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

Brenna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My journey to becoming an illustrator has been a winding one, shaped by both early exposure to creativity and years of learning. My mom instilled in me a love for arts and crafts from a young age, and I further developed my skills in a specialized high school fine art program, where I focused on foundational techniques. Though I wasn’t necessarily a natural talent, I was really passionate and dedicated to improving my skills. In college, I continued painting and creating, but it wasn’t until after graduation that I fell in love with illustration. After years of studying fine art, learning technique and spending countless hours on single pieces, it was incredibly freeing to doodle something in ink with a quick wash of watercolor and have a fun, colorful illustration completely finished in a fraction of the time. I continued refining my illustrative style and, in 2019, added Procreate to my toolkit when I was gifted an iPad. That was a pivotal moment, and I have enjoyed mixing traditional and digital media in my art ever since.
Though I didn’t set out to become an illustrator until later, I’m grateful for the foundation in fine art that has shaped my work. I believe learning analog, traditional techniques first gives even the most simple, digital illustrations much more depth and intention.

Brenna, 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?

My name is Brenna and I’m a freelance illustrator. I studied fine art in high school and college and fell in love with commercial illustration soon after. I worked in marketing full-time with illustration as a side hustle for many years, until I took a final big leap and left my day job in 2022. It has been an exciting, roller coaster ride ever since, but I’m so glad I took the risk. For me, doing what I love and getting to make art every day far outweighs the challenges that come with being self-employed.

I have a few ways that I earn a living as an illustrator: freelance illustration projects for clients (i.e. book illustration, custom art pieces, illustrated products for companies, etc.), art licensing (which is essentially renting out my designs to companies to use on their products) and my biggest focus – my line of West-Coast inspired stationery and gifts that I design and sell online and wholesale to shops throughout California. Products in my line include illustrated greeting cards, enamel pins and keychains, tea towels, totes, stickers and more. I love creating colorful, unique pieces that represent my home state and resonate with locals and visitors alike.

I like to think the artwork in my line stands out because of its saturated color palette and the high level of detail I incorporate into each product. I treat every design like a small work of art, and I put the same level of effort, detail and time into its development as I would a fine art piece. And whether I’m working with traditional or digital media, I always strive to maintain a hand-drawn look, which adds an extra layer of warmth and whimsy to my work.

While I take pride in the artwork and products I create, I’m equally proud of my high level of customer service. Unexpectedly, I’ve found just as much joy in creating positive relationships and doing all I can to ensure my clients, customers and stockists are happy as I do in the art-making process itself. Each day that I get to continue to work as a self-employed creative is such a gift, and I love to take every opportunity to express that gratitude.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2017, five years after earning my art degree and having worked several unpaid internships that never led to full-time employment, I found myself at an entry-level marketing job. It paid the bills, but was not a creative position. Tired of feeling unfulfilled, I made the decision to leave the security of my day job to pursue freelance illustration. By then I’d launched an Etsy shop, participated in a couple craft fairs and had taken on a few commissions; I thought maybe I could rustle up enough work to get by. I was wrong. After a few stressful months of trying to make ends meet, I admitted defeat, got a part-time job, and eventually returned to full-time work in marketing, where I stayed for another five years until I’d built up a stronger foundation to try the self-employed life again.

Looking back, despite the twists, turns and occasional setbacks along my creative journey, there’s little I’d change. So much was revealed along the way: hard-earned lessons in patience, the drive to keep creating despite the obstacles, the chance to develop my style and portfolio while growing professionally, and the immense support from my family, friends, and coworkers who encouraged me to continue pursuing my passion. All of it has shaped who I am today.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Yes! A few resources I wish I’d known about sooner in my illustration career include:
– Public Domain Day. A new list is published every January 1st of copyrighted works from the past that enter into the public domain and become available for public use. From music, to books to film, there are no tricky copyright concerns with these, you are free to be inspired by them and incorporate them into your work. For the 2025 list and more on this resource: https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2025/

– I recently discovered Creative Market trend reports and I have found them to be so useful! From seasonal color trends to a breakdown of the latest graphic design trends for 2025, they are a helpful resource for understanding what’s popular and finding tidbits to incorporate into my own work. https://creativemarket.com/#moredesigntrends

– I didn’t learn about wholesale as an income stream until a retailer introduced the concept to me. Since then, it has become one of the most rewarding aspects of my illustration practice! I love the relationships I develop with retailers, most of whom are other small business owners like myself, and the order volume is often much higher than relying on direct-to-consumer sales alone. If you are interested in learning more about wholesale, I highly recommend listening to the Proof to Product Podcast by Katie Hunt. I’m always learning more and am constantly inspired by her creative entrepreneur guests. https://www.prooftoproduct.com/podcast

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shopbrennadaugherty.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brenna_daugherty
• Other: Illustration portfolio: www.brennadaugherty.com

Image Credits

Brenna Pratt