Meet Melody Pope

We recently connected with Melody Pope and have shared our conversation below.

Melody, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I believe life is a process of reinventing a purpose and simultaneous purposelessness, over and over again. I’ve never had any grand meaning to exist – I am like nature, I simply exist to exist and that is more than enough. I used to believe I needed something greater to justify my being, like I owed rent on this life and had to pay it with noble causes – everyone around me wanted an “underdog, little girl from a rough background rising above to great things” story, and to myself I believe I’m living that but probably in unexpected ways. I am pursuing happiness, contentment, inner growth, healing for myself and the people watching me – the purpose for me became harmony, it became living in authenticity and joy. All of the career opportunities, creative projects, manifestations, connections, and true beauty of life, it all came to me when I stopped trying to hunt it down and simply accepted being here as the gift and the greatest purpose of all.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I have been a glamour, art, and commercial model for four, going on five years now. On the side I’ve also made a little bit of a name for myself as a fantasy artist and costume creator, specializing in surreal digital paintings and wearable angel wings.

I have modeled for photographers of all experience levels as well as startup and small businesses like Josie Fox Couture, non-profits and charities likes Babes & Big Rigs, larger businesses and clients like 1-800-Flowers, and more. I recently landed my first SAG-AFTRA eligible voice acting role in Aaron Joshua Davis’ upcoming animated film Lovebugs, and look forward to cultivating and growing my acting and voice acting skillsets alongside my modeling career and small painting/angel wing crafting gigs.

I am always honored to be trusted as a model or artist on someone’s creative project and I love the challenge that comes with every day being something different. I think there’s just something really great about being able to say I started my day onset at 5am doing work for a makeup brand and ended the day at 11pm wearing black angel wings and pretending to scream, cry, dance, and emote in an abandoned building during a photography tour. I pride myself and my self-built brand on adaptability, professionalism, ambition, individuality, and the message that you can be successful all while being yourself and not conforming to cookie cutter molds.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I believe the three most important qualities I posses as a model, and as a creative or professional in general, are empathy, ambition, and passion. Any form of modeling is a difficult and demanding career path and not all glitz, glamour, and big dollars like a lot of people believe – without truly fiery, borderline-obsessive passion, most people probably won’t want to model for long, and that lack of passion will always show in photographs. I believe I am good at what I do because I am deeply passionate about it, which fuels my ambition. That ambition and drive to always do and be better than what I was yesterday is a key factor, I believe, in my success. Modeling is so important to me because it is a part of me and my entire future and present depends on it so heavily, and I believe that shines through in my work. The most important quality though is absolutely empathy – compassion, courtesy, and kindness all go hand in hand here, but it all comes down to empathy and considering the other people I work with, acting as a creative team and caring about their needs both professionally and just simply as human beings. A kindhearted, courteous creative will always go farther in the end.

My advice for people just starting out in a similar path is to always be courteous. Kindness, humility, and compassion for the people around you will get you in a lot more doors than trying to exude the “confidence” of a diva who doesn’t care about anybody but themselves.
Be willing to put in the work – there is a lot of work to be done. You have to love it, because it won’t always be instantly gratifying and it won’t always be easy or pretty.
Be willing to learn and grow – you should always be learning new things and growing your skills. Anyone who claims they’re “the best” probably isn’t worth working with at all. Never stop growing, always keep your humility.
And one final bit of advice I’d offer someone just starting out is to gain business sense. The successful models you see around you are also successful businesswomen – as a model you are your own business and brand, and you have to know how to run your business or you’re not going to see great results. Study people more successful than you, read often, watch videos of people doing the things you want to do, listen to the advice they give you and learn what advice to discard.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always open to new paid and selective collaborative projects with other creatives. I don’t care what your experience level is or how new you are to the game, I care what your portfolio looks like and how creative you are, what you want to create together, and how you work with others. My ideal creative partners are kind humans, strong collaborators, and thoughtful artists. Even if we can’t benefit each other with a collaboration at the present time, I also offer reasonable, flexible rates for all types of paid projects.

I want to hear from you if you are a photographer, videographer, makeup artist, hair stylist, designer, business looking to demo or promote their products and in need of a model (I love collaborating with new startups and small businesses), or otherwise person with a cool idea I can help you with. As I begin my acting and voice acting journey I am also very interested in collaborating with people looking to create movies, commercials, music videos, TV shows, apps, websites, and videogames where you might need a model, actress, or voice actor.

I pride myself on my professionalism but I also strive to create a welcoming, warm environment for my creative teams – I want you to have fun when you’re creating with me, all while producing exceptional results.

Additionally, I want to hear from you if you are someone in need of a painting commission – memorial portraits, Dungeons and Dragons character art, pet portraits, you name it – or a pair of custom angel wings for your next project.

And if you’re just a fellow art kid turned eccentric adult, maybe also with social anxiety, maybe also a cat mom, or also a type 1 diabetic – come say hello anytime.

You can reach out to me via email at [email protected]
You can also direct message me via Facebook at facebook.com/melody.pope.5 or Instagram at instagram.com/melody.pope.x

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Alana Reihl

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