We were lucky to catch up with Savannah Miller recently and have shared our conversation below.
Savannah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
My whole life I knew I had interests in becoming a professional artist. I sold painted rocks when I was younger, and eventually moved into drawing characters for people online (usually for free to get practice). However, when the time came, I knew I had to decide if I wanted / needed to go to college for art. I had maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school, and even considered going into the medical field with art as a hobby. That’s when the choice came.
Do I go to college to become a nurse, or do I follow my passions and pursue full time learning to become a professional artist? Becoming a nurse is a hard and rigorous journey, but it certainly has a predictable sense of stability. Meanwhile, becoming an artist is notorious for being extremely hard and unpredictable when it comes to income or general stability as a whole. I knew I had to choose, and I knew I had to be honest. I took a risk, and opted to choose art as my future. I decided I wanted to help make the world a better place to live in via art and storytelling as a whole. I want to help people see the world in new ways, teach people how the world can still be beautiful, and overall inspire other young artists to continue being creative. The world we live in can be scary, unfair, and depressing, but it can also be beautiful! I knew that if I wanted to make a difference in a healthy way that could speak to people, I would be better set towards the world of entertainment and art. I just needed to figure out how to get there, and learn what it takes to make it as an artist.
I enrolled into Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (RMCAD) and chose to pursue a 3D Animation major. I think that animation and video games are some of the most effective mediums for telling a story and inspiring the current and upcoming generations. However, I knew very little about 3D animation, let alone modeling, outside of my experience in the Game Development program at Warren Tech. I was taking a risk to learn a new medium that I had little experience in, because I knew it would aid me in the profession I was aiming for. I promised myself that as I was learning in school, I would be learning at home at the same time. For school I am a 3D animation major, but in experience I am an illustrator. I chose to pursue my dreams of being a professional artist, and am learning every day how to become a better one (through a variety of materials and mediums). I currently have a job as a comic artist, and am set to illustrate a kid’s book too! It may not be a full living yet, but I am making money as an artist, and working every day to ensure that I can make a difference in the world of art and entertainment. I am still working with the risk, but I am striving and confident that I will not become a starving artist. I am learning what I can, and becoming skilled in a variety of ways to ensure that I will find home in more than one artistic profession. Illustration, 3D animation, and anything else that comes my way- I am willing to learn it all! Bring it on.
Savannah, 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?
My name is Savannah Miller, I am a 19 year old college student at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, and am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in 3D Animation. I am currently employed as a comic artist, and do various commissions for illustration related work on the side. Soon, I will be illustrating my first kids book, and I am incredibly excited! But I wouldn’t be where I am today without the love and support that my parents and family have given me over the years.
I have always been a creator at heart! I can’t remember an age where I was not drawing, sculpting, or putting random things together. From finger knitting with yarn, finicking with air dry clay, drawing on paper, to creating stuffed animals out of socks, I wanted to create using anything I could get my hands on! Thankfully, my parents were always encouraging of my creativity and expression. I wouldn’t know until later in life, that my parents would be one of the key roles in developing my early experience as a professional artist.
Over time, I developed my drawing skills between color pencils and markers, then branched out into digital illustration! To build my skill, I would offer to draw characters online (be it fan art for games/shows I liked, or Original Characters that people had created themselves) for free in addition to creating my own original work. Drawing and posting my art online was where I started taking art seriously. Each drawing I made, I was trying to learn something new, and eventually people started to take interest. My parents and family always seemed excited to see what I was working on, and they encouraged me fully. My drawings were improving, and I genuinely considered art as a real future around the start of high school. Soon after, I applied and was accepted into the Game Development program at Warren Tech my junior year. This is where my drawing skills really took off as I got to see a glimpse of what a professional workplace could look like at a studio. My digital illustrations leveled up because of this course, and it was truly the best experience I have had in regards to art and my improvement.
Eventually, this is how I ended up doing art for some profit. Friends and family were so encouraging, that some of my first professional work was designing tattoos that they were willing to get. Some even went far enough to ask about drawings I made for Inktober (an art challenge where you create an ink based drawing for every day of October following a list of prompts) to get as tattoos. These positive experiences really opened me up to the possibilities that a future in art could have for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful to my loved ones for their support. It is because of them, and mainly my parents, that my art has been seen by people outside of my circle as well. My current job as a comic artist, and my commission work for the kids book would have never happened if my parents had not shown my artwork to other people they knew. Thanks to them I was able to flourish as a creative (even though they are not artists), and because of our good relationship I have been given the opportunity to expand my experience as a professional.
