We recently connected with Nick Valente and have shared our conversation below.

Nick, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Overall I’m very happy to be on my own path. It can certainly be challenging at times, with the ebb and flow of client work. Recently, there has been a noticeable up and down of each year, especially with the initial introduction of AI. It has changed aspects of the design landscape, where people are opting for cheaper and faster AI options. This has weighed heavily on me, among other tings as well, and has made me consider looking for regular work. While a regular job would offer more consistency and security, it would take away my ability to create the days I want and to be able to spend my time on the moments that truly matter. So I opt for the insecurity and sometimes late nights in order to be able to spend the time I want with family and friends. Whenever things get tough, I remember what I am fighting for and remember a younger me who wanted this life so badly. I take the good with the bad and choose to live my life the way I want each day.

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

I got started as a comic artist, doing work for small anthologies, and self published work. I continued branching out and learning new art disciplines in order to make extra money as I continued working towards a mainstream gig. Things slowly changed as I learned how to paint and started offering traditional art, such as skateboards, wood cutouts and canvas paintings. Eventually I got a job doing graphic design work for a vehicle wrap and sign shop, which is where I learned a lot about vector art and fell in love with the process. Around that time I created a YouTube channel where I now teach and share vector art techniques. As I have continued to learn new skills, new opportunities have presented themselves. My main focus these days is to continue creating art that is true to me and my influences, and sharing that process through video tutorials, and what I have learned over the years as a working artist.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I was continuing to create comics, I was finding it harder and harder to continue generating revenue from it. So I had to branch out and broaden my skill set to include traditional painting techniques in order to create new products and open up a new avenue for commission work. I was able to build off of the strong drawing foundation that I had built up over the years. Branching off into full painting was liberating and very exciting. It slowly took over and started presenting new opportunities for me, which eventually lead me to slowly stepping away from trying to break into mainstream comics.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As I have mentioned, I got started as a comic artist. I had met and talked to many different artists and editors in the business, which ended up clouding my vision for the comics I wanted to create. I started taking everyone’s feedback and trying to incorporate it all, which looking back was my biggest downfall, and the sole reason I never made any real headway into the mainstream. So as I branched out into other forms of art, I had to take a step back and ask myself, what do I want to create and how do I want to do it? Not how someone else would. That was the most liberating experience of my art journey so far, telling my own story, not someone else’s story.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://njvalenteart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/njvalenteart/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYJALy6TLqgmM_1q92ai7qw
• Other: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/njvalenteart
  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/njvalente?fan_landing=true

Image Credits

NJValente Art