We were lucky to catch up with Gabriela Yvonne recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Gabriela, thanks for joining us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

I had been working in mental health for many years as a clinical therapist when one evening I was utilizing art therapy modalities with a teen client. I took my tablet to the office so we could work on some digital artwork. After the session, on a whim, I decided to share my artwork of a video game character on a gaming forum. The very next day, I was contacted directly by an independent game developer overseas to concept design some character works for their company. It really took me by surprise as it had been over a decade since I’d done any fantasy artwork.

Gabriela, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I create 2D and 3D concept art and character design for a culture of people that are passionate about the stories behind the art. It’s imagery that can connect to a place, an emotion, or a story. I enjoy being able to tell those stories through my work. It is an honor when someone comes to me with a work of music or a concept and asks me to bring their vision to life.

I started creating fantasy artwork initially as fan art as a teen. I was captivated by the games I was playing at the time and what those characters looked like and did, and how they had all these interesting backstories. I didn’t take my artwork seriously though back then as I was involved in music and trying to pursue my college degrees in psychology. Due to my health a few years back, I was forced to take a break from my career in psychology. During this time, I began to really engage with the creative side of me again. Mostly it was to keep myself active, mentally, when I was trying to recover physically. It worked. I began to rediscover my love for fantasy landscapes, character design, and game and anime illustration. It made sense to expand on it when I realized the nerd culture had become such a larger scale thing outside of just what my friends and I were doing in our free time. I knew it was a good time to begin developing my style and putting my prints and streetwear into the Mad Prophet brand.

Mad Prophet is an artist-owned lifestyle brand. This includes prints, apparel, and accessories created in original game art and anime streetwear.

When you have a passionate group or culture within a specific genre, such as gaming or anime, it can be inviting just as much as it can be intimidating. Sometimes artists are hired on exclusively within larger companies and their work becomes inaccessible. I sort of fall on the other end of that. My hope is that the Mad Prophet brand can create connection, accessibility of design for groups that might otherwise be excluded, and allow for the community to remain inclusive.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

This is a great question and I imagine changes often. Support through independent paths. In other words, check out the actual artist or brand making what it is you’re liking or buying. Subscribe to their mailing lists to keep informed of their drops, attend virtual or local shows where they display, and share with people in the community. One of my biggest supports came from friends who liked my stuff and would wear my apparel. That would then get more eyes on it and lead to more interested customers.

Local businesses can help host events at their venues in collaboration with the artist. A local comic book shop displayed some of my work and we had a signing with a world-renowned comic book artist. Media is also changing. Smaller publications can focus on these creatives and create buzz about them. All of this is going to be far more supportive than a huge generic online marketplace where the only thing the customer remembers is the huge generic online marketplace.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

It’s a big price to pay to be trying to be well-liked. Though important to study your market base and what your customers’ needs are, you don’t want to become a machine for approval. It is draining and most of the time sets you back in other ways. Allowing yourself to step into your craft and create in a way that draws people in naturally is a far more productive use of your time. Being ok with your ideas not being for everyone is a freedom I have found.

Contact Info:

• Website: OPENING SOON! www.shopmadprophet.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopmadprophet
• Other: Stay in the know of the Mad Prophet launch by following us on IG!

Image Credits
Diana Lee