We were lucky to catch up with Natalie Kovacs recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Natalie, thanks for joining 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?
I graduated college in 2006 with a degree in English and a minor in art. I was initiated into the corporate world in 2007 first working as a proofreader, an editor, a copywriter, and even a medical writer. I stayed on that career path for 12 years barely pursuing art, raising a child, and just generally feeling pretty disconnected from who I truly was at my core. In 2019, I hit my breaking point. An opportunity presented itself, so I left the corporate world to manage a small artisan shop for a nonprofit. I had only been doing that for a few months when the pandemic hit. For the first time in over a decade, I was home with my family. I had more time to work on art. Also, despite being closed to the public, working for that artisan shop helped me learn a lot about the behind-the-scenes operation of small creative businesses. It helped me realize that I could do it, too. I had made my mind up to pursue it on my own. As my popularity grew online, I made the decision to go full-time as an artist in October 2021. It was not linear nor perfect in any way, but it was the right decision. I think the key then (and now) is for me to remain determined and consistent. It’s also important to me to never lose sight of how miserable I was in my 20s working so hard for a company that didn’t care about me at all. Every day I wake up and choose to do this art thing, I am choosing myself.
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.
I’m a cartoonist and illustrator. In second grade, I told my teacher I wanted to be a cartoonist. Every Sunday I would steal the full-color comic pages from my dad’s newspaper and spend all afternoon daydreaming about being in a cabin somewhere drawing funny and weird things for a living. Of course capitalism has a way of beating that whimsy out of us as we get older, but it was always in the back of my mind. Instead of letting it destroy me, I’ve learned to harness that ennui into my cartoons. Every time I sit down to draw, I think of underdogs–that’s why I draw raccoons, trash critters, and cryptids. I want to be able to give voice and levity to the collective feeling of otherness. I also loved Unsolved Mysteries, The X-Files, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer growing up. I escaped to the woods to feel present and like I was a part of something bigger–I still do that! To be able to put all these feelings and influences together into art that makes other weirdos feel a little less alone is all I really strive to do.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media is a necessary evil nowadays. I can’t think of one creative that particularly loves this aspect of running a creative business, but it is what it is. I used to be VERY resistant to the idea of not only creating, but also marketing myself.
Here’s a few practical suggestions that mostly pertain to Instagram. Post at least three times a week – write a schedule if you need to. For example, Monday is a new product, Wednesday is a video (reel), Friday is a lifestyle photo…something like that. Post old stuff if you have to – no one will care. Show your face. Loosen up.
Overall, the best advice I can give – and forgive me, it’s going to sound so hacky – is to be yourself. Stop trying to follow trends. Stop trying to look like your favorite artist or force yourself to find a specific style or aesthetic when you might not be ready. You are not going to please everyone. The sooner you accept that, the better your relationship to the whole thing is going to be.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Support us. If you can’t buy from us directly, share our art with credit directly from us. Hype up your small business friends any chance you get. Come to our shows and our events. Remind yourself that art is a tremendous source of joy in most folks’ lives and that we deserve to be respected and paid for what we do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shapelessflame.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shapelessflame/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theshapelessflame/
Image Credits
The main photo of me drawing with my cat was taken by Dillon Richardson. The photo of me with an ornament over my eye was taken by Christiana Cacciato of the Green Photograph.