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

Nathan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

This is a loaded question. Personally, I struggle with finding happiness in my art many hours in the day. I feel guilty when I’m not working and I’m always on guard for a potential idea. Happiness truly comes in waves as a creative because you can never “turn it off”. An idea will come when it comes whether you’re on the toilet or falling asleep. There isn’t such thing as content because then why would you continue to pursue your craft? Pursuing art is an incredible luxury, so I’m grateful to do it- any thought of doing anything else makes me shiver. Day in day out at a cubicle punching a keyboard for eight hours a day- I can’t imagine a more Sisyphean life.

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

I am an illustrator and designer across animation and children’s books. My approach to character design often strays from the convention by leaning away from typical beauty standards and gravitates towards caricature. This to me is more truthful representation of the diverse world we live in- to highlight the variety of features across the globe otherwise unseen in media. This makes it more difficult for potential clients to find a place for my work, but nonetheless- there is a place for it. I hope to see animated projects get more diverse in the years to come along this mentality and not just give a Barbie slightly more melanin.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

Not worth my attention. Or anyone’s for that matter.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Hold generative AI legally accountable for its piracy and cease its development before it truly annihilates creativity. We can’t let a handful of gray-souled engineers and tech executives with dollar signs instead of hearts dismantle the entire creative economy. I refuse to believe that they represent the majority of the globe- that people still respect the arts and won’t allow it to die for the sake of funding some immoral yuppie in Silicon Valley driving a Tesla.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nkwanart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nkwanstudio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-kwan-17640b16b/