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

Adam, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I have always drawn things for fun–doodles on notebook paper in school, art for personal projects. I really needed an easier way to create assets for a video game I was developing in my free time, so I got an inexpensive digital tablet and learned how to use it. That led into needing character art, so I taught myself how to do that as well. It was fun, and I wanted to get better at it while making things other people might see, so I tried fanart for a little while. That led to wanting to try to make full original pieces, which I found the most enjoyment in. I didn’t take any of it seriously, and certainly never considered it a professional path for myself, though I did finally upgrade to a screen tablet.

In later 2023, there was an online challenge called Drawtober that had six spooky prompts placed around a haunted mansion. I wanted to see if I had progressed enough to make pieces with which I was really happy. I got a ton of support and compliments from other artists and friends including some surprise that I wasn’t doing any art professionally in any capacity. I had never considered it! I decided I would give it a try and brainstormed with my wife about things I’d like to draw that we thought other people might like as well. I spent a few months making more pieces (we decided on fairies and mermaids!), and signed up for the first local pop-up event I could find to test if anybody would actually like my work enough to buy it. It went really, and I ended up getting an illustrator job out of it too!

Adam, 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?

I’m Adam Prack, and I create digital drawings of fantasy art. I do a lot with deep, rich colors and detailed lighting throughout. I draw mostly fairies and mermaids for now, but I branch out to other topics as they interest me or for commissioned work like illustrating children’s books. I typically sell prints of my work at shows and have recently moved into sublimating it onto products like coasters, bags, and towels. I’m really particular about how my art looks, so I do all of my prints and most of my other products at home.

I started taking art seriously in my mid-30’s, so I’ve been selling my art and providing it professionally for about a year now. Since starting, I’ve done a bunch of live shows and artist alleys locally, illustrated a full children’s book, and done a few book cover commissions between my day job and working as a musician as well. It’s been a successful year, and I hope to do even better continuing forward! I love when people see my work in the wild and comment on the colors and lighting because those are the things I love most about my work too. When working with clients like authors, I really like being able to give them what they’re looking for at the exact specifications they need it at while keeping to the timing they need. It’s been fun with those pieces to jump to different art styles than my typical work as well. I just really love creating things, and I hope that comes through in all of my pieces!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I love spending my time creating, so I want to make as much time for that as possible. Ideally, I would love to become successful enough to transition into a fulltime artist. Continuing to expand my catalogue, increase my abilities, and find better ways to get my work in front of more people are my top priorities because they directly contribute to that goal. I imagine other creatives feel similarly too, but I get really antsy when I go too long without making things or working on projects. Simultaneously, I am creating things that I really enjoy and believe in as well because there would be no point to all of this otherwise. So finding a way to be able to create things that I enjoy as much as possible is where I am headed.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Give local creators around you a chance! Shift a little more of your splurging budget to things made by a real-life person instead of mass-produced things. Small creators will never be able to compete with the pricing you get at the supermarket or on online superstores, but you can get some really cool, unique things by going ahead and saying “yes, I want this” a little more often. The people who come to your booth just to look are ALWAYS appreciated (art is supposed to be seen!), and I love talking with anyone who wants to talk about my art or process. And, of course, if adding art or handmade creations to your life isn’t in the budget, don’t feel ANY shame for enjoying the show or online post and all the cool stuff. But if it’s in your means, make some space in your home or on a wall somewhere for something special that someone made. I get a little extra happiness every time I see pieces I have hanging on my walls from other artists, and they all bring back memories. I have an attachment to those pieces more than anything similar that was store-bought. If you see something you love that someone created–and you’re able–give yourself permission to say “yes” a little more often.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://adamprack.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adam.prack.art
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdamPrackArt