Today we’d like to introduce you to Phil Velikan

Hi Phil, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I have always been a “maker”. I was a child of the “monster years” back when aurora had monster model kits in all the stores, Barnabas Collins and the Night Stalker were on tv, the movie of the week was something creepy. All stuff that made me interested in weird things. These things spurred my creativity. I needed more monsters than were available to me. So I started making and selling stuff to like minded people. Years later, I tabled at a convention of creatives called the “INDYpendent show”. After that I was hooked. Meeting people and seeing the joy when they discovered my work was rewarding and self affirming! It’s nice to see people that “GET” what you’re doing and want to be a part of your journey.
Soon I was doing more conventions and kickstarters, which is where I am now. The kickstarters get followers who are notified when something new is put out by me. So each KS grows my community! It’s a pretty nice system.

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?

It’s like they say “Feast and Famine”. An artist needs to be able to compartmentalize. Take that money you made, put it in a separate account, and pay yourself a weekly wage. Don’t just dump it in your bank. It’ll be gone before you know what happened! You part it out and make it last til the next check if you can. At one point I had quite a bit in the account due to this practice so I gave myself a raise. :)
Oh 2008 was rough, or should I say 2009. A LOT of agency creatives were downsized and hit the freelance market. That lasted for quite a while. My “bread and butter” money dried up due to the influx of creatives dumped into my pond who were charging too little.
Then of course the pandemic. It didn’t really change my day-to-day life much, but the conventions were gone! THAT was the hard part. I didn’t realize how much I needed those to get rid of my excess pieces from the Kickstarters. I sell my seconds and mistakes there at a reduced rate.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?

• I am a sculptor of course, a small share of it is corporate work, but is my soul. This is what I love to do. The rest of my company enables me to keep doing it. A job here and there helps to meet the bills when things are dry. But I’ve always got something brewing!
• I also do vector illustrations for publication. Lots of spot illustrations and production art or design/layout. Over 400 book covers, some of them painted! Most of my business is putting out fires in ad agencies and businesses.
• I have 3 coloring books I created, which sell around the globe. Search “Velikan” on Amazon.
• Recently I have been working large scale for a float building company. Things like an 8′ frosty the snowman and woodworking jobs.
• 3D printing. A friend gave me an old 3D printer of his. It opened a whole new avenue for me and I just got my first jobs with it. I made some buildings for a map of the zoo, and cookie cutters of dinosaurs for a guy who owns a playscape business (see below). It’s fascinating stuff, nowhere near as fun as sculpting, but I can surely see the attraction. Boss wants the head a little larger. Tweak! Ten minutes, you’re back on schedule. It’s amazing tech. I want to love it, but I just don’t. It’s not as fun, cathartic, or calming. Clay is so visceral/real. It’s something you’re creating with. Yeah, yeah, digital is the same… But it’s not.

I think the thing that sets me apart is that I genuinely love everything I have done, because work for myself, not only the client. If I’m not happy with it, it doesn’t go out. I’m most proud of my brand, and that people trust me with the work they need done. You can rent an artist cheaper than me, but why chance it.

What does success mean to you?

Success is being able to pay your bills AND enjoy a life balance. It’s true what they say, “love what you do and you won’t work a day in your life”. Sure I have friends who make a LOT more than me, but are they happy daily? Do they wake up thinking about the cool things they’re putting out into the world? I doubt it. That’s what it means to me, Doing what I love and being able to pay my bills doing it. What more do you need? :)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.findphil.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#/vig.illustrationgraphics

Image Credits

The Tin Man Brewing and Das Rhinegold statues were commissioned for the CANVITATIONAL in Indy.
The Simon Bisley sculpture is a personal project I did years ago when starting out.

pix by me.