My Creative Life By Nancy Miller

Hi Everyone! I chatted today with Kailee Roark an in-house designer the gift market. Here is a bit about Kailee:  I'm a Designer/Illustrator currently living and working in Atlanta, GA as a designer for International Greetings Design Group. I am proficient in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and have experience in repeat patterns, designing for print, color theory, composition, and illustration for gift wrap, bags, stationery, and greeting cards. I also have experience in other fields, including background layout design for 2D animated films, children's book illustration, graphic novel/comic work, and screenprinting. To see Kailee's work: https://www.kaileeroark.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kaileeroark/ Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone! I spoke with Morgan Huff, a children's book author and illustrator, and she was kind enough to share her creative process and journey in this interview. She has such a wonderful heart and perspective about the work we create as artists. Here is a bit about Morgan: Morgan is a children's book illustrator and author based in the Pacific Northwest. I write and illustrate picture books as well as graphic novels for middle-grade audiences. Her clients include; Dreamworks TV, Harper Collins, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Zondervan Kids. To see her work visit: https://www.morgansketch.com/ https://twitter.com/artofmorgan https://www.instagram.com/morgansketch/ Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone! I had a lovely chat with Lauren Emmons today! She is delightful and such a great resource for information on children's book writing and illustrating. Here is a bit about Lauren: Lauren Emmons is an illustrator based in the cold tundra of North Dakota. She completed her Master's degree in Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England. Her clients include S&S and Peachtree Publishing. To see her work visit: https://www.laurenemmons.com/ https://www.instagram.com/heylaurenemmons/ https://twitter.com/Lauren__Emmons Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone! Today I spoke with Brandon Sugiyama, award-winning motion media designer, and professor. He's done ton of work in his career with major clients. Here is more about him: Brandon Sugiyama is a visual storyteller passionate about connecting people with the world around them. He is lead animator on the Emmy award winning Netflix show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. A director, designer, animator, and editor, he has over 10 years of experience working with award-winning agencies including BigStar, Framestore, Eyeball, Trollbäck+Company, Stardust, and Questus.  Brandon has also worked directly with clients such as TED Conferences, The Documentary Group, The New York Times, and The U.S. Olympic Committee producing work for feature length documentary films and high profile events. To see more of his work visit:  https://invibe.com/ https://www.behance.net/invibe Thank you for listening!

Today my guest is Annalise Kristensen, a motion media designer that I had to opportunity to meet in my MOME class at SCAD. Annalise is a delightful person to chat with. Here is a little more about her. Hello! I'm Annalise Kristensen and I'm a visual designer with a passion for motion, UX/UI and branding. When I'm not working, I'm exploring the woods of New Jersey with my dog to find the perfect spot for a secret base or the next entrance to Narnia. Right now, the next item that I want to cross off my bucket list is to buy an old bus and turn it into a tiny house and travel the States. Hopefully, I'll make it to Alaska. To see her work visit IG @nannalis3

Hi Everyone! I have Sarah Monick with me today! A photographer and advertising creative that was delightful to interview. Here is more about Sarah:  Sarah Monick is a creative from Manhattan who crafts fine art concepts through precise and minimalistic commercial-style visuals. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in the spring of 2020 with a BFA in commercial photography and is currently pursuing a MA in advertising. Sarah manifests campaigns and content for brands big and small. The recent overhaul of messaging in the advertising industry is to communicate a  positive and inclusive environment that’s on top of the latest trends and technology. This disruption has created a call to action for fresh, young artistic perspectives, which happens to be a perfect description of Sarah’s skillset. When she isn’t being overly ambitious, Sarah’s eating homemade pasta, watching SciFi movies with her fiancé, and caring for her spastic feline fur baby. You can view her resume  and email  her at conta

