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

Joe, appreciate you joining us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

After college I’d been doing a couple small paying gigs, but nothing substantial. I finally got an opportunity to do some article illustrations for a local paper. The pay wasn’t great, but it was consistent and I was more than happy to crank out as much as I could. It was rough because they’d need full drawings within a couple hours of going to print, so there wasn’t a lot of prep time. After a couple weeks of getting the drawings they needed done, they wanted to give me a cover. It would be for more money I’d ever gotten for an art job up until that point, I wanted to knock it out of the park. It also felt like I was finally “doing” it, I just had to prove it with this next job. So the gig was “a list of things for broke college students to do over the summer”. They wanted an illustration of hands holding an empty wallet, easy peasy. I focused down and laid out what I thought was a great drawing. I colored it up and brought it into the offices the next day. I proudly handed my illustration over, and the manager’s face went red. He stuttered a bit, and called in the assistant manager. I was sure it was because I’d done a good job…that wasn’t the case. He asked them what the illustration looked like. They also started blushing and were hesitant to say, but finally said,”female genitalia”. I was shocked and turned the illustration around to take a look at what the heck they were seeing. I was in awe of how disconnected I’d been in seeing the overall piece. I was so focused on getting paid for something substantial, and making sure the drawing was exactly what was required, I’d lost sight of what the design looked like objectively. I had in fact drawn hands holding, what looked like, large female underbits. I was mortified, but was able to redo the assignment. I didn’t have the time to do all the rendering and layout I’d done previously, but got it done. Looking back, it was a good drawing of a wallet, but in context it was terrible. Make sure you take the time to step away, even if you don’t think it’ll allow for it, take a couple minutes at least. It could save you in the end.

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

I’ve been doing creative work for different companies for about 15 years. I’ve worked for Alamo Drafthouse doing posters, Macaulay Culkin doing shirts and enamel pins, Fangoria magazine doing article illustration, Caricature drawings at amusement parks, album covers for bands; the list is long and is sometimes as random as the work itself. One thing I learned over the years is how important it is to balance one’s own creativity with the job they’ve taken on. It’s always a sliding scale, and being aware of how creative you can be on a project is key. It’s important to focus on what’s needed for the piece and making sure it reads for exactly what the message is. I think what sets me apart from other illustrators is the love I put into the pieces and the speed at which I work. Over time I’ve also tried focusing in on the things that I enjoy doing for clients more than doing a job for a jobs sake. I like bringing their ideas to life. I mainly do Halloween themes and cartoony illustration gigs, so I try and seek out clients that fit that.

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

I think it’s important for people and/or businesses to hire local and independent creatives for as much work as they can. Doing so will usually ensure that you’re getting something unique and gives the potential for the work to stand out in a good way. The work will enrich the business or life of the client, and also helps build a system in which creatives are taken care of and seen. Creatives are often looked at as just workhorses for the talent we’ve nurtured, and not as people who also need to live. Art has always been here, and isn’t going anywhere. We’re all in this together and there’s more than enough work to go around. It’s up to all of us to ensure that it’s not taken for granted.

How did you build your audience on social media?

This is an important question, and I might not be the best at addressing it. But I feel it necessary to comment on it from a different perspective than what most see. Over the years I’ve built up a fan base by connecting with people as individuals. Whether that’s through client work from businesses or seeing people at conventions. It’s a good rule to have some sort of business card or contact info for people to reach you and/or see your work. The easier it is for people to do that, the more chance you have of getting hired. Nurturing the system you’re building is also a major key. Making sure the work you have presented is representational of the work you do. Think about what it is you want to do with your art and look into the avenues that are built from that. Where do you fit? There’s a lot of examples of how to get “likes” or “followers”, but it’s not worth a damn if you don’t nurture it in one way or another. A lot of creatives struggle with different aspects of mental health and it can be hard to put yourself out there. I know this from personal experience and it can be rough to expose your work to the public. I’d suggest starting small. Make yourself put one thing out there a week, whether it’s on social media or in real life. After a couple weeks of that, make yourself do 2 things, etc.. People like seeing the process as well, so don’t think you have to just show finished works. Don’t get down on yourself if you don’t hit a goal, just make sure to keep trying. Doing art can be hard, putting it out there can be hard, so don’t give yourself more obstacles of creating it and doing something with it, by getting in your head.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Joeoliverarts