We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Heather Farrington. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Heather below.
Hi Heather, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I’ve been drawing practically my whole life, but never really thought about it as a paid profession until after college. I had been drawing my comic Juvenile Diversion for several years at this point, but it was only for fun up until this point. After I graduated with a degree in web design and couldn’t find a job to fit my skills, I decided to focus solely on looking for a job using my art skills.
Heather, 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?
Anyone can be an artist. If you have the drive and ambition, I believe that anyone can accrue the skills they want. It took me a bit to narrow my focus to what I wanted to excel in, but I ended up focusing mostly on cartooning and pinup drawings. The cartoons and comics were a natural choice because I grew up reading many different comics, from Archie to Garfield, to Marvel comics, etc. As for the pinups, I very much enjoy all different types of feminine people and drawing them is so pleasurable to me. Another thing that comes with both types of art is character design, which is something I do very frequently. From regular folks to mermaids and fairies, to zombies and vampires, I love creating new and different characters. I’ve even done some panels at conventions about comics and character design, and I’m so happy when people show up just to learn new things about these topics.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is bringing my art to conventions and expos, and hearing peoples’ reactions about it. I get lots of compliments, and when people spend their money on my original pieces (stuff that isn’t fan art), it’s so, so rewarding. Something that I created from my mind inspired someone enough to give me money for it! That’s awesome to me.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I’ve used so many resources over the years! I have a long list of bookmarks on my computer that I frequently update and add to because the Internet is just so vast. You don’t even need to spend money on becoming a better artist. From Googling an image of what you’re looking for to magazine photos and clippings, to just drawing people in life, there are so many ways to get inspiration and resources. The main way I keep track of everything is just my Google bookmarks, and I also use Notion! I use Notion as my planner, bookmarks, finances, calendar, etc., it’s so great!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hrfarrington.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hrfarrington/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HRFarringtonArt/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/hrfarringtonart
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS0WdOFghk-KG4pCxZjRQjQ
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/hrfarrington
Image Credits
Heather Farrington