Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Shields. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Heather, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I’m going to flip-flop the answers, haha. To answer the second question, I DO have a regular job! I always have and probably always will. I think my main reason for doing so is that at this time, I cannot rely on my art alone to support me. I also don’t know if I would ONLY want my art to support me. I’d have to be consistently making the same or more than I do now with all of my miscellaneous jobs combined (I have 4 total including art) to feel secure enough to handle a tumultuous art career as an illustrator. Now… am I happy as an artist/creative? I think yes and no. There’s definitely aspects I wish didn’t come along with being more right-brained. A big chunk of us have to deal with imposter syndrome, stress, financial insecurity, an instable job market, health issues… the list goes on. But I think what keeps us ALL doing it is this is what we love; this is our outlet. We don’t know how NOT to be creatives, and when we try to force ourselves into a box that doesn’t have holes for us to breathe, we suffocate. The ability to express myself in the creative manner that I do makes me very happy. c:

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?

I’ve been drawing all my life, and with the support of others I decided to pursue an illustration degree at RIT. Well before I graduated, I’d been freelancing for friends, family, and folks I’d meet at conventions, and even though I criminally undercharged for what I did, it brought me joy and made me grow my skill. Nowadays, I still freelance, but I also work the convention circuit (pop culture/anime/videogame gatherings, small and large) as well. This means I bring my goods – mainly prints, enamel pins, bookmarks, things like that – to conventions, set up a cute little booth, and vendor! I will also take commissions during those hours when I’m feeling up to it, which is a nice little task to do if it’s a slower day.

I hope my honesty and relatability sets me apart from others, as I truly do enjoy the process of getting commission work or travelling to conventions to meet folks. I think a lot of people who buy from/hire me can see that I love what I do, and I really strive to make sure they walk away with something they’re proud to show off. It always makes my heart SOAR when I get repeat customers/commissioners who tell me about what they did with my art after they got it home and any compliments they get. I’ve also had SO MANY people come up to my booth and exclaim “oh my god, I saw your pins at the cat cafe!” or “oh you did these Pokemon prints – I have them framed now!”, and every time it makes me smile so much my cheeks burn, haha. I just want people to know that I take my job seriously and want to have fun doing it, too. I’ve come to a point in my life where I don’t take all jobs because there’s just some stuff that isn’t fun for me to illustrate. I want to draw what I want to draw, and if your vision is of interest to me? Gimmie. I want to draw it for you! I want folks to never have any second thought about entrusting me with their idea.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Stop using/supporting/paying for/defending AI. I and many others have a very strong stance against AI art as it’s theft, period. There’s already enough artists have to deal with, from not getting paid fairly (or at all) to theft within our own community (and outside the community, too, of course). We’re told our work isn’t good enough to earn us a livable wage yet our work IS good enough to be stolen to train computers to “do the job better”. If art is so easy, do it without stealing. Do it without using a program. Just put in the time and effort needed by every single profession to do it yourself instead of taking it. Stop stealing our labor, our years of learning, studying, garnering skill, because of jealousy. AI art is theft.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’m still in the process of unlearning this as it’s deeply engrained, but I wish I knew how to be okay with charging a fair wage for what I do. I mentioned before when I was younger that I’d get commissioned by people I knew and most wouldn’t pay me, but some did! And that was incredible! I wasn’t providing them with stick figures either, as I had been drawing for quite some time. This isn’t to say that I think I should’ve charged folks much when I was in my teens, but if I’m going to be spending several hours working on something, taking time out of my day, I should be compensated a little bit at least. Buy me food, haha. I KNOW artists aren’t valued in today’s society, even though everyone praises us for our skill and style. We’re taught that we shouldn’t charge people for things we just like to do, and unfortunately when you hear that at a young age, you think to yourself “well, I DO like drawing, so maybe they’re right”. And it works when you’re younger because there are no real world consequences while your needs are met, but when you gotta buy groceries or pay for a doctor visit yourself, reality sets in real quick.

As I grew older I was more okay with charging, but only because I HAD to. Like… I literally had friends threaten me with violence if I didn’t advocate for myself. I’m so very thankful to have those friends. I think doing conventions helped a ton too because I was surrounded by folks of varying levels of experience list their prices in the open, so it wasn’t a question anymore, or a thing to be stumped on. The answers and prices were all around me, and I didn’t have to be fearful of being compensated for my labor and skill. Do I still undercharge? You bet your ass I do. Am I better about being fair to myself and getting paid for my expertise? Also yes, haha.

I can’t remember where I heard this saying, but it resonates with me and I wish I heard it when I was younger: your prices aren’t too high, they’re just out of some peoples budget. And that’s okay.

Contact Info:

• Website: Giruvega.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/heatherashields