We were lucky to catch up with Genevieve Zzyzyx recently and have shared our conversation below.

Genevieve, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

Yea this should have been expected, as you can ask ANY artist about their favorite discontinued supplies and they will rant for an HOUR about the loss of the GREATEST PRODUCT EVER, but I somehow envisioned my inventory orders to stay the same as my business evolved. It never happens to US, right?

I trained to color my illustrations with little rectangular art stix. Maybe you’ve used them, teachers tell me they purchase them for their classrooms because they don’t need to be sharpened. They are wax-based colored pencils without the wood around them. The long, exposed pigmented surface allows fast shading of large areas, while a flick of the wrist can twist the art stix to add sharp controlled lines from either of the 8 corners of the block. You could take turns dulling each edge until they all rounded into a point like a regular pencil, then you’d use that. Never needs sharpening!

No surprises, no Bob Ross “Happy accidents”, just carefully planned, but quickly executed shading and dark, precise dimple flicks and eyeshadow swipes.
It took a lot of crayon-dropping to gain mastery of the color stix. The first time I used them in caricature training, it felt downright awkward pressing the side of a square crayon against a vertical sheet of paper. And as it got colder at night, my pinkie would fail to grasp the back edge, and a CLICK CLACK would tumble down, rolling by the easel legs and my shoes.

But that problem was solved by warming the hands with a hot chocolate. And the art stix rarely broke in half when they hit the pavement. Prismacolor made a great premier product, and I was buying the 48 pack which included all the blue shades: denim blue, grey eyes blue, sky blue, and sea foam blue.

The pandemic cleaned the shelves of Hillcrest’s Artist and Craftsman Supply. That was to be expected. Shipments of everything were still stuck in 40 foot shipping containers on barges off the port of Long Beach. Maybe all the Prismacolor 24 and 48 packs were waiting lonely in a fat cardboard box, anchored off-shore with the shipping traffic, and bobbing with the waves. Sienna brown and Tuscan red crayons peaking through the cracks in the doors, watching with jealousy as tourists applied sunscreen on Seal Beach. Watching the caricature artists on the boardwalk drop their last goldenrod art stix onto the sandy asphalt.

Back at the art store there were still a few singles sold separately in the rack in their cute little cubicles, so I pulled the last 4 sienna browns (for skin, lips, eyes, and hair), and inquired at the checkout counter about a special order. They were out of Goldenrod ones. I used that color the most.
Thats when the bad news hit.
“This product is unavailable,” the order screen at the counter claimed, “Discontinued.”
Why would they discontinue such an amazing product? It doesn’t even smudge! Well, except for the black crayon, but that’s why we color our black pigments last anyway.

“The closest thing to Art Stix we have are these wax-based pastels over here” The friendly employee’s long green sleeves pointed to an expensive red square tin of Swiss wax pastels on the bottom shelf. My heart sank. I HATED pastels. Sure, there were bigger problems in the world than Swiss pastels, but at that moment, I couldn’t think of any. Fifteen plus years of illustration experience, and every time I tried pastels, the artwork looked like it could be push-pinned to a second grade classroom wall. Pastels hated me, too. But, I NEEDED that color.

If I didn’t replace that Goldenrod color stick, I couldn’t color MOST of my customers. Gold was the color of blond hair shadows by the sides of the jaw and ears, of hazel iris highlights, of honey bronze skin, of Welsh freckles. Gold was the highlight on burnt umber cheekbones, it was popular eyeshadow for the under brow highlight, and the shadow contrast immediately under the sparkle of yellow-golden jewelry. I decided to follow the advice of the wise David Berman, and be like water. Since my phone’s eraser aisle internet search said I couldn’t get any woodless colored pencils, and I had an event to work coming up that required color, I picked up the massive flat tin and thought of holiday cookies while pulling out the company credit card. This is what that card is for, right?

