I’ve known for a long time. We met in nearly seven years ago and have been pals ever since; seeing Lisa’s work develop over that many years has been incredible. She went from not knowing how to use a Wacom tablet to growing her skills and landing a job as an in-house illustrator for American Greetings. During this time, she established and has maintained a thriving freelance career; you’ll find her work on the likes of book covers and as the identity for the .
Lisa is about to make another big life change. In August, she’ll be returning to MICA, our alma mater, as a full-time professor in the undergrad Illustration department. I spoke with her about this, along with advice for other illustrators. Read it in the interview below and be sure to follow Lisa on .
How do you generate ideas for your work?
I wait for a hummingbird to softly whisper ideas into my ear. Just kidding! Its a lot less magical, and a lot more nerdy/ cerebral. Honestly, I just do a whole lot of thinking before I even start sketching. I write notes to myself. I regularly look at things I love, that inspire me. I gather reference images and compile them on my expansive . I have never been good about keeping a sketchbook. Instead, I have a bag filled with all my drawings and notes from the last 5 years. Its a poor system, but it works in a pinch!
What was it like to transition from using analog materials to an all-digital process?
For me, the discovery of digital tools was the ‘aha’ moment I was waiting for! Working in layers in Adobe Photoshop really jives with how my brain works. I was late to the digital party. Its embarrassing to say now, but when I got to graduate school I knew people were making art in the computer, but I had no idea how! I had never seen a Wacom tablet before. My [undergrad] college didn’t have an illustration program, so my degree is in Fine Art Drawing and Painting.
How did having knowledge of painting and drawing on paper help (or hinder!) your learning to illustrate on the computer?
I am very grateful that I learned the fundamentals of color and design using traditional media. I still think traditional is the best way to start your art education. You can progress to working digitally when you understand all those analog tools and design concepts.
You are on the tail-end of working as an in-house illustrator for American Greetings. What was it like working in-house? How did that affect your freelance career?
I have worked in-house with American Greetings for almost 5 years now, and it has been a really valuable education in a lot of ways! It was a fascinating glimpse inside how companies work, why they make the decisions that they do, and how markets operate and change. I have truly loved working in a studio with other artists every day! I also had to learn to deal with challenges, like being asked to create illustrations in any style. There were also the same issues you run into as a freelancer, like managing deadlines, and handling changes from the client. I would work in my cubicle at AG for 8 hours, then go home and work on my personal freelance illustration. It could be overwhelming and be draining at times. The hardest part is figuring out the work/life balance.
Do you have any advice for those wanting to be an in-house illustrator?
Anyone interested in a career as an in-house illustrator should work on developing a portfolio that shows a wide range of skill sets and styles. Versatility is a really desirable thing to companies! I know for me, right out of school, I still wanted the structure of having a place to go every day, the camaraderie or coworkers, and the stability of a salary. But I would get burned out from time to time trying to do freelance on top of that. There are trade-offs to everything. But knowing what your needs and expectations are is always valuable when navigating your career path!
What is a skill that you still want to learn in your illustration career?
There is a truly overwhelming amount of things I want to learn! Lately, I really want to learn to make gifs, really weird animated gifs. I also really want to create a surface design and pattern portfolio and explore that part of the industry more. I am also transitioning into being a full-time professor, and I hope to learn more about teaching and pedagogy. The art of actually being helpful!
I think a really nifty thing about the illustration world right now is that there are a lot of ways you can be an illustrator and apply illustration within different fields. The markets are changing rapidly and the more you can do, the more kinds of jobs you can get!
What piece of advice, habit, or tool has helped you the most in your career?
I’m gonna throw out a bunch!
Be nice to yourself. You cannot be an art machine all the time. You have to be a person too. Beware the demon of comparison. Make the art you like and want to see in the world. Never respond to emails while you feel grumpy. Sleep on big decisions. Sleep in general. Cherish your peers whose opinions you trust. Social Media is really important. You have to be your own advocate. Its OK to say ‘no’ to things. Stay true to what makes you unique!
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