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

Alright, Rajesh thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights 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?

At this point, I have not been able to go full-time work. But what I have seen is that I have consistently been able to increase my income year to year. This past year was my most successful financially. I am not sure that there is anything I would have done differently to speed up the process. I think all the mistakes I made along the way got me to the point I am at now. That being said early on, I wish I had spent more time learning my craft, so that I would be in a better position to create meaningful work more quickly. It took me a long time to figure out what my passion was, what kind of stories I want to tell, and what my art style is. I think I am now at a point where I am becoming more and more confident in my art, and my style and my storytelling, and if I had spent a little more time working on all of that earlier, I think I would be in a position to increase what I do financially with my business.

Rajesh, 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?

For those who have not seen my work, I am a comic creator and illustrator. I am just getting started in comics, but I have been working out in freelance illustration for three or four years. If I was to define what I want people to take away from my art, it would be joy, optimism, and a sense of belonging. What drew me to comics is that I believe the medium is the perfect amalgamation of film and prose writing. I came to it as an artist, first, and recently has really dove into learning the writing process, and have found so much joy in that.

Since moving to Waco, Texas in 2020, I have really been able to get involved with the creative community here. I have had opportunities to design presentations for the city, work with local high school students to create artwork, work on mural designs, logos for local businesses, and much more.

This year I have really been focusing on my personal projects. I am currently writing, and illustrating my own story, which will eventually become a web comic, and then be collected into a set of books. This is the most excited. I’ve been about a project in a really long time, and I am really proud of my progress on the project, as well as the actual work itself!

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

In 2019 I learned about a comics camp that takes place in Juneau Alaska. I am actually in Juneau right now for this camp. And the one thing that really drew me to it and makes me wish I had known about it sooner is the fact that there are so many amazing comic creators that go to this camp. And it cultivate such a kind community. This is my first year being a participant, and I imagine I will probably come back every year. For anybody in the creative field I think one of the biggest things of value is having a community of creators around you. People that can build you up and understand the world you live in. This camp has given me a community that I don’t have otherwise, and I am really excited to see the friendships that form this weekend grow in the years to come.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Every once in a while, I sit down and do one, five, and 10 year goals. I sat down at the beginning of this year, and what I came to realize is that I want to write my own stories, and I want to draw my own stories. So the one goal that is now driving everything that I do, and helps me make decisions on what jobs to take and not take, is creating my graphic novel series. I like to view it in terms of the goal being the top of a mountain. Are the projects I am taking helping me go up the mountain or are they taking me away from the peak. I know that it is impossible to only work on my personal passion project without bringing in any income. But I can take other jobs that will lead me in the right direction, and I can turn down jobs that I believe will actually take me away from my goal. I also want to acknowledge that it is a privilege to be able to say no to jobs. More often than not. I have been in a position where I have to say yes because I need the paycheck. This year I have been able to say no a little more, and that has helped me work on my projects more. And I am truly grateful for the position that I am in and I don’t take for granted the fact that not everybody is in that position.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rajsolankiart.com
• Instagram: Rajsolankiart
• Facebook: Rajsolankiart
• Twitter: Rajsolankiart
• Youtube: Raj Solanki Art