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

Sarah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

Throughout my entire life, my biggest strength has been my innate creativity and artistic skills. Early on, my parents recognized this trait, noting that I most likely inherited it from my grandma Mary. Committed to nurturing my artistic abilities, they spared no effort in fostering my skills, boosting my confidence, and providing unwavering support.

For as long as I can remember, my parents created a designated space in every house we lived in for art and creativity. A personal art haven where my imagination could run wild and I had the freedom to explore and create. This creative sanctuary remained a constant throughout my life until I went off to college. Beyond that, they also enrolled me in art summer camps as a child and entered me into various art competitions, many of which I won at a county, state, or even nation wide level. Winning these competitions was a huge boost to my confidence and led me to believe I could do this forever and make a career out of it someday.

As my dedication for art deepened and the prospect of a future career in the field became apparent, my parents invested more into my art, buying me higher quality art supplies and steering me towards a trajectory of having a professional career in the arts.

Post high school, their encouragement reached new heights as they endorsed my decision to attend the Savannah College of Art and design. This pivotal step led to a degree in illustration which has now become my full time career and love. In college I observed a stark contrast between myself and other students as I heard stories of their parents discouraging their decision to pursue the arts as that career field was labeled impractical.

I am incredibly grateful that my parents not only recognized but actively nurtured my artistic potential. Their unwavering support has been instrumental in shaping the path i’m on today, a path marked by creativity, passion, never giving up, and encouragement.

Thank you mom and dad.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello! I’m Sarah Nettuno, I am a young adult, married to an amazing artistic husband who makes video games and I live in Raleigh, NC. I first started my creative journey from the moment I could grasp a crayon. One thing that I love about myself is my different brain. I am autistic which i’ve found to be a major component in my passion, love and obsession with certain things and subjects. I believe my autism helps me in my career for many reasons! One of my special interests is Disney World which has become and inspiration for me in my art especially some of the OG Disney artists like Mary Blaire. While in college I had the unique opportunity of working for the mouse in a 6 month long internship at the Walt Disney World Company. DREAM COME TRUE!

Anyways, back to art. With Art being my lifelong love and skill I carried this into adulthood and graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2018 with a degree in illustration. With time my style naturally evolved into a style that was a great fit for children’s books! Surprisingly, this wasn’t my initial artistic vision, but it turned out to be a delightful detour that I wholeheartedly embraced!

Today, I have the joy of being a published illustrator and author, with six children’s books on shelves and three more eagerly anticipated for release in early 2024. I’ve worked on a variety of picture books, baby board books, and early reader chapter books. I would describe my artistic style as fun loving and whimsical and love to work on stories that spark the imagination.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

With mostly working in children’s books, I think the most rewarding thing is getting tagged in photos and videos on social media of children holding and reading my books. That moment where the project you’ve been working on for months is suddenly in little hands where they belong and seeing the joy and smiles that the story and pictures bring to the kiddos is the most rewarding part for me.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I would say a general story would be the story of my life. Growing up with Autism and learning disabilities, life was challenging; especially school. I was in many therapies growing up including speech and language therapy and needed to be in special education classes to get through school. There were adults in my life who had low expectations of me or how my life would turn out. Some adults did not think I would graduate with my peers, go to college, etc.

I was very determined to prove them wrong. Not only did I graduate on time with my peers in the end, but I also attended my dream college, Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated with a degree in illustration. I’m now married and independent, living in a different state from where I grew up and running a full time successful illustration business.

Sometimes people can only see your weaknesses, but if you surround yourself with the right people who encourage your strengths and push you in that direction, you can go anywhere in life, no matter what anybody tells you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nettunoillustrations.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nettunoillustrations/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nettunoillustrationanddesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-nettuno-052918159/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nettuno_illu
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/nettunoillu.bsky.social