Meet Fee Brandt

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Fee Brandt. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Fee below.

Hi Fee, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?

I like to work on multiple projects simultaneously because it allows me to switch between tasks whenever I feel unmotivated, burnt out, or stuck on one. This approach lets me pause a challenging project and shift to another that might involve a different story or medium. When I return to the original project, I can approach it with fresh eyes, new ideas, and renewed motivation.

If I encounter creative blocks across all projects, I turn to professional educational workshops for guidance. Monthly, weekly, or daily workshops and classes at institutions like the Art Students League or SVA Continuing Education have proven particularly beneficial.

Additionally, it’s crucial to nourish both my inner and outer sources of inspiration. I enrich my inner world through self-reflection, questioning, doodling, and documenting random thoughts and ideas. Meanwhile, I curate my outer world by engaging with life—observing my surroundings, meeting new people, exploring the city, and connecting with nature. If my internal source of inspiration dwindles, I seek external experiences to replenish it, and vice versa.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Hello! I’m Fée Brandt, based in New York, creating children’s book illustrations and stories while freelancing in design and storyboarding. My journey is is a colorful blend of cultures and artistic experiences. From being a German citizen in France to a Chinese upbringing, I draw inspiration from diverse contexts.

Currently, I’m working on two picture books and a middle-grade graphic novel, blending magical creatures with cherished childhood memories. Alongside my literary projects, I support my passion by designing and developing storyboards for children’s media and family-friendly advertisements.

This dual focus not only fuels my creative passion but also sustains my financial needs, allowing me to dedicate myself to bringing imaginative stories to life.

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?

Three skills that have been most impactful in my journey are visual storytelling, time management, and people-oriented networking:

Visual Storytelling: Storytelling is central to everything from art to business. Mastering the skill of guiding an audience through a journey, evoking the emotions you’ve carefully crafted, is crucial. A strong suggestion for those looking to strengthen or develop their storytelling skills is to start telling stories with your visuals. As children, we all drew pictures full of stories. I recommend, whether you’re in the creative industry or not, going back to sketching or doodling your stories on paper can significantly enhance your storytelling abilities.

Time Management: I had to learn it the hard way, especially once I was out of school when life feels like a big, blank canvas. It can be daunting to start, and time management is about pushing yourself to carve out moments for your passion amid everything else in life. I suggest figuring out the following about yourself: “When do you ideate best?” “When do you create and craft most effectively?” and “When are you best suited for mundane tasks like administrative duties, life management, and replying to emails?” This strategy can help you maximize productivity by aligning tasks with your optimal working times.

People-Oriented Networking: I’m not just talking about networking in the traditional sense of securing a job. While that’s important, I mean genuinely making friends and learning from others. Understanding someone’s journey can help you navigate your own career path. The world is filled with people skilled in areas you might know nothing about; learning from them can broaden your source of inspiration and potentially lead to collaborative opportunities.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

The most impactful thing my parents did was encouraging me to travel from a young age. I’ve journeyed around the world, absorbing countless historical, natural, urban, and cultural experiences. All of these have greatly inspired my work and are reflected in my creations.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Image all credit to Fée Brandt

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