We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sierra Barnes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sierra, thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Earning a living from creative work is difficult, I’ll put that up front. It’s not so much doing one thing full-time as it is having a number of constantly-rotating side-gigs, having income coming in from book royalties while working on other books, having commissions open, having a studio where I can sell work from and traveling to conventions and shows around the country, giving talks at local libraries and teaching classes on art. All of these things help me keep doing what I love!

Sierra, 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?

My name is Sierra Barnes, and I am a cartoonist and illustrator living in the greater DC area. I make comics about history, mythology, and memory, and the places those all intersect. I have published books through Arledge Comics, Bad Neighbor Press, Mad Cave Studios and recently my debut original graphic novel HANS VOGEL IS DEAD Vol. 1 was released through Dark Horse Comics in October 2023, with Vol. 2 coming out in 2025.

I am a prolific zinester and have lead zine-making workshops as a part of programming for the Arlington and Montgomery County Libraries, as well as spoken on panels for many comic conventions including DC Zinefest, LadiesCon, Richmond Independent Comic Expo, and more about the process of creating comics, and using historical nonfiction in history. I have exhibited and sold my work at conventions all over the country, including the previously mentioned shows and others such as San Diego Comic Con, Richmond Comics and Arts Fest, Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, and Small Press Expo. I am currently a resident artist at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA and I use my public studio to show people how I work on comics and zines. I love comics as a medium for storytelling and a tool for education, and love taking opportunities to share that with others!

I’m always looking for illustration gigs, especially ones with fantasy or historical elements, and sell both prints and original art pieces online or in person at conventions or my Torpedo Factory studio.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being nice to other cartoonists on social media! Once I figured out networking was just a corporate-sounding word for making friends, it became a lot easier. Talking to people about things I was passionate about–history, folklore, and comics–at conventions and on social media was a great way do build relationships with people, and those relationships helped get me some great projects, some of which I’m still working on!

Any advice for managing a team?

Fortunately, my team is just me! Still, it’s important to maintain your own “morale”, so to speak. Managing burnout, disappointment, frustrations, and the other parts of trying to make money doing something you love are all difficult and are important to consider when you’re going into business. I try to make time to read books by artists I love, go to local museums, or seek out work I wouldn’t normally have time for.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sierrabravoart.com
• Instagram: @sierra_bravo_art
• Other: Shop: https://shop.sierrabravoart.com/

Image Credits
Sierra Barnes Work by Sierra Barnes