We recently connected with Braylan Del Duca and have shared our conversation below.

Braylan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Being an artist and making a living off of your passion isn’t an easy road. However, it is to me the most rewarding job you can have. I knew when I was little I wanted to be an artist, and also a veterinarian, and a zoologist. You know how kids want to be everything, thankfully I landed on an artist. It’s never been easy though, running around trying to find possible clients, making almost impossible deadlines, making art you don’t want to do but you need to pay bills. Then comes that one job that lights up your career, you enjoy every moment of it and you forget about the other “not so fun” projects. I have never been a 9 to 5 person, more so I have a hard time waking up before 8 am. I like to roll with the day and as a creative you don’t get to choose when that spark of inspiration comes or that burst of energy. Your imagination really has a mind of its own. I do wonder though what it’s like to have a regular job. It may be easier, it may give you a more stable paycheck, it also may not keep you up at night trying to figure out a solution to your illustration. But I was never one to want that desk job, I love putting myself out there hounding for that next job. Truly, seeing people’s faces light up when I show them that finished commission makes it all worth while.

Braylan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Illustration and drawing has always been a part of me. From a young age my parents saw something in my work that many other parents didn’t see in their child or didn’t want to. They pushed and supported me all throughout my life and even now are they my biggest supporters. I never dove deep into exactly what I wanted to do in art and design. I still shot for the moon and applied to only one college and that was the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. It was really an “I’ll get in here or I don’t know what I’ll do” situation, and I felt pretty lost for the first two years in college. I tried pattern design, stationery cards, concept, even fashion design and none of it felt right. In the middle of my Junior year it hit me almost like a brick, I wanted to be a Children’s book Illustrator. And that’s where I am, I also do Graphic design to help supplement my income. I have really grown a passion for kid’s lit, teaching children through characters and stories. A lot of stories help water down subjects and lessons that may be hard for children to understand. That’s where my work comes in, through storytelling and characters I am able to help children understand emotions and situations that may be too complex to just be stated. Mental health has always been a priority for me and I feel that children should be taught how to understand and cope with hard emotions so that they can be healthier more well-rounded adults.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are many books that have impacted how I run my life and business. I want to focus on one particular book that truly changed my thinking as an artist. We have all heard of the “starving artist” and I was worried that I may end up in that situation. My partner who is a creative also attended CCS with me (but he was in transportation design which is a whole different animal) he recommended a book titled “Real Artists Don’t Starve” by Jeff Goins. That book changed how I viewed the entire business side of being an artist. It extinguished any fears that I had about not being able to make it as an artist. You can have the talent to be an artist, but without knowing how the market works and how to sell yourself It will be difficult. You also must have the passion for your work and cause. Passion is that driving factor, the flame under your butt to get you going and keep you going.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There are many projects that I have taken and fallen flat on my face with. The biggest one was in my Junior year, the year that I found out I wanted to be in Kids Lit. An Author contacted me on Instagram, out of the blue saying she loved my style, my colors, etc. and she had several books published and could get this one in production. After talking back and forth we decided that she would write a book and I would illustrate it…for free with no contract. Smart right? She sent me the story and I broke it up, illustrated the pages and characters, it was a full book that I put my heart and soul into. Mind you I did this on top of my classes in my almost non-existent free time. Long story short she went silent and nothing came of the book. I was disheartened, not only did I feel like I lost my big break but I lost a lot of my time. After mourning the loss of what could have been, it only fuelled my passion to want to make it in Children’s illustration. I looked back on the project and realized I loved working on it, the characters were so fun and it was a unique story (poorly written) but nonetheless. I keep that book in my portfolio, not only as a reminder to make sure you have a contract but that I illustrate for myself. Not every project is going to have a happy ending, but the silver lining is that you will always get something out of a project

Contact Info:

• Instagram: braylan.ink
• Facebook: Braylan Del Duca
• Linkedin: Braylan Del Duca
• Other: Behance- Braylan .ink

Image Credits
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