We were lucky to catch up with Freddie Della Femina recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Freddie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I never considered myself to be particularly gifted when it came to my art. For a very long time, I was what I’d call “aimless” in my projects. I found no appeal in finishing anything, being content with rough sketches. That stagnation was frustrating, and hard to escape from, but I finally managed to break free in my final year of college. For my senior thesis, I wrote and illustrated a short comic called “Achy Bones, Satan’s Woes.” I would consider this project, which took nearly the entire school year to complete, to be the turning point of my artistic career. From the process I learned many new techniques and drastically improved my skills. I found a new passion for art in this project. The comic itself follows a skeleton who journeys through Hell in search of better working conditions, or at the very least a raise. When he arrives at the very bottom, he becomes an unwitting therapist for his depressed boss Satan. This story was what defined my current projects, pushing me into this dark and scary, yet fun and comedic area that I enjoy working in. It sparked my interest in storytelling and world building, and overall I would consider this project to be one of the most impactful things I’ve ever worked on.

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’ve always been interested in the natural world, and the creatures that inhabit it. My art growing up reflects this. I very much was a dinosaur kid, and that in turn led me towards the interests I carry with me even now, such as franchises like Pokémon and Godzilla. As I mentioned before, though, for most of my developmental years I wasn’t particularly driven towards a career in art. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy drawing. Quite the opposite, in fact. There are very few memories I can recall from my youth where I’m not gripping some drawing utensil. There was one instance where I even drew on my furniture, as I vividly remember scratching a drawing a Pteranodon onto a cabinet with a paper clip. But with that being said, I never considered myself to be a “serious” artist. I couldn’t see myself ever being talented enough to make it as an artist, no matter how much my family and friends told me otherwise. I hadn’t even considered the idea until the backend of my high school career, when I decided to apply for the School of Visual Arts.

SVA was a massive game changer for me, as it exposed me to so many people who were just like me. Growing up it was tough finding friends who shared my sense of humor and creativity, especially having grown up in a household where I stood out like a sore thumb. Meeting and becoming friends with my classmates was exciting, and I really felt like I could be myself.

At the time, I had become very interested in comic books, and the fact that SVA offered a major in cartooning (later renamed to “comics”) was a major influence in applying. Admittedly, I’ve since fallen out of the love I once had for comics, but I nonetheless still enjoy the medium. It was made additionally challenging by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the entire school was forced to attend classes digitally. A necessary sacrifice, but one with major consequences. I was beginning to fall into that aimlessness, and would remain there up until senior year. Im thankful for all the friends I had made in the years leading up to my fourth, as what came next would’ve been impossible without their support, as well as the unending support from my family.

The stress I had weighing on me during senior year undoubtedly took a toll on my work. In between emotional drama and deadlines, I was a mess. I attempted to vent my frustrations with my art, which led me down a darker style, and I began to sink my toes into the horror genre. An unfortunate part of my life, but one I’m still grateful for, as I doubt I’d be where I am today had I not gone through my edgy arc.

And that brings us where we are now. Thanks to my senior thesis, I’ve fallen in love with art again, and I’m only improving with every new piece.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

For me, I consider every improvement a win. I know I can always get better. Theres always room for improvement, as they say. So I make it a personal goal to get better with every project I work on. If there’s something I managed to improve upon, I consider the piece a success, even if I’m not very happy with it.

Improvement isn’t always immediate, and sometimes it may take months or even years to get better. Hell it took me up until senior year to even start learning to draw a human correctly. That’s why I believe it’s best set smaller goals. And that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dream big and set your sights on major improvement, but steady improvement ensures you don’t end up disappointed if achieving your goal takes longer than you might’ve hoped for.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love being an artist, and the most exciting part of every project has been the very end, when you get to admire the finished piece. It’s so incredibly satisfying to look at how far a work has come, and I often like to watch a recording of the process, or compare the sketch to the final piece. Then comes showing it off to others.

It’s always a little scary to share your work with others, especially in a more judgmental setting like during class critiques. But even when others share their not-so-nice opinions, it’s nice to hear where you might improve. Rather than getting angry over what someone else thinks, I put that anger towards getting better and improving where I went wrong.

Sharing my work online has, in my honest opinion, been ten times scarier than sharing it to people I know personally. There’s something uniquely terrifying about becoming a laughing stock on the internet, even if at the end of the day it’s all meaningless. But the risk is also exciting, especially after you’ve built a small following. Seeing the same people react to my work online is incredibly rewarding, and serves as a smaller reminder that I’ll always have supporters out there.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fdfemina?igsh=MWNlazU4OHJma25jbw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Other: Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/vgoum