We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ladon Alex. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ladon below.

Ladon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

The first time I sold an art piece of any kind was in 9th grade when I was 14. It was drawn in a Strathmore Bristol pad that was 11×14 inches. I honestly can’t remember what the drawing was of but I know the person who bought it was a classmate of mine (as were most of my first few customers). Even though I make most of my income from commission and contract work now, in the beginning I used to sell drawings I had done in my free time with the hope someone would be interested in whatever it is I drew. My prices were around $25-50 haha, which, hey, you have to start somewhere, right? By the time I graduated high school in 2017, I was selling prints for $15 and selling commission work for around $125. Things really started picking up when I got to college. This is when I started getting “real” clients and stopped relying on classmates. I had started painting in addition to my illustration work so I now had 3 sources of income (prints, illustration, painting). Things kept snowballing through my time at school and I officially licensed my LLC in 2021, the same year I graduated. By the time I graduated university I was selling some paintings for over $1000 consistently and getting commissioned for illustration work quite often as well. I feel as though I was quite proactive in a lot of different aspects, such as having a running website since I was 18 and connecting with peers online through social media, which allowed me to cultivate a good community. There are other things, though, that I wish I would’ve done earlier, especially since I already had quite a high output and portfolio. I think if I would have been more direct in sending my portfolios to different companies and art directors throughout my time in university I would’ve put myself in a better position for the future. My CV looked relatively nice by the time I graduated, sure, but it still would’ve been extra impressive to have had more variety of clients, since at that time I had mainly worked for musicians and for private clients. One of the most impactful aspects of my career was my early adoption of social media, which I had been using for years and had garnered a decent following by the time I was out of school. I believe I had 17,000 followers across platform, and most clients and prospective buyers reached out through Instagram or Twitter. It can be daunting but I believe that becoming part of a community online will help you find inspiration, gain confidence, and sharpen your skills. You will also more than likely foster a few genuine friendships.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My licensed business name is Ladon Alex, and most of my friends, peers, and returning clients refer to me as such. I am a professional illustrator, graphic designer, art director, and painter. As a versatile freelancer for the majority of my career, I have been afforded the opportunity to work on many different kinds of projects. In the same way traveling the world opens your mind to different cultures and ways of thinking, so does working on a wide range of creative assignments expand your ability to create and problem-solve. I’m most proud of my adaptability and willingness to learn and try new things. This has benefited me and my career to a very large degree.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative of any kind, for me at least, is being able to see how my work impacts others. When people tell me they are inspired by my work, that I made them want to pick up the pencil again, that is really amazing to hear. When people send me photos of my work on their walls, or when I see my cover art on Apple Music or Spotify, that still can blow my mind. I am very grateful to be able to be a part of other’s experiences.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I touched on this a little earlier but I would say just jump right in! There will never be a “perfect moment.” I started on Twitter years before I ever made my Instagram account (which I finally did my freshman year of college). Originally, I used to just post my art and that was it, but the importance of building that aforementioned community with art peers cannot be emphasized enough. I can’t necessarily tell you how to run your accounts because everyone has a slightly different personality and differing levels of comfortability, but complimenting others’ works, reaching out, and posting your own work will really help you out. Because most of my following is on Twitter, which is a lot more conversationally focused, I became aware of the idea that people will inherently want to feel closer to me. People want you to feel human, it strengthens the connection they have with your work. There are many artists who don’t like this approach and do not say much outside of posting their work, but if you are looking to make friends with similar interests and to get your work out there more easily then you will probably need to be personable to some degree. As for Instagram, I have much less to say because I have grown terrible at using it, haha. They change their algorithm a lot, which is frustrating, so I have given up on trying to appease the app. I don’t use hashtags and I used to post around 2pm central, but now I will post as late as 6 or 7pm. The main thing is consistency and again, complimenting others works and reaching out. Don’t nag people, but if you like someone’s work please let them know. Most artists, even “professionals,” are nice, humble, and insecure, too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/ladonalex

Image Credits
Heart Machine Games