Caran d’Ache wax pastels have no corners. They’re round like pencils, but somehow even ROUNDER, and just as slippery when pressing against a vertical sheet of paper. Thankfully, they’re a completely different animal than oil pastels. No smudging. Actual crayon-crayons would be too poor in quality, too waxy, without enough pigment for a good blend. Regular colored pencils take too long to color an 11X17 inch sheet of paper. Part of the caricature craft is the performance of finishing the art piece within minutes in front of the crowd. I began visualizing color combinations, if Caran D’Ache failed me. Yellow and sienna brown? Like that one time I was able to use dark blue and dark brown for the black hair of my customer, after that school group walked by the easel and snatched my black color stick.

When I got home, I opened the fancy tin. Most of the cost probably went into that packaging. Beautiful design work! I removed the core skin and hair pigments from the set:
black, dark brown, ash brown, sienna brown, goldenrod, peach, and pink.
The rest of the tin now sits unappreciated with neglected acrylic paints.
What do I want with a bunch of inferior ROUND crayons?
Luckily, the round Swiss ‘wax pastels’ work fine with wide printer-type shading. This technique uses mostly the deltoid muscle and involves laborious washing back and forth similar to how a printer coats a page in the same color, one strip at a time. My arm hurt at the Harley Davidson dealership during Hogs and Dogs, but I shaded that golden retriever well. I had to stop and shake my hand after shading cheekbones during the LGBTQ Pride Festival, but the glow sure did look good!

The Artist and Craftsman Supply employee was right, the quality of the crayons are comparable. There is only a slight pigment difference in the Prismacolor vs Caran D’Ache brands with regard to the Goldenrod crayon. I still prefer the tiny fingertip stub left of my last Prismacolor Goldenrod stick. Now the internet calls them “Vintage” woodless colored pencils. You can still buy the colors nobody wants as singles on Amazon for $10 a stick. Occasionally you may find a $120 24-set from an art store in the United Kingdom. Completely pricing out mom and pop caricature shops like mine. The hardest part of this whole ordeal was accepting the unwanted change. Humans are often more scared of change than necessary. Thats why people don’t follow their dreams when resources allow it. Fear of failure. Fear of having to change. It wasn’t even the first time. I don’t think it ever ends.

Any artists out there remember Markettes? Artists will tell you they were superior quality markers. We all got used to drawing with the softer felt tip in the early 2000s, and now Caricature artists talk about selling old used Markette markers as if they were drugs or something (SERIOUSLY THO: email me if you have a hookup!). Some artists use cheap Sharpies or Crayola markers now, but good line quality is near impossible with those felt tips. Quality isn’t as great either. At SanDiegoCaricature.com we use Chartpaks. They are cheap enough to be reasonably purchased in bulk, but still higher quality. Until we find something better, and better is really a perspective question. Sometimes nostalgia and habit make decisions for us. Sometimes unexpected problems and issues are solutions in themselves that help us change for the better.

Adapting to new situations takes time. The customer wouldn’t notice or care which pigments we use, but the end result is a comfort and ergonomics difference. I am tempted to shave the Swiss crayons to the ‘right’ shape, the shape I’m used to. But that would add a crutch to a new muscle group that needs training anyhow. Nobody likes change, but change is the only constant. So we try to be like water, and flow around the rocks.

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?

Yes, of course! So long story short: my name is Genevieve Zzyzyx, and I run my own illustration business called Coloring Book Factory.
I draw at a lot of caricature parties booked through my SanDiegoCaricature.com website. San Diego tourists love a good custom souvenir illustration, but more importantly, locals do too.

The last private event I worked was a kid’s birthday party out inland. They hired the shave ice people, a water slide bouncy house, and me. I was set up next to a chatty African Grey parrot named Smokey. She giggled a lot, and tried to bite SEVERAL tiny fingers.