Hi Everyone! I interviewed James Yang, an award-winning editorial and children's book illustrator. His book, Bus! Stop! was selected as an outstanding picture book by The New York Times and the follow-up Stop! Bot! is the 2020 Geisel award winner for the most distinguished American book for beginning readers. His newest book, A Boy Named Isamu is the 2022 APALA Honor Award winner. To see his work visit: https://www.jamesyang.com/ Instagram: Yangblog Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone! Today we have illustrator Maya Shakur with me today. My lovely co-host Tiffany Gordon. Here is more about Maya.  Maya Eliisa Shakur is a children's book illustrator, designer, and lover of plants and animals. Maya has directed this energy into creating the company Studio Mai, and is currently based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she is surrounded by inspiration in the forms of nature, culture, and the arts. Studio Mai designs and illustrates with these beloved aspects of life, sustainability, and inclusivity in mind. To see more of her work visit: https://mayaeshakur.myportfolio.com/ Maya's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bystudiomai/ Tiffany's website: https://www.tiffanygordonstudio.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tgordonstudio/ Nancy's website: https://www.nmillerillustration.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nmillerillustration/ Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone! It is Nancy and Keith on this episode chatting with Kathleen Lynch a NY-based illustrator and art teacher.  To see her work visit: https://www.instagram.com/katnap_illustration/ To see Keith Lee's work: https://www.keithleeillustration.com/ Keith's IG: https://www.instagram.com/keithleeillustration/ Nancy Miller's work: https://www.nmillerillustration.com/ Nancy's IG: https://www.instagram.com/nmillerillustration/ Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone! I have Keith Lee hosting today and the illustrator we talked with is Broly Su, an Atlanta-based illustrator! Great guy! I'm surrounded by award-winning illustrators! Here is more about Broly: Broly Su is an Atlanta-based illustrator and graphic designer, who is currently pursuing an MFA degree in Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, GA. Broly creates most of his work digitally, taking inspiration from the knowledge and beliefs like positivity, integrity, perseverance, and justice that he has absorbed from hip-hop music, graffiti, and street culture throughout the years. Heavily influenced by artists like Keith Haring, Steven Harrington, and Verdy, Broly also works with traditional techniques, such as acrylic, Posca markers, and ballpoint pens, to achieve his bold-lined and graffiti-like style. With a BFA degree in Graphic Design, Broly expands his work in design with strong typography, layout, branding skills. See his work: https://www.brolysu.com/ Instagram: https:/

Hi Everyone! I have Justen here with me today in this interview, and he is such a nice guy! I had to ask him to be on the podcast and share his story. Here is more about Justen.  Character Designer/Vis Dev Children’s book illustrator of “This-MAMA” Game dev behind “Jaeger Automata” Check out his work: jturne31.myportfolio.com https://www.instagram.com/empty_calorillustrations/

Hi Everyone! I am here with Cindy Liu a fellow illustrator and she was kind enough to share her art journey and the ups and downs she has had. I appreciate her honesty and she has beautiful work.  Cindy mentioned the artist that inspired her: Atsumiko Imamura To see Cindy's work or hire her visit: https://cindyliuartworks.com/ Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone! I interviewed Andrew Wiens, Development Director of Guided Discoveries. He answered my questions on the nature of sales and how artists can learn to sell their work to an audience. Great chat! Here is more about Andrew and where you can learn more about Guided Discoveries. Andrew is a former Executive Salesperson, who decided to pursue passion and pivoted to non-profit development. Now it is about helping children experience exceptional STEM education outside the classroom. Lots of experience working within a small business unit where you are expected to wear many hats as well as within a global organization requiring worldwide cooperation. To learn more about Guided Discoveries visit: https://guideddiscoveries.org/