I have produced tattoo designs, small clay figures, and a variety of digital illustrations as a commission based artist, but I also do some personal projects when I get the time. Sometimes it can be intimidating to create art for someone else, especially if they are paying you to do so. My main advice would be to try and understand your client, and develop a friendly relationship to create a baseline of expectations and wants. I try to incorporate the personality or experiences of my client into their requested pieces and it often helps the transaction feel less intimidating or overwhelming. However, always make sure that your client is trustworthy. I have also had bad experiences with people online. I highly recommend doing research about common scams online, as there are many people out there (especially on Instagram) who will take your money and your time.
I have also recently started posting my art to YouTube under the channel @SmolMischief. Although the channel is currently done as a hobby outside of work and school, I do have hopes of it growing over time. I intend to create short animations or videos of how I create art in the future, but for now it is a place where I show my digital drawings via time-lapse of my process. Although from what I have learned online, it seems easier to slowly build a follower base slowly over time before you want to create a major project. Right now small creators are not being seen in most online spaces, but I am experimenting with the YouTube Shorts system and it seems to be more forgiving. I do not recommend Instagram as a starting artist either, as their algorithm does not favor still images. It is best to start off with the people you know when it comes to advertising your work, and over time it may lead to connections outside of the internet. If you do wish to get commissions online, it will be a slow burn. As long as you keep trying, and stay confident, opportunities will come your way. Don’t be afraid to tell people that you are an artist!
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
As a young artist, it often felt like I was creating art in a vacuum before I joined various fandoms (a space for people who create and enjoy a particular thing together – such as enjoying movies or shows relating to Star Wars or any specific video game). It was fun to create Fan Art as a brand new artist, and it gave me inspiration to keep creating. I think drawing fan art can be a wonderful way to express the joy you get from any media while also learning and developing your art style. It isn’t great to only do fan art, but it is definitely something that can give an artist encouragement or even an online following.
However, I wish I had known more about art challenges and contests from an earlier age. I only learned of Inktober (which is the biggest global online challenge I have discovered) in 2020 (when I was 16). Inktober was one of the best things to happen to my art! By forcing myself to draw every day for a month I genuinely feel it helped my confidence and drawing abilities a ton. Not only that, but Inktober encourages all artists (regardless of skill or experience) to post online. I think it’s a wonderful practice that should be talked about more. Many people do it digitally as well, although it is not Ink, I think it is important to build skill in any medium you’re curious about. It turns out challenges like Inktober exist for almost every month, and oftentimes there are more than one available. Mermay, Kaijune, and Junicorn are a few that I have messed with in the past.
I recently learned about ArtStation as well! It is a great way to show your portfolio, while also getting to see the industry standard around you. It is a great place to see what professional artists are producing, and it will set new standards for your own personal work. Try not to get intimidated though! There are countless phenomenal artists there, and it’s important to keep in mind where you are and what you would like to improve with.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
There are a few things that are hard to explain to non-artists, and they’re all very relevant to doing art for commissions.
When requesting a commission, do not tell the artist to do anything they want to do. You may enjoy every piece the artist creates, but they will want to make sure that you get something special and unique if you’re willing to pay them. Telling an artist to create something out of nothing is very intimidating! I would recommend suggesting things, colors, styles, or anything that you find interesting. A good artist will be able to give you a unique design or creation much easier if they know what you enjoy, or what the art piece is for. You don’t need to know what you want exactly, but artists usually want to know what you enjoy so that they can create something for you specifically! It will be less stressful that way when an artist doesn’t feel like they have to read your mind.
When someone you know is creative, they often have various modes of creativity. Sometimes people create art when they are high energy, sometimes people create art to relax, and sometimes people want to create art but somehow cannot figure out what to create. It is important to meet an artist where they are at with their creativity. Sometimes I want to draw when I am extremely sick, but don’t have the energy to talk. Sometimes it is easier to do commissions for people instead of doing personal art (and sometimes it reverses!). Creating art is not something that is consistent across the board. Different projects and different situations will affect an artist’s creativity and productivity. Just because an artist is drawing at 3am, does not mean that they are energized!
Commissions, school, and personal work all take different levels of energy. Sometimes it can be very hard and draining to do commissions, because there are set expectations and it can be hard to judge what quality is good enough. And that can be said for school and personal pieces too, but it can be more stressful when money is involved. If an artist is struggling with productivity, they may want to do a personal piece to get the ball rolling (like a work out stretch), because it takes more mental energy to do something else. Art is like working out, sometimes you need a warm up before you tackle the serious stuff.
There are moments when creative people desperately want to create something, but can’t. This can be due to any circumstances, or even just burnout / art block. If they are spewing their ideas at you, or are having a hard time focusing, just know it isn’t your fault. If they are telling you about these things, that means they feel safe with you (please do not make them feel bad about having ideas you do not understand). Ask as many questions as you want, it may help them feel better!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @ShadowDancer0319 or @Smol_Mischief
- Twitter: @SmolMischief
- Youtube: SmolMischief or @smolmischief
- Other: Smol Mischief on Tumblr too!