We were lucky to catch up with Jenna Matsumoto recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jenna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I started investing myself into illustration around my Junior year of high school. I had taken a few ceramics classes and fell in love with learning different techniques and forms or art. I knew I had wanted to attend college for something in the fine arts field and immediately enrolled in private lessons to build a portfolio. I was raised on traditional media, learning how to sculpt with my hands and through a pencil or paint brush. It wasn’t until I got to university that I had immersed myself into the digital art world in 2018. By then, the digital art world was taking off by a storm and there was an entire book of skillsets that intimidated me. Learning photoshop was one of the first softwares I had taken on in a color theory class. Needless to say, it took a few months for me to catch on but I eventually came around to liking it. From there came illustrator, then AfterEffects, and then InDesign. Through this process of learning digital media, you learn to be patient with yourself. Growing up on traditional media, you don’t have the obstacles and challenges of making sure one anchor point is connected to another, or having to double check if you’re working on the right layer, it’s all there in front of you on paper. Working through my own bias with digital media was also a challenge in itself but it broadened my knowledge on composition and color theory, as well as growing into the artist I aspired to be when I started.
Jenna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a digital artist and graphic designer from Southern New Jersey! I had attended college at Savannah College of Art and Design and achieved my Bachelors Degree in Illustration! Since graduating in 2022, I had found a new passion for graphic design and have been studying various artists, styles, techniques, and the history of the market to deepen my understanding and skillsets. I’ve yet to grow a clientele, but am incredibly excited for the opportunities in the future! I’m proud of the work I’ve done so far, including the steps I’ve taken to get here. Learning a new craft with little guidance or mentoring has also been challenging in regards to “doing things right” but being able to self teach creates room for endless possibilities and has strengthened my problem solving skills!
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
As someone who is also just starting to build an audience on social media, consistency is key. When you have platforms such as Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, etc. it’s easy to become overwhelmed with your ideal aesthetic and to compare your work and profile to other artists who have a big following. I found that understanding the platform and it’s audience is another asset to how you present your work to your followers. Social media is a whole other asset to artists for exposure, confidence, and potential acquaintances and clientele. Take time to learn about yourself as an artist, and how to brand yourself successfully with an open mindset that you as an individual and artist can also change over time!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability, freedom, and privilege to create. The ability to create allows me to have a platform to escape and translate thought to reality. It’s been an outlet for my mental health and encourages me to speak up about issues I care about through imagery!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jennamatsumoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jen.matsu
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jenna-matsumoto-a25598206