Hi Everyone! I'm really into collaborations these days, and I wanted to share some interviews with people that are doing that in a big way. Allan Meade is the founder of the Concept Factory Atlanta. Here is more about Allan and his company.  Allan is a multi-faceted Entrepreneur and Creative Producer with experience in fiction/non-fiction film development, along with practices in the entertainment and corporate arenas. Allan founded Concept Factory in 2020 and plans to use the startup to provide collaborative spaces for visual storytellers with the goal of creating opportunities to help creatives advance their industry careers. As a Creative Producer & Entrepreneur, Allan is proficient in uniting and leading small and large creative teams, using his skill set and knowledge to help develop stories for the screen, and overseeing a creative startup from start to finish with strong attention to detail, creativity, and originality. Follow Concept Factory at @conceptfactory.us  Thanks for listening

Kim-Hoa Ung was kind enough to speak with me about her experience as a children's book author and illustrator. We met through the connection from the Erin Murphy Literary Agency.  Kim-Hoa spoke about her inspiration for writing and illustrating, and how she persevered to get her debut title A Gift for Nai Nai. published. Here is more about Kim-Hoa. My name is Kim-Hoa and I am a picture book author/illustrator and an amigurumi artist. My two children inspired me to become an author/illustrator. One day while reading, my daughter asked why there weren’t any characters like her. It made me think about how nice it would be for my little girl to be able to identify with a character similar to her. That’s how my dream of publishing a children’s book came about. I hope to achieve that someday and to be able to dedicate it to my little girl and others like her. To see her work visit: https://autumnleafletcom.wordpress.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnleaflet/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AutumnLea

Hi Everyone! Today I interviewed Nabeela Washington the Editor-in-Chief of Lucky Jefferson. Here is more information about the literary journal Lucky Jefferson.  Founded in 2018, Lucky Jefferson is an award-winning literary journal that generates interactive conversations around poetry and art by reforming the way journals are produced and shared. Lucky Jefferson is proud to feature poets and writers who have never been published, marginalized perspectives, and those who sought to pursue writing later in life. We exist to create spaces for those who wish to see themselves represented more boldly in the world; we help those same few build an audience and reimagine joy for their work. You can enjoy our print publications quarterly or four times a year. Here is their website: https://luckyjefferson.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucky_jefferson/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/_luckyjefferson

Hi Everyone! This is Nancy and Keith from My Creative Life, and today we have Allen Zhang a fellow graduate illustration student talking about his concept work. We also sidetracked and talked about the eastern versus western thought process of ideation. That was really interesting and I hope we do another chat in the future about it. Allen recommended looking at the work of Man Ba and Erak.  Warning regarding the images on the site as they are not appropriate for all ages. To view Allen's work visit: https://www.instagram.com/zitong_zhang19/?hl=en https://www.behance.net/zitongzhang1/ Twitter: @ZitongZhang19 To view Keith's work: https://www.instagram.com/keithleeillustration/?hl=en https://www.keithleeillustration.com/ To view my work Nancy So Miller Illustration: https://www.nmillerillustration.com/ https://www.instagram.com/nmillerillustration/ Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone! I have Little Boat a fellow illustrator on this episode. She talks about her aspirations and her background that led her to studying illustration. Here is a link to the artist she mentioned in the interview: https://www.instagram.com/plastiboo/ Leiji_Matsumoto To see her work: https://boat88.myportfolio.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boat.boat_c/ Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone, today I have Gillian Mallory as my co-host on this episode, and we are interviewing Joey Liu a concept designer for film. Joey is a really nice guy and he shared his art journey with us today and how he got started in that field. He shares his plans and goals in his career. Thanks, Joey! To see Joey's work visit  https://www.instagram.com/jo.ey545/ Art Station joey545.artstation.com To see Gillian's work visit https://www.instagram.com/gillian_mallory72/ Thanks for listening!

Hi Everyone! Today we are introducing the My Creative Life Magazine that we are working on as a team. The goal of the print publication is the highlight emerging artists from a variety of cultural identities that are transitioning into art careers. They are new and they are trying to get things started. I feel it is important to share their journey because we have gone through some unprecedented times. I think their stories will resident with those starting out.  Here are the links to the  MCL Arts Instagram Keith Lee Illustration Gillian Mallory Painter Nancy So Miller Illustration Thanks for listening!