We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Diaz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Emily, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?
I feel as though creativity and expression should be more embraced in our school system. Being an artist alone is difficult due to the stereotypes of the starving weird artist, let alone being an artist with a small business.
In all of Highschool, I was given one class regarding financial literacy with brief mentions of entrepreneurs, as a definition. Freelance illustration is barely taken into account as a job, as art is underfunded in schools. Many Highschool counselors will also discourage interests in art as they don’t know much about the industry.
Of course, every job is difficult. But many more challenges are faced when students don’t know the possibilities of who they can become if they are a creative. I barely knew the extreme differences between graphic design and illustration and what each path would mean for me when I got into college. We barely discussed illustration as a concept in school and generally classified everything as either Fine Art or general art. Animation, freelancing, story boarding, concept art and so many other realms of the art industry were only displayed to me online. I was also able to find out how many freelance artists go to Artist Alleys to sell their work and connect with other animation fans.
Schools are oftentimes underfunded and understaffed compared to the amount of students attending in large cities. Of course it’ll be difficult to tend to each child and make sure they find their direct career path. In general though, I believe the arts should be further funded and taken more seriously as a possible occupation rather than setting young artists up for failure due to lack of resources and information.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am an illustrator with an intense interest in character design, animation, and writing. I use my background as a storyteller not only to create plot lines for animation concepts, but my understanding of language helps me translate that into a cohesive illustration as well. I was raised on early 2000s flash games, animated cartoons and various fixations on colorful characters. I began drawing as a child as many children do, but furthered my interest upon watching more animated shows and copying their artstyle. I joined online spaces called Fandoms where thriving communities would share fanart and their own versions of these worlds I loved so dearly. Over time, I studied the fundamentals of art to be able to make my own creations.
Killjoy Illustrations is a queer, woman owned small business catering to online fandom culture & pop art with kawaii subject matter… and occasionally dark stories. From cartoons to video games, my fanart is bright and poppy. My original works range from ethereal, to dark and cryptic. Some days I can sketch an adorable dachshund for fun, while others I can illustrate the ephemeral longing of two characters as an expression of loss.
My brand plays with the juxtaposition of cute elements and mainstream media against more edgy subjects I would’ve loved as a teenager. With a diverse range of products including stickers, keychains, and prints, my art aims to capture the essence of nostalgia and creativity. I wish to branch out into the art, nerd, & anime community while bringing a pop of color (and a little bit of edge) into everyone’s lives.
I go back and forth between freelance illustration taking commissions from clients and making prints, keychains, and silly stickers. My keychains accompany my customers to bring them a little bit of cuteness and glitter with them every day.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
Before I began vending, I was hesitant to begin spending money on a small business. I wasn’t sure exactly what to do but I decided to take the risk, do some research and begin my attempts. I set aside some funds and ordered test products whenever there were sales from specific manufacturers.
I compared sticker, keychain, and print manufacturers while also reading reviews online for each. At school I would ask my professors their opinion on certain types of print paper, from the polish to the paper type and its longevity. After continual testing, I was able to compare what worked and what needed better quality control. The wait times and shipping prices varied as well, which would sometimes be a struggle if I needed the product by a certain date or the shipping fee was too expensive.
I eventually settled upon Vograce for my keychains as they had a variety of sizes, polish, glitter and other effects. I gained a better understanding of the different print varieties and sizes when researching and observing others. I also made a document recording all my findings so I could share with my art vending community that way they wouldn’t struggle as much as I did in the beginning. I still to this day experiment with manufactures to find the best quality and price, ensuring my customers do not need to break the bank for one of my large holographic glitter keychains. Online resources truthfully help a lot but also going out to events and studying other people’s habits, clients and artists alike, will educate you in realtime.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
I am still new at making a business out of my art but so far, I do best at animation inspired and queer events. My products may be considered niche to some, but a lot of Gen Z is into the same type of subject matter I am and was raised with the same perspectives on the internet.
Artist alleys at anime conventions, for example, are a treasure trove of kawaii culture, animation inspired art, and other alternative merchandise. I meet people similar to myself who share interests and deep passions. Pride events also encourage a flourishing community to clients and artists alike. The acceptance and similarity of niche interests cultivates a fun atmosphere where even the silliest of my projects are appreciated. The communities surrounding these events are definitely part of my target audience and understand much of my art. After all, not everyone wants stickers of opossums with pink cowboy hats but my clients sure do!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/httpkilljoy?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=02e8263c-6cbb-4995-819c-29de2e3e86e0
- Instagram: @httpkilljoy and @killjoyillustrations
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1PmWMprcYX/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-diaz-2637aa264?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@killjoyillustrations?si=NH_hwL5LSRqmSn48
- Other: https://tr.ee/bs6y9ZS6dr
