We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christi Lee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christi below.

Christi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Since I was small I enjoyed being creative but my first dream job was not being an illustrator or creative in any way. I wanted to be a vet, but the lack of math knowledge and an unfortunate and traumatising vet visit as a teenager gave me first existential crisis. I flopped around playing with various ideas of careers, and the only thing I knew was that I did not want a normal job. I wanted to do something niche. When choosing what to study post high school I choose a general visual communications degree with a broad range of minors to see what I liked, from a university my then best friend was going to. At first I thought that I would be eventually majoring in photography, which I ended up hating. The only class I ended up not hating or felt like I didn’t suck at was illustration. So there wasn’t a clear path but an “I guess I can do this…” moment, and over time I really grew to love illustration and grew my skills.

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 do mostly digital illustration. I got my BA at Open Window and then went to work at Agencies for a year as a graphic designer, decided to go back to school to do my honours and then eventually my masters in illustration. My post grad work was mostly focused in feminism and illustration as a medium for activism. I really feel passionate about the ability illustration has to be a tool for activism and change in the world. Post-masters I have now been working for a non-profit in the sexual and reproductive health space and part time at a boutique design agency as an illustrator/designer. I also take on any fun freelance jobs that come my way as I really love what I do. I try to keep my work diverse and varied but all my personal stuff is mostly for practise and fun.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think a lot of non-creatives think it is an easy job. Which it is not at all. Creativity and related creative skills are like any other skills that require study and practice. I often get asked why I am so busy as if my work takes less time and less effort than something else when it sometimes takes more time and effort. You also have to work with people who do not value or understand this, so being a creative also involves advocating for yourself and your work. Which I think other careers do not often need to do that.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to and I am still actively trying to unlearn self doubt. Again, people often do not understand how hard it could be sometimes to do a creative job and advocating for your work and by extension your prices takes a toll. So I had to learn not to undersell myself and just charge what I charge and insist on the time I need to do a good job. I also often would compare my work to other creatives and feel like I am not good enough or people would not like my work but that is a constant battle.

Contact Info:

• Website: christidrawsthings.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christilee_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christidrawsthings
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christilee-illustrator/