Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jairu Ollennu. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jairu , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I’ve always been drawn to creative activities. But while working as a teenager, an older couple came through my aisle needing some design software. I offered to do the design for them, though I’d never done it before. They loved the result and paid me more for 8 hrs of work than I earned in a week. That was the moment it clicked. Then, in college, after the first class I took on how to build websites – I immediately began to search my community for customers. I created a website for a local dry cleaner, a childcare non-profit, and then a Latin nightclub. I won awards for that design which caught the eye of a competitor who hired me as lead designer for 4 years. It was an empowering and flexible way to expand my horizons by offering creative value.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Jairu Ollennu, a.k.a “Jai The Sketch Guy”. I’m an artist, illustrator, and animator based in Los Angeles. I started my career as a Web & Brand designer. But I always loved drawing and obeyed the pull to transition full-time in 2018.
My primary service is as a sketchnote artist. I’m hired to attend conferences and conventions as an artistic scribe. I draw the spoken ideas shared by multiple presenters into large, hand-drawn illustrated murals. I do this live & in real-time, with no prior knowledge of the presentation, in front of attendees! So it usually creates a big stir as people see me enter with blank canvases and fill them within an hour. The visuals help attendees retain & recall the message long after the event is over. It also makes a great digital artifact that can be sent out as a follow-up to attendees. It’s a captivating way to create shareable moments and a creative atmosphere.
The most rewarding aspect of my service is helping make moments memorable for amazing clients across all sectors. From local universities & governmental agencies. To collaborations with dream brands like Hermes, Google, Tik Tok & The Academy. One of my proudest moments was accompanying Sal Slaiby & The Weekend to Sweden for Brilliant Minds in 2019 where I drew in front of an audience of Barack Obama, Gary Vaynerchuk, Naomi Campbell, and many others.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I wish I understood the structure of creative business and how to scale. Many artists struggle trying to convince themselves, and by extension, others, to see value in their work. But entrepreneurship, I’ve learned, is about the systems you create & people you rely on to deliver great work consistently and efficiently to your customer.
Working for an agency, you don’t have insight into the full process, just your part. Once I got a glimpse, I understood the value of process as a service, not just delivering a result. We can, as creatives, not only live but thrive in our creative work. Consider who your clients are, what their needs are, and the value, not cost, of the service you provide, and you’ll have the foundation for living off your work.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Freedom to chart your path. The challenge of continual growth and a tumultuous relationship w/ risk. The dissatisfaction that drives the pursuit of excellence. The satisfaction of seeing growth in areas of skill or creativity that used to feel unattainable. Understanding great art is done with skill not magic. Being able to touch someone’s heart. Being recognized for hard work. The artist’s life can be so uncertain and yet the pursuit of it can build a lot of mental muscle you wouldn’t get anywhere else.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jaithesketchguy.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaithesketchguy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaiTheSketchGuy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jairu/