We recently connected with Sam Singh and have shared our conversation below.

Sam, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Picture it, Autumn 1996, it’s the beginning of a new school year in a little suburban corner of Toronto called Jane & Finch, and a 9-year old Sam is look pretty fly in her new outfit, and is carrying a book binder filled with blank paper assembled for one single purpose: to perfect drawing her hero, the champion of love and justice, Sailor Moon!

Alright, so I was maybe a little obsessed with anime as a kid, but thankfully all my classmates were obsessed too. We would often draw Sailor Moon and exchange our drawings around the classroom to see who captured the champion of justice best. Then one afternoon, something unfamiliar happened. I was very kindly asked by a classmate to draw Sailor Moon for her because she liked the details in my art style, and as an added bonus, she offered to pay me for the drawing! Suddenly my unhealthy obsession with a clumsy anime moon princess was about to pay off, literally. From that moment, I poured my heart and soul into my commission and eagerly finished the drawing in one night. The next day I submitted the artwork to my client, she was thoroughly satisfied with her masterpiece, and I had rightfully earned a whopping $0.25 for my work.

It was then I realized, if I spent quality time practicing, focus in on details, and learn to deliver professional service, I can successfully turn my gifts, talents and abilities into a full time career. To this day, these are the foundational principles that motivate my freelance business.

Sam, 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?

When I was in my senior year of high school, I was inspired to pursue illustration by my 2D design teacher who was, and still is, quite the brilliant illustrator. He introduced me to his professional portfolio that was filled with commissioned work from magazines, ad agencies, but his Hockey Hall of Fame poster design blew my mind! In that moment, I was never the same, and my path was instantly set before me. From there I went onto complete my Bachelor’s of Design at OCAD U where I learned to develop my vintage meets modern, bright, quirky art style.

In June 2010 I launched my freelance career and have collaborated with a number of clients on design projects including editorial portraits, book jacket design, logos for small businesses, and had the privilege to be Lead of the Art Department + instructor at Focus Learning Progressive Learning Centre in 2014.

Today I aim to serve art directors, storytellers, publishers, journalists and authors to execute their creative projects to the highest degree of excellence I can deliver.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As most passionate artists and designers, I often found myself focusing solely on the art, losing myself in the creating process, and placing the boring business aspect of my freelance career on the back burner because it consumed my precious studio time. I will be the first to plea guilty of my crime, especially in the early stages of my career, and as a result, I served a long, timely sentence of not getting enough work and having to live with my unmet expectations.

Flash forward to 2020 when the entire world was shook upside down, time now became a precious resource I could no longer afford to spend locked up behind my fears of disappointment. If I was going to make illustration work, I had to pivot the way I think about my career, and fortunately the answer was about to present itself soon.

I was blessed to meet someone in my local church, another business owner, who dedicates his days to making strategies for small business owners to enter their market, then executing those strategies with great success. It sounded exactly like the missing piece. To be honest, I was pretty reluctant at first, but I had nothing to lose, I needed help, so I was all in. My new friend and I devised a tailored business plan fit for a skilled digital illustrator, we set a prospecting schedule in place to get face time with art directors, and to both our surprise, I landed my first contract within 1 month of prospecting! We continued with our business plan to gain new leads every month, and I can safely say with a grateful heart, I managed to maintain a full-time career as an illustrator thanks to prayer and a much needed shift in thinking.

While a strong, cohesive portfolio and a splash of charisma is what ultimately seals the deal in most cases, having a fortified business plan that is simple to execute is how we maintaining prolonged success.

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

After recalling my first entrepreneurial experience at 9-years old, one of the most rewarding aspects of my career has been turning my tiny childhood hobby into a full-time career.

Equally as rewarding is getting to witness the light in my client’s eyes when the final art is delivered to their satisfaction. There is no reward quite like hearing, “you did a great job”.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.samsinghillustration.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samsingh_art
• Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sam-singh-527944184?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.samsinghillustration.com