We recently connected with Ryleigh Grace and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryleigh, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

There was a time, back in 2021, when a friend of mine asked me to draw one of his original characters and said he would pay me for it. I didn’t take it too seriously because I had never been paid to draw before, and, up until then, I usually drew my friends’ characters for fun. So, I drew his character as asked, not expecting to actually be paid for it. Once I had sent the drawing over, he actually did end up paying me a good amount. It was probably the most successful I’d ever felt, knowing that someone thought my art was good enough to be paid for.

Ryleigh, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I suppose that, like most people, I started drawing when I was really young. And, as I grew up, it became one of my main tools for expressing myself and connecting with other people. I loved being about to create characters and worlds, and being able to put myself and friends into these worlds. Developing and fleshing out characters and their universes has to be one of my favorite things that art has allowed me to do; and getting to connect with people through it is the most wonderful outcome. Recently I’ve been able to create a multitude of paintings, both digital and traditional, thanks to clients trusting and supporting me with their commissions. I’ve even been trusted by other artists with their projects; this includes being able to perfectly recreate an artist’s traditional paintings into a digital format so they’d have more ease with printing, and assisting an art student with the backgrounds of their film.
All while doing this work, I’ve been in the progress of writing a modern fantasy comic with someone who has supported me from the moment we met. It’s something I’m very excited about, and can’t wait to share in the future.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Up until recently, my parents were not on board with me being an artist. They didn’t see it as a job that people succeeded at nor did they think people were able to get a job with an art degree. At the time, I didn’t know how to advocate for myself or my interests, so I tried to trick myself into thinking that majoring in architecture was the next best thing. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, COVID was at its peak by the time I went to university, as was my depression and anxiety. My parents allowed me to drop out and get my bearings because of these factors. While I worked in food service from 2021 to 2022, I started getting paid for my art and my parents had met more people who had gotten jobs with art degrees. In December of 2022 I had finally convinced my parents that I could make money with my art, and this year I’ve been applying to attend college again for an art degree this time so that I can continue to learn and be the best I can be in art.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As of right now, my ultimate goal is to complete my modern fantasy comic. My characters and their story have been with me since high school; so they’ve gone through so many changes, and will likely continue to do so. Recently I’ve figured out how their story is going to go, and it feels like something that I can be proud of to work on. I’m so excited about how it’s developing, and in turn has me excited about the creative process. There’s going to be a lot that I’ll learn from making this comic, like character designing and finding the most optimal and interesting way to laying out a comic, so it can be the best it absolutely can be. It’s going to be weird when it’s finally over, but I know the journey will be fun and full of new experiences.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: ghost.leigh