We recently connected with Chad Blakely and have shared our conversation below.
Chad , so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?
I am a full time teacher, so at the end of the day, my energy tank is empty! However, I am also a professional artist who often has commissions to work on a different deadlines to meet! I have come up with a few different ways to deal with making time to work. One is I work when I can, stealing a moment or two to sit down with my students and work on my projects, as they work on theirs. I enjoy this because nine times outta ten, my students inquire about what I am working on and we talk about the process of being hired as an artist. This gives them a real life idea of what a working artist does and the creative process behind work-for-hire art. I also set goals for myself, writing on a whiteboard in my studio of projects I have on deck and weekly goals for each of them. Nothing more satisfying than erasing a goal after you achieve it!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
All my life I have been obsessed with comic books! Reading them, collecting them, and creating them. Over the years, I have honed my comic book illustrating techniques and style, to a point now, people recognize my work without my name being attached. This visual branding has helped me land many professional gigs; a person or a business needs a comic book type illustration, they come to me! However, it is also important to constantly challenge yourself and not get stagnant, creating the same kind of art over and over. Trying new techniques a d approaches and then bringing them into you style, helps you grow as an artist. The last bit of branding that is most important, is being known for being reliable. Clients can tell you many stories of flakey artists who don’t follow through and can’t meet deadlines. However, if you have a reputation of being reliable and deadline sensitive, clients will sing your praises to colleagues looking for an artist to work with.
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?
The first skill that I learned in college was, be able to take criticism! If a client askes you to change or tweak a piece of art or graphic illustration you doing for them, don’t take it personal. It may feel like an attack on you and your hard work, but often times their input is valid and comes from a constructive place. The second skill that has served me well is, find a support system. It is so east as an artist to work in a vacuum and feel like you are going at it alone. Creating art is a solitary practice. However, it is important to seek out other artists in your community. Someone you can commiserate with, get fresh ideas from, and in turn show support to! Every artist I have met is insecure about some aspect of their work, its nice to know others feel the same way!
The third skill that is the most challenging, trying something new! We get comfortable in our medium, style, Subject matter, etc; and this comfort can stiffle our growth. I have been a 2-D, paper and pencil or canvas and paint artist my whole life. And I never really had much commercial success as a professional artist. About 10 years ago, I bought a Wacom Cintiq tablet and taught myself, with the help of YouTube, how to create art digitally. Since tackling this new medium, my success as an artist has grown exponentially every year! If I stayed stuck in my rut, I wouldn’t have grown and become so successful!
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I feel overwhelmed, I like to make a “punch list” of goals I will need to meet to complete a project. When I break it down into smaller chunks, the less daunting the task seems. I am currently working on TWO large scale murals locally. So, I scheduled my time between the two, and have set small, realistic goals to help me complete them and not get buried under the huge task at hand!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.blakely737.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/blakely737?igshid=NGExMmI2YTkyZg==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090230534944&mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/blakely737
- Other: https://www.teepublic.com/user/blakely737
Image Credits
Chad Blakely