probably count it on one hand, honestly) that they’re learning how to draw because they like the pieces that I put out. So, to me, it feels almost full-circle to know that I was able to leave an impact in someone’s life the same way that it was left in mine.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @kennyginkgo
• Other: Tiktok: @kennyginkgo