The hardest part of that event was everybody’s hair. Pretty much every person I drew had wet hair from the water slide bouncy tower. Hair holds a lot of personality, so I felt strangely limited. Cartoonizing stringy flat hair got a little boring after a couple hours. I really doubled down on the eyes and mouth exaggerations. It was a 2 hour gig. Towards the end of the party they had a water balloon fight. Kids began screaming and hiding behind white fold up tables and chairs. Mud was popping up with each balloon burst in the dust. Brightly colored latex grenades were exploding left and right. It was TOTAL chaos. I hurriedly turned my chair and drawing board like a shield, with the paper on the safe side, and my next customer in line sat down cautiously looking over her shoulder. Smokey giggled and lifted her honey millet cracker with her foot, watching over my shoulder

It was probably one of my faster art pieces, which was great because the splashes were coming from the side by then as well. But you know what? Something kinda magical happens when I’m not thinking about what I’m doing. People say you’re “in the zone” but really its more like an “outside zone” because the subconscious does the work while the conscious mind worries about other things. The “outside zone” is a disassociated dream state with no concept of time or judgement. That last caricature was probably the purest, most accurate drawing of the party. She absolutely loved it too! I regret not asking for a photo, but at the time I was more worried about the water fight ruining the picture before they rushed it into the house. It was a really fun party!

I’m finishing up illustrations for a children’s book called “Clara’s Journey” coming out by the end of the year. Its about a highly successful entrepreneur born into slavery in 1800’s Virginia and then freed by her owner, at his death, prior to slavery being abolished. The protagonist, Clara Brown, journeyed west with a wagon train and found success during the gold rush in Colorado.  She used her unexpected prosperity to begin a lifelong quest for daughters sold away from her during slavery.  This book showcases overwhelming courage, defiance, and success in the face of racist opposition. I spent weeks researching at the downtown library’s 5th floor gold rush aisle. All my work on “Clara’s Journey” is drawn digitally.

The digital style of drawing is SO forgiving! After a decade plus of hand-drawn caricatures, I no longer feared mistakes. But theres a feature in a digital drawing program called ‘Procreate’ where if you accidentally make a line you did not mean to make, you tap the screen twice with 2 fingers and it just… disappears! I’d been working on this children’s book for so long, this morning I was painting a Commander Mark inspired mural on the Golden Hill Express Postal west window and painted a wiggly line when I wanted to paint a straight one, and I honestly tried to double tap THE WINDOW because I was so used to the digital style! That was the “outside zone” for sure. I was knocked back into consciousness and picked up the sponge to fix it.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think consistency is key. I decided a long time ago that my brand would be on the fancier side of caricatures. Meaning, instead of embarrassing the customer as much as possible, my goal was capturing the uniqueness and details of the moment. I wanted to appeal to the corporate market as well, so I take great care in selecting fellow artists to work with me. They have to be nice enough to deliver the style customers want without compromising likeness, and fast enough to keep up with me. Quality matters. Word of mouth is the best advertising, and that trust is gained with experience.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Honestly it has been the festivals. I’ve been renting booths at local festivals and concerts, and every one of these events has been a networking opportunity. I had a booth at the LGBT Pride festival in Balboa Park, and the St. Patty’s day Gaslamp event, and several of my customers took my card and contacted me weeks later to hire me for their corporate workplace events.

Oktoberfests especially have a bar scene atmosphere, where every stranger you meet is your best friend. Dates and groups of friends having fun will find themselves looking at my signs, suddenly giddy with excitement. They buy a caricature together and pick my brain as I draw. I think a lot of the general population needs an artist to complete a goal. Whether its a children’s book, or a mural, or a T-shirt idea. People always share their art ideas with me at the booth and ask if I can do it.

Artists are so used to being around other artists, we forget that a lot of people can’t even draw. Some people think we’re magicians, channelling super powers from deities. And I have found there are a shocking number of people out there who DON’T know any artists.

Sometimes while I’m sitting there drawing them, they will spill their life story to me. Maybe its because the customers are drunk, but I sometimes feel like a therapist at these things. I certainly feel like the connection is more personal and even anonymous from their point of view. Embarrassment risk is pretty low when sharing the art baby with the caricature artist of the beer festival. I get a lot of pet portraits this way.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.SanDiegoCaricature.com
• Instagram: @ColoringBookFactory
• Facebook: @ColoringBookFactory
• Other: My scientific illustration work can be viewed at www.VvZzyzyx.com Pet portraits are collected on instagram @CBFpets Comics and general cartoon silliness on instagram @CBFcomics General all hat art stalking can be achieved on instagram @genevievezzyzyx