We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angel Bee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Angel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I always had an affinity for vibrant colors & animated media ever since I was very young. As a child, I would always watch classic media from the golden age of animation up to the time cartoons were airing on 90’s TV all while looking at the beautiful illustrations I would find in children’s books & Lisa Frank merchandise. Even video games like those from franchises such as SEGA’s ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ series and Nintendo’s ‘Kirby’ series really captivated me due to their colorful, imaginative aesthetics.

But it was truly when I was 8 years old that I became inspired to pursue a career in drawing character art after watching many behind-the-scenes specials on TV of animated films that were coming out at the time. Seeing how passionate the animators and creatives were in their visual storytelling process for each traditionally drawn film being released then moved me at such a young age to create character art and explore my artistic potential as a visual storyteller.

Angel, 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 was always determined at a young age to pursue an art career, so I studied visual arts in college and obtained a bachelor’s in fine art. In a way, I feel my time in college helped to elevate my illustrations to a higher quality due to experimentation with the different types of art styles from the past that I had to apply to my assignments then.

Because of this, I feel that my brand is subconsciously all about tying together elements of styles from the past into the modern styles of today. To bring something that is new that has a sense of familiarity that can seem and/or feel timeless to an audience. All in all, I’m “a bit modern, yet nostalgic at heart” in my approach to illustration and character design.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to create timeless works that bring joy to the viewer and inspire many in a positive way. I would like to do so not just through standalone illustrations, but also in my own stories that I would like to create into illustrated books along with TV & film animation that can be seen all over the world.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect as an artist for me is the creative process with each illustration and character design. For illustration, there is always something new to find in how to create the end result which is always a fun challenge to take on when thinking of a style that works for a drawing and how it should appear on the picture plane. I truly find it rewarding once I add in the colors and see how I can apply different techniques to an illustration I’m working on!

As for character design, it’s whenever I do character explorations. There are so many possibilities for the appearance of a character & how to illustrate who they are by showing how they express themselves through their appearance and expressions! When the right character design comes to light through all of the exploration, it is very rewarding to see how it all leads to the final design.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelbeedrawings/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angelbeedesigns
• Other: ArtStation https://www.artstation.com/angelbee