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

Richard, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My love for art started watching someone else believe it or not. I was in grade school in a classmate would come in and draw these characters everyday. They ranged from ninjas to basketball players and I used to think they were so dope. I would go home at night and try to imitate what he had created. Mind you they were box characters but it was enough to get me on my artistic path. Since then I have just kept practicing and getting better and now I’m creating realistic portraits.

3d sculpting and printing was something I just picked up. I always thought 3d printers were super expensive. Once I found out they were definitely reasonable I invested in one. I started out printing premade items other people made. In order to sell my products I realized I would have to created my own products. So I self taught myself 3d sculpting along with some help from YouTube and now I’m creating my own products.

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

For me art is more than some pictures on the wall. Art is a way for people to express themselves both creative and consumer alike. My art has shaped me into a more patient, understanding, and attentive person. Coming from an overall artistic family I learned and taught myself everything I know today. That in turn grew my love for art that much more. I moved around a few times to a few different states. Each place I have lived sort of pushed me more in a specific area. For example living in NY you always had to have the flyest clothes or be unique in some way. I started customizing my shoes and clothes to stand out a bit. That helped me a lot when I moved to Florida. I would paint my shoes and create a shirt to match. People would compliment me and it made me feel good. Here it was something I created and people fell in love with it. It got to the point I would be up for hours late at night painting my shoes for the next day. Some weeks it was multiple nights. Florida is also where I started my path of tattooing. That in itself took my art and skills to a whole different level. Tattooing takes time, patience, humility, and skill. Paying attention to every detail was key in order to perform to the highest ability. This attentiveness rolled over into my traditional artwork. Forcing me to pay attention to details that I normally wouldn’t. This helped to take my artwork a step further. I found myself wanting to do portraits more in order to capture as much details as possible. Today I am creating pieces almost identical to photographs now. I am living definition of trusting the process.

Unique Karma Kustomz is the name of my brand. My dream for it was to have several areas of art under one umbrella. For example digital art, traditional art, tattooing, 3d printing, and airbrushing. So far have I remain true to that dream. My skills include airbrushing, 3d printing, 3d sculpting, traditional art, digital art, sneaker and clothing customization, as well as tattooing. Most or all of them I learned the basics and taught myself everything else from there. I never attended any schools or had any teachers except for the 3d sculpting, which I took an online course for. With that being said I’m not against having someone teach me something new. Just for me teaching yourself something is much more rewarding. Basically I wanted to create a one stop shop where you can get anything done pertaining to art. I am happy to say I am on the right track.

I always wanted to set myself apart from others. Hence the name Unique Karma which basically means be different and stay humble so that your karma is good. 3D sculpting and 3D printing has definitely helped me do that. Not too many people I know are involved or hip to 3D printing. That gives me a little bit of an advantage. For example I can create almost anything I put my mind to with it as far as physical objects. I plan to come up with a few things to help not only my life a little easier but others as well.

As much as I would like to be compensated for my artwork I am grateful enough just with people appreciating it. I didn’t get into it for the money my love for art will trump that every time. I think I have given more artwork away than I have sold any. I must say I am honestly ok with that. I rather my work be appreciated for the time put into than for it to just be bought and not looked at the same. Some may label me as a portrait artist but I bet to differ. With so many artistic skills I think the term creative does just fine. I never been one of those artist who can paint what they see from memory. So for me I always needed to look at what it is I’m drawing or painting. Maybe one day that skill will come to me maybe it won’t. I’m fine with people loving my artwork for what it is and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

“If you don’t see that UK then it ain’t UNIQUE.”

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding thing for me being a creative is my self progression also, the realization art and life go hand and hand. That push to try something new or go a little harder, helps me in other aspects of my life. It taught me not to be afraid to start over to try again. Sometimes you have to step away or take a break from something in life to see things a little clearer. We get so caught up in one area of our lives that we neglect others sometimes it’s too late, yet most times we catch it. We have to sometimes know how to blend and work our way into different situations in our lives. Other times we stand out but still come together so beautifully. Being a creative as helped me to see the beauty in all things and understand nothing or no one is perfect.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Leaving something behind for my children to be proud of. That I will have to say is my biggest drive behind it. I want my art to show them my journey. To show them how I kept going, kept pushing myself to new heights. I want my art to reflect to them that no matter what they to have the chance to do what it is that they love. I want it to show them that a childhood dream can be a reality. To see them testing their own artistic abilities just from seeing me do it is a joy in itself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uniquekarmakustomz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uniquekarmakustomz
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@uniquekarmakustomz?lang=en