Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Hines

Hi Jennifer, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

I’m currently a freelance illustrator and lettering artist specializing in food subject matter. But I definitely didn’t start out with that idea and have gone on a circuitous route to get here. I studied fine art and creative writing in university and wanted to be a poet or a painter, in that order. A few mediocre teachers made me realize my talents lay in longer narrative stories and more drawing-based mediums. Over the years, I created artwork through printmaking, sculpture, and drawing and showed work in gallery shows, supporting myself with some graphic design jobs in the meantime. I meant for the design work to just be day jobs, but I started getting more interested in graphic design and less in fine art (which was also costly), and so I ended up working in publishing and book design. Publishing was great because I got to design how text was presented so it combined words with visuals, fitting with my background in school. But as time went on, I started yearning for something off the computer, so began drawing again in my spare time. Then I stumbled onto lettering as an artform. Drawing letterforms and learning brush calligraphy felt so natural and I love how it combines my love of words and art in a more tactile and creative way. As I did more and more of this work on the side, it became my passion! It was nice to have words back in my life, and drawing has always felt very meditative to me. After years of doing artwork by hand, I started using an iPad to draw and add more color. Coinciding with a move abroad, I made the leap to go freelance to create work for clients and licensing my art for products. Now I balance doing analog work by hand and doing digital print-ready work on my iPad and computer. I realize I need both in my life and they have very different results and feed different parts of my brain. I am also doing more writing and including my words in my projects. So despite my meandering path, I ended up not so far from where I began, exploring illustration and words together.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

I don’t think any career road is smooth. I didn’t know what route I would take, and always got the dreaded question “What are you going to do, teach?” when I mentioned my fields of study. There is no map to define a non-standard or creative career, so I just took opportunities along the way and learned as much as I could. I have pivoted many times, from fine art, to graphic design, to illustration, and now to some merging of fine art, design, and illustration. I never knew where I was going, but I just plugged along, letting my inspiration guide me and absorbing new skills and methods. Not all things I tried were successful.

I think the biggest challenge was probably narrowing my offerings and skills to really build an expertise in lettering and food illustration–it’s so hard to select what to do when you want to do everything. As a freelancer, it’s difficult to start a business and there were years I made very little money. I had to both grow my illustration skills, define what I wanted to do specifically within the very broad field of illustration, and find clients for that niche. But I had a safety net in place to allow me to explore, fail, and grow. I think that’s important in creative fields because there isn’t a checklist to follow. I had day jobs along the way that allowed me space to play around on the side.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

I think at heart I’ll always have a love of words and mark-making, so as an illustrator that means drawing and including letterforms or telling stories through my work. Over the years, I’ve developed an expertise in whimsical, quirky, or humorous illustrations to make people smile, often including word play or puns. My style is playful and fun, so sometimes people think my work is for children, but I actually make work mostly for adults like myself, who like colorful cute things. I’ve created a niche doing food and cocktail illustrations, so often work to create food and drink illustrations for small businesses or for editorial books and articles. I also create colorful artwork for licensing on greeting cards, fabric, and products. My largest but most fun project to date was creating all the interior illustrations and cover for a Big Lebowski-inspired cocktail recipe book, where I got to create artwork celebrating the movie and characters with lettering, cocktail illustrations, and spot art, all themed around the Big Lebowski storyline. It was a blast and used all my favorite skills together!

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?

I’m not a natural risk-taker. I’m the type of person who researches things and thinks about them a while before taking a plunge. However, when I do take risks they have led to the best things in my life. After living 15 years in Chicago, my family and I decided to pick up and move abroad to London. While that was stressful and not without its pitfalls, it was also so great learning a new culture and also gave me the push to leave a well-paying, but unfulfilling and toxic, job and start freelance. I am so glad I did both because I am much happier and have had the opportunity to meet so many new people and experience so many new things. While taking risks is hard, and there may be some regret and tough times as a result, it is only through risk that we grow and become who we are. All the best experiences I’ve had are ultimately because I took a big risk. I’m actually considering a big risk right now of adapting my artwork and style, which is a huge and scary task because I’m not sure where I’ll end up or how it will mesh with what I’ve done in the past, but exploring new methods, processes, and subject matter has been so fulfilling so far. It’s always good to get out of your comfort zone; otherwise life can get pretty boring.

Pricing:

• Pricing for illustration varies based on the type, complexity, and what it will be used for. It’s a true collaboration in that respect! My prices generally start at $300 and go up from there based on what you need. I’m always happy to chat!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jenniferhines.design/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abctypography/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferhinesdesigns/

Image Credits

Images credited to Jennifer Hines