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

Hi Bev, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

One piece of advice for earning a living through your art is to be versatile and adaptable! I credit my ability to earn a living to my ability to work in a variety of styles and genres, from colorful children’s books to more moody and intense art. Also, as a character designer, it’s useful to be able to design a variety of characters – kids, old people, monsters, fairies, animals. Not only does it help expand your skillset, but it’s fun to create contrast between characters. My other advice would absolutely be to put yourself out there! Post your art online, make your own website, and interact with other artists online to build a community. Reach out to agents and art directors.
I should also mention that you should only include art in your portfolio that represents what you’d like to work on. If you drew a complex mechanical background, but hated doing it, you don’t need to include it just because it’s impressive. Focus on the work you prefer doing.

Bev, 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 a character designer and illustrator, and my specialty is portraying emotions! I love drawing characters’ expressions, reactions, and interactions the most. In any genre and for any demographic, I always enjoy working with color and light to portray mood as well.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Support artists who are making the work you want to see! It’s incredibly hard to get original stories made by large companies without compromising some of the vision or playing it super safe, so it’s important to support independent artists. A lot of work doesn’t get made simply because the artist doesn’t have the funds or the backing. Of course, I think studios should also be more adventurous with the projects they take on, because sometimes artistic risks are worth taking. But at the end of the day, there are a lot of independent artists taking their own creative risks and making something personal and unique.

Have you ever had to pivot?

For a while, I was dead-set on becoming a storyboard artist, purely because I thought that was the only type of job that was widely available. I dabbled in it, but I didn’t find it super enjoyable compared to character design, illustration, or toy/doll design. At the time, I had just graduated college, so I was pretty much taking any job I could get. Luckily I’m able to be more selective now, and try to avoid jobs that I find too draining.

Contact Info:

• Website: bevsi.weebly.com/
• Instagram: instagram.com/beverlylove/
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/beverly-johnson-2a79bba5/