We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carissa Renard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Carissa, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
I’d say my optimism comes from finding joy in the little moments of life. Focusing 100% of my energy on the things I can control and leaving the test alone so my mind isn’t occupied or stressed with things that aren’t up to me.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Hi my name is Carissa and I’m a character designer and illustrator. I’ve worked on several freelance animation projects over the years and developed my art style.
I also have an Etsy shop where I sell prints and stickers and have started tabling at local conventions in their artist alley.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I would say that learning the fundamentals of drawing from schools like concept design academy in Pasadena were really helpful for my artistic development. The people I met and the skills I learned in those classes were paramount to me perfecting my draftsmanship and techniques.
Traveling is also important in that gives me more inspiration and ideas from the people and places I see around the world.
And the last thing I would say would be to find groups and communities of like minded artists that are on the same step of their journey as you are. Having a group to share and critique your work with is incredibly helpful to your artistic development
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I’m in the early (very early) planning stages of making an animated short. I’ve got the characters, the props, and the animation accounted for but I would maybe need some help with the storyboards, backgrounds, color script, and soundtrack.
If anybody would like to work on this spec project with me you can email me at carissarenard@gmail.com or message me on instagram at @artofcarissa
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carissarenard.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofcarissa/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf&trkInfo=AQEugLo0ySoUowAAAZHZp8rQK1SRsvnrsICy_IoHPKRQ0L7qPea-MqVSi3KP7auFCpkHJCvs5hFpbIXTxkeToUVFhGgF0s169s7Q5WiHrYz7zTG1Pn3HL05sVf5I0MdQdDy-nb4=&original_referer=&sessionRedirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fcarissa-renard-7a446759%2F
- Other: https://cara.app/artofcarissa
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
