Meet Elliot Lang

We were lucky to catch up with Elliot Lang recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elliot, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I still think a lot about impostor syndrome as I navigate my creative career. For me, the first step is to simply make something. Make a drawing, or several, work it out on the page. Create! Confidence does not come from a vacuum, it is built through action and practice. The swimmer in a race has the confidence to go off the block because they practiced that thing over and over. The question of whether or not you belong in a situation starts to dissipate when you have done the work.

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?

I have been working as an illustrator for 20 years, in a wide range of industries. The most exciting thing I get to do is make custom, narrative art for a living. What I would like people to know about my artwork is that it tells a story through character. My professional work focus is on cover and interior book illustrations, and recently, a lot more tabletop gaming illustrations. I am eager to share that work this year as it launches.

I just wrapped up the second annual Character in Context show that I curate at the A.R. Mitchell Museum in Trinidad, Colorado. It is the largest exhibition of original illustration in the Western United States by living artists, with work available for purchase. I am so excited to see the art on the walls and it is so comprehensive in its scope. It runs through July and you can see a lot of the work online at armitchellmuseum.com/store/character-in-context-2025

Looking ahead, I am excited at the opportunity to make larger artworks for interior spaces such as restaurants, apartment complexes, offices and the like. I have long been inspired by illustrators like Dean Cornwell and Allen True (whose illustrative murals live in the Brown Palace here in Denver), and the prospect of creating custom illustration that spans 10-20 feet wide with characters or environments of my own making is really exciting. I am seeking those people and businesses that want to make a statement with original art installed in their space to engage a wide audience and new clients, and stand out in a beautiful way.

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?

When I think back of my formative training as an illustrator, and generally being an artist, the three qualities that encompass both my professional career and creative development are:

1) keep going – keep drawing, don’t stop, its ok to make mistakes, always move forward. This is true in art and it is true in business, take steps forward. Keep going and be patient.

2) get reference – look at life, take pictures, look at how other artists in the past creatively problem-solved.

3) Keep learning – in every instance, take the path to learning. Never settle with your current circumstances of knowledge, and refuse to let others tell you that you know enough. Inspiration comes from many places, and it can be from reading about a subject you knew nothing about.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

I have had the benefit and fortune of working with clients from around the world, and in very different industries, but they all relate to each other with an end product being an engaging illustration. My ideal client knows that they are investing in something unique and original, and they trust in the creation of original artwork by hand. The client knows me or my work, and will either let the source material inform what I create, or boldly trust me to make something we both love. That ‘ideal client’ exists, and knows that I am easy to collaborate with to ensure the final art is something remarkable.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Artwork copyright Elliot Lang and Elliot Lang Illustration, LLC

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