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

Hi Madison, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I think I’ve always known I wanted to pursue a career as an artist. For as long as I can remember, art has been all I’ve ever wanted to do. From elementary school to high school to college, I always moved forward with the intent of following the path of a creative, wherever that might lead.

At one time, I did consider a career in animal science; marine biology, zoology, paleontology, something along those lines. But I’ve found that I can work those interests into my art, and it’s very fulfilling!

Madison, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Since I went into young adulthood with the firm knowledge that I wanted a job in the arts, I attended a private art school. I don’t necessarily recommend this for artists starting out – with the state of the Internet now, you can get just as good of an education through videos and tutorials, for free or nearly free. But that’s the road I went down, and it provided me with a few opportunities through networking. A degree in Sequential Art and a minor in Sculpting prepared me for a wide variety of small jobs. I took a lot of freelance work in concept art, fabrication, visual storytelling, art preparation, things like that. Freelancing can be a bummer because it’s usually a temporary experience, but the key word is EXPERIENCE, and I got a lot of it!

As I moved forward in my career, eventually I just reached a natural point of wanting to and being able to work for myself. I’m an artist who likes to explore several different subject matters in several different styles, and while that doesn’t look very cohesive in a portfolio, it’s quite useful for attracting different types of clients. I can create in both digital and traditional mediums, and I do a bit of everything; concept art, illustration, sculpture, fantasy, creature design, scientific illustration, paleoart, tattoo design, theme park design, and probably even more that I’m not remembering!

I have two main styles I work in that I call “Painterly” and “Stylized”. Painterly is typically used for concept art or paleoart, things that need a little bit more of a realistic feel, focusing on texture and lighting. Stylized is just that – stylized! I love to draw and paint animals and mythical creatures, focusing not so much on realism but on shapes and movement. Both styles are very gratifying in their own way, and since I’m able to do both, I’m able to expand my client pool!

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think there’s an unfortunate misunderstanding around creatives and the creative field. Some people don’t seem to understand that it is work – hard work. I think there’s a common misconception that artists just magically come up with this stuff, that they have lackadaisical attitudes and don’t put in the sweat that people in other careers do.

First of all, I can assure you that almost every creative I’ve ever met is one or two bad days from a complete mental breakdown. The stress involved in this path is REAL. It’s not just the stress to perform, to be good, to make money, to keep up on social media…it’s the internal stress, a constant battle with yourself as an artist to improve, berating yourself when something doesn’t turn out how you envisioned it, wondering why you can’t get this one thing right. Wondering if what you’re doing even means anything. The external struggle is difficult, and the internal struggle might be even worse.

Secondly, it’s work. It’s so much work. I’ve seen people complain about the prices artists charge, but they don’t factor in the literal years of study and practice it takes for an accomplished artist to reach that point. Not to mention that self-employed artists are also in charge of running an entire business on top of practicing and creating. For me personally, I spend more time running the business side of things than I do making actual art!

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

YouTube, YouTube, YouTube. There are SO many amazing tutorials from so many different artists on that platform. Not just on the art side, but the business side as well. In addition, there’s plenty of other resources you can access for a small fee. Most artists don’t charge much to join their Patreon platforms, and tutorials on Gumroad are typically very cheap. To be honest, if these resources had been more prolific a few years ago, I might not have attended art school.

I also find art books from my favorite video games and artists very inspiring. You can find some good deals at Half Price Books or ThriftBooks. Additionally, if there’s an artist you like on social media and you’re curious about their technique, don’t be afraid to ask about it! Some may not reply, but I’ve found most artists to be pretty receptive to giving advice.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://madisonhenline.com/index.html
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhunevild/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madison-henline-49541729/
• Twitter: https://x.com/rhunevild
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSqnKpFj8LOg2w2oOlhWJHQ
• Other: https://linktr.ee/rhunevild

Image Credits

Madison Henline