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

Jessica , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Sketch Simply creates art that is accessible to people of all skill levels, making them a great resource for beginners and experienced artists alike! Sketch Simply guarantees that our art is simply fun! The content we provide encourages artists of all ages to continue to improve their art skills.

My inspiration for art started when I was young. I loved cartoons and anime. I would spend most of my days drawing Courage the Cowardly Dog, Dragon Ball Z, and many others. I had maybe one art class when I was in middle school but I didn’t have a real art class until I was in high school. I went to an online high school so I still didn’t have a real hands-on instructor but we had printouts that we completed that the teacher graded based on perspective, color theory, and shading.

Throughout high school, I became very invested in the gaming industry. From character design, animation, to game glitches, I wanted to know more about the background of game creation and started looking into colleges. I found Full Sail through the many Game Informers I collected and eventually applied for their Game Art program.

A few years later, I returned to Full Sail University for media communication. As part of a project, we were instructed to think of a subject and then create a social media page where we would create content about something we had knowledge of or experience in. As we created content, we were told to build a following and connect with our community.

I wanted the social media page to be something fun that I would enjoy doing and my followers would feel the same. One thing that came to mind was drawing tutorials. I know there are a ton of drawing tutorials out there (especially because I used them all the time to teach myself over the years) but sometimes, those drawing tutorials seemed overcomplicated. I wanted to make ones that were simple and easy for anyone of any age, and that was the start of Sketch Simply.

Sketch Simply has evolved after I returned to Full Sail University for digital marketing in 2022. There was a class about storytelling in marketing. I wrote a short story about a hero’s journey that included myself, my fiancé, and my African Grey parrot Pepper. My teacher loved it so much that she suggested that I make it into a children’s book. I was taken aback, as I never thought I would write a book, let alone be an author. After some thought, it seemed like a great opportunity as I could illustrate the book myself, and further improve my art skills.

I wanted to do this right, so I thought of starting a business, so I can create and monetize my art, publish a book, and inspire others to do the same. My next step was setting up the business. This took me a while to think of, but I thought back on that social media page I created, Sketch Simply. I did a lot of research, and set myself up with a Score Mentor. I thought of what I wanted Sketch Simply to be. I wanted to inspire others to create regardless of age, or skill level. I started creating coloring books so people could start with something fun, create income to fund my book, and maybe teach some color theory along the way.

I now post free drawing tutorials, and coloring pages on my website so people can have access to the resources they need to get started. By starting simple, people won’t be discouraged by the amazing and complex art they see online and on social media. I now use my social media to post step-by-step tutorials, connect with/ share artists’ work, and I started featuring/ blogging about people who inspire me. I came up with a name for it. NASS, Non-Profit, Artist, Small Business, Streamer. Each one involves people who work hard at what they do, and I feel they need to be promoted and recognized. Each month I feature them on my website and social media and give them a huge shout-out so my followers can see the work they do and can be inspired by them. I especially love featuring non-profits as I have been volunteering since I was a teenager.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As I previously mentioned. I am a passionate artist and love to learn more about the art industry. I have been inspired by many forms of art, from digital and traditional art to animation, music, anime, gaming, and more!

Throughout my studies in high school and college, I researched a lot about Japanese comics, anime, and the gaming industry. Those projects involved people/developers such as Akira Toriyama, Hideo Kojima, EA DICE, Activision, Digital Extremes, and more.

I got into the industry of publishing, more specifically self-publishing because of my teacher during a course in college, storytelling in marketing, where she inspired me to publish a story that includes myself, my fiancé, and my African grey Pepper. The story will be about how I am transformed into an African grey and go on an adventure to save the guardian of Pennypack Park. It will teach kids about empathy, discipline, hard work, and friendship. It will also include some native birds and plants in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey areas.

I currently create and sell coloring books, sketchbooks, and stickers. I provide free art resources on my website such as drawing tutorials and coloring pages. The thing I love about making free coloring pages is that I feature non-profits and create coloring pages to promote them and provide a fun activity for kids at fundraising events.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

When I wrote my business plan, I thought about how I wanted to publish my book. I did a lot of research on publishers, the industry, and how it all works.

With my knowledge of marketing, I have confidence that I can market my books and connect with my audience. I already have some events I plan on doing with Pepper when we release the book. We previously went to a school with a relative of her previous family and we talked to kids about African greys and how to care for them. We also attend events when I sell coloring books and everyone loves to hear her give kisses and take pictures.

When researching to self-publish or go through a publisher, I found some resources from selfpublishing.com. I spoke with a few people to narrow down the type of story I wrote and the age of my audience.

After that, I looked into manufacturers that I could self-publish with. I found Lulu Press, or Lulu Publishing. I am fluent in Adobe and could design my cover, pages, and book blurb. They provided videos and blog articles I used to learn the appropriate page setup. From there, I can use an ISBN from them, or I can purchase my own if I choose to use a different publisher. You can also have them listed in Ingram Spark, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble as long as you follow their guidelines for setup (which Lulu also provides in their blogs)

Now, I can sell my coloring books on my website, or purchase them in bulk to sell at events. Their customer service has been great and I’m glad I found them.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2022, my fiancé was hit by a car on his bicycle. His L4-L5 and L5-S1 discs were damaged during the accident and now considered partially disabled. We didn’t know this until after months of testing and possibly needing surgery. Throughout this time, we have worked to build this business and have had many ups and downs. We have been working together since we started volunteering with horses in 2016 so I knew we could get through this challenge. He has been a huge help with managing my social media, events, marketing and caring for our animals while I work a full-time job and run my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sketchsimply.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sketch.simply/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sketchsimply.art
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Sketch_Simply

Image Credits

Myself (Jessica), My fiancé Jordan, My parrot Pepper, My cat Blair

Non-profits included: Independence Youth Cycling, Team Foster