We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jerilyn Lee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jerilyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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?
Growing up as a creative in a very STEM based community made me question my path quite a bit while also simultaneously made me feel grateful for my difference of passion. Choosing to become an artist in the environment that I grew up in felt very contradictory to everything going on around me, and thus created a lot of self doubt and hypocrisy within myself as I grew as an artist. It was difficult to pursue something that was not supported by the school system I was enrolled in, which also severely lacked a creative community to rely on. Thanks to my family and friends I was able to persevere and stay true to my passion as an artist throughout my childhood and adolescence by balancing schoolwork and art. While it was isolating at times to have a separate goal from most of my peers, I took a lot of pride in the fact that my love of art never wavered. Today I am fortunate enough to be able to say that I absolutely love being a professional artist, but as a new illustrator in a competitive industry I still have doubts and worries that arise.
Going to an art specific college with a thriving creative community was by far one of the best choices I could have made for my own happiness and my career. It was incredibly validating to be among like minded individuals and to witness the sheer amount of talent that my peers demonstrated. Had I pursued a different career path I never would have known such amazing and kind people, and I am grateful to have a creative community to rely on. Attending a design focused school also taught me to destigmatize having a career based in the arts. Having grown up in a community that had consistently reminded me that my art was looked down upon as just a hobby or something that was not as valued as a “regular job,” it was comforting to be taught by people who had made it in the industry. Having professors who empathized with our journeys and showed us that being an illustrator can be just as regular or as fluid of a career as you would like it to be. It was extremely encouraging to have such successful role models who genuinely believed in the talent of the students they taught.
Now, as a recent graduate with a BFA, I continue with my artistic journey with the experiences that my professors have instilled in me. I do have doubts when there is the inevitable lull every so often in my freelancing career, however I am reminded of my love for creativity and I continue working on projects that inspire me and feel self fulfilling. I find that work follows whenever I create a piece that I throw myself into just for the sake of drawing. So, yes sometimes I find myself wondering what life would have been like had I followed my peers from the start and pursued a different path, but I have come to realize that everyone has their own passion or their own unique journey. I am proud of where I am in life and am excited to see what the future has in store for me.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hello! My name is Jerilyn Lee and I am a freelance illustrator and designer. I am a recent graduate of ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. Illustration is an extremely broad practice and is applicable to a lot of different needs. It is a form of visual communication that can convey any narrative, both fictional or nonfiction, and it can fulfill the role of a visual aid to go along with an editorial piece in a magazine or be the concept art for an animation. I am drawn to illustration specifically because of its storytelling capabilities and the liveliness the images have.
My portfolio consists mostly of editorial, advertising, and typography, however so far the projects I have been fortunate enough to work on have been slightly different from these skill sets. It has been an exciting journey so far, and I feel like I have learned an incredible amount over a short period of time. There are so many different ways my work can be applied to projects and products that I have just begun to comprehend now that my illustration is out in the professional world. Keeping an open mind and being able to experience new things has opened doors to so many interesting opportunities which will be shared with the public in the coming months.
The work I create typically has highly intricate linework and details with bright colors. I enjoy using a vast amount of different ways to render my illustrations, so my pieces range from being painterly, to a delicate graphite, or to just flat and abstract. During my time at ArtCenter I was able to develop a clear identity within my illustrations no matter the medium, and found that my traditional skill sets translated quite well into digital. I have an immense amount of love for printmaking and especially using the risograph machine, which is now a little bit less accessible since my move away from college. It is always exciting to discover a new way to create images and art! I find that it is refreshing and inspiring.
So far on my journey I am most proud of the portfolio I have built and the pieces that reside within it. I have come a long way since I first started drawing when I was a toddler! I am proud of the fact that each illustration I create I get to learn something new about myself and my art. I am extremely proud of the passion I have maintained for my practice in the many years that I have been drawing, and I feel that my enthusiasm only grows with every illustration. I hope to put my all into all of my work and to help communicate the words and emotions of others through my illustrations.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
In my experience my non-creative peers tend to have very objective and linear thoughts on what a career should be. However as an artist it is important to create art that also feels fulfilling to me as well and does not just do the bare minimum that a job requires me to do. Being a professional illustrator is not just mindlessly creating, or in my case it is not just following a cookie cutter mold. It is very much a fluid and subjective process that has a delicate balance of accomplishing the needs of the art director while also problem solving to make a piece that feels true to myself and my own needs. There is a lot of push and pull which is natural for the creative process. Everyone communicating their needs and coming to a unique agreement for a piece is an extremely cathartic process and is very rewarding. As an illustrator it is possible to make a living wage while also having an extremely fulfilling career with interesting projects.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is both the process and the results. It is always a joy to problem solve and to interact with others, figure out what it is they need to have communicated, and how to go about it in a meaningful way. Having the ability to express myself, but also the ability to help others express themselves is a powerful tool and is a very fulfilling role for me. It has been a joy to work with art directors and other illustrators so far in my career, as everyone has been so kind and patient with me. However, I would say that the end product is also just as rewarding as the process. When I was a student I did not get many opportunities to see my art in the world as I was still figuring out my voice and my style. However, now that I have actually created pieces that will be seen not just by my peers but also by other people in different fields it is extremely satisfying. Creating illustrations that will be tangible and interactable is a whole other sense of rewarding, as it teaches me that my art can go beyond what I thought my capabilities were to begin with and shows me the possibilities of what is to come in the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jerilynlee.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jebnart/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerilyn-lee-162975234/