We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alex Dos Diaz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alex, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I have been able to make full-time living from being an independent artist, business owner and freelance illustrator for the past 5-6 years. To be honest, it was a very slow process during which I worked a number of part time jobs such as server, bartender, landscaper and even assistant maintenance at an apartment complex. I would take as many freelance “gigs” as I could while working my day or night time jobs. Most did not pay well at all, but I took every opportunity I could. Even when I did not have gigs I tried my best to continue creating and building some sort of portfolio in hopes that someone would see the work and would want to hire me because of it.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve always loved animation, video games and just 2D art in general for as long as I can remember. Anime or Japanese animation specially was a huge part of that love for me while growing up in Uruguay. Once we moved to the US back in 2001, my main focus and favorite class was always art class. It was something I felt I excelled at as well as a big distraction from whatever else was going on at home. I graduated High school in 2007 and it was a long road in between part time jobs and transferring from one art school to another until I finally graduated college in 2014.
I did not start working directly in my field until years after I graduated. I landed one of my first official editorial freelance jobs with The Seattle Times back in 2016, and I have Goñi Montes to thank for that. I met them and a few other artist and art directors at Illuxcon that year. Ironically enough I had just started working as a server, and had no idea he annual convention was being held for the first time at the same hotel. Right time, right place kind of situation I guess but it was a huge boost to my confidence and momentum to continue pursuing becoming a creative professional.
From that point on I started having more and more jobs slowly trickling in but it was not enough to make a full-time living from them so I still maintained a part time job. I landed illustration jobs in editorial, comics, book covers, table top games, card games, album covers and they were all great learning experiences although frustrating at times. I just couldn’t quiet find a place that was the right fit for me and what I do best. This is around the time I started learning about conventions, developing my own intellectual property and selling my work directly to people. It was the thing I most needed to boost my career to where it is today.
It was through focusing and developing my personal work and displaying it for sale at comic, anime, and gaming conventions with costumers and clients alike that I carved out my own space in the industry. This helped me meet new clients who would hire me, not for what they thought I could do for them in a technical sense but to do what they saw I was already doing within their IPs and projects. This lead me to better fitting projects, much more confident work, less frustrations, better compensation and and professional relationship with my clients and costumers.
My personal work revolves a lot around the things I loved while growing up, but felt immature to share or admit I loved as an adult. It wasn’t until I started embracing my love for the graphic nature of animation and 2d video games that I started developing a personal visual language. That, combined with my ever growing curiosity of psychological themes and love for design are the base ingredients that make my work what it is today. I love to personify feelings, emotions and experiences in as many ways as possible.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Yes, I wish I had learned that I there are other, less traditional paths outside working for other people and companies. I also wish I was taught about taxes, and how to own and run a business as an independent.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
In my opinion being a professional creative is like being a professional athlete. You train everyday in some kind of way, even when you don’t feel like it. When you are not training physically you are observing and studying the sport and other athletes. And you think about the sport and relating it to other things in your every day life, in some kind of way everyday. This is not to say you have to grind all day every day because resting is one of the most important parts of growth. However, It’s less a job and more a lifestyle.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alexdosdiaz.com
- Instagram: alexdosdiaz
- Twitter: alexdosdiaz
Image Credits
Image – Pink Samurai : Neon – Poster for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty 2022 ©Wizards of the Coast
Image – Teal Moon folk: TAMIYO SPARK – T-shirt design for Modern Horizons 3 – 2024 ©Wizards of the Coast