We were lucky to catch up with Emily E. Jones recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emily E., appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

It’s so early that I honestly don’t remember it; as soon as I knew illustrating for a living was something a person could do, that was my plan. I’ve always been a bookworm, and as a child I was absolutely enchanted by the way artists like Tony DiTerlizzi, Brandon Dorman, and Brett Helquist brought to life vivid stories like the Spiderwick Chronicles, Fablehaven, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. I told anyone who’d listen that when I grew up, I was going to be an author AND illustrate my own books – and I still love to read, but as the years went on, it became clear that art is where my true passion lies.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a freelance illustrator, currently residing in northern Utah after studying Illustration at Brigham Young University. I enjoy making all sorts of art, much of it whimsical, vibrant, and fantasy-themed. I’ve created artwork for a variety of clients, including mural designs for Walmart, promotional art for mobile RPGs like AFK Journey, and illustrations for bestselling author Emily Lloyd-Jones.
I do most of my work digitally on the iPad, and it’s mainly character-focused; I love being able to bring emotions and dramatic moments to life. I’ve always been an avid reader and a gamer, and I enjoy creating artwork based on the stories that inspire me, like the Stormlight Archive books and the Legend of Zelda series. I also do a lot of commissions for individuals, often of Dungeons and Dragons characters they’ve created; it’s a joy being able to collaborate with people and make their ideas and visions a reality.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That there’s a “right” way to do art. This was something I finally figured out during college, but still occasionally have to remind myself of. I was looking at the art my classmates and professional artists I followed were producing – beautiful and highly realistically rendered digital pieces – and burning myself out thinking I needed to do the same thing. Once I leaned into what worked for my style, a hybrid process of doing traditional sketches and linework and then adding digital colors, I enjoyed what I was doing a lot more. Of course, there are parts of artmaking that might be difficult or uncomfortable, but there’s a balance to be found in growing and stretching yourself while still finding joy in the process.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Maintaining a healthy relationship with social media feels like a Sisyphean task at times, but I’m grateful for it all the same. I can easily say that the majority of my professional opportunities have come about from people finding me on Instagram. There are any number of ways to build an audience, but one that’s worked very well for me is sharing my fanart of popular media. Posting consistently, using a few relevant hashtags, jumping on the occasional bandwagon, building genuine connections with other creatives – there are any number of tidbits of advice I could give, but one that’s always stuck with me is something a professor once told me: “audience must *follow*, not *inform* your journey and desire to create.” Trying to do what’s popular just to get clicks is a quick way to turn the creative process into a drudgery. It’s great to find intersections between what you love and what’s trending, but social media should be a means to an end, not the end goal in and of itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theartofemilye.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emily.e.draws/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmilyE_Draws/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@emilyedraws/