Check Out Leah S. Metters’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah S. Metters.

Hi Leah S., thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I wanted to be a lion growing up. I drew comics about lions and made short stories about lions. I even wrote child plays about lions. Eventually, I settled for the next best thing, being a visual storyteller! I knew that I wanted to tell stories with pictures, not just about lions, but everything that came into my silly imagination!

The journey was not easy, as I had a father who strongly believed the world of visual storytelling was not for Black people, especially a black female. But I powered through it like a screaming shōnen protagonist and went on my own Hero’s Journey. The “zone of comfort” being my love of art and storytelling. My stories and characters consumed my mind and I wanted to tell stories about these fantastic heroes. Thus, entering “the unfamiliar situation” in my hero’s journey called California State University Fullerton, despite my father’s many, MANY protests. The trials of juggling five studio art classes at once were faced! I rode the hour long metro link back and forth to school for four years towards my goal! FINALLY, I got the degree in Illustration and Entertainment Art I wanted and then “paid the heavy price” in the form of a dastardly beast known as student loans!!! And now, here I am, “having changed” from the tiny girl who wanted to be a lion, to the Schoolism Scholarship Award-winning and Children’s Book Illustrator NRCL winner that I am. Finally ready to present my whimsical stories to the world with my literary agent Natalie M. Lakosil by my side! And that is just the summary of my Hero’s Journey. My story only gets larger from here as I grow as a writer and an artist, and I can not wait to see where it goes!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest obstacle in my journey was my father. He used to spank and yell at me whenever he saw me draw anything. I can look back on it and laugh now because he is so supportive of my career now. Sometime in 2001, a little show called The Proud Family came out featuring a little black girl as its protagonist and my father finally became supportive. He saw how I could be a change to the industry much like Bruce W. Smith and Floyd Norman. That is exactly what I plan to do! My goal is to tell life-changing stories featuring many characters of multiple ethnic backgrounds and cultures!

This way, little black girls like me won’t have to question whether being an artist is something they can do. There will be a surplus of stories that feature people who look like them! As for school, college was only difficult due to the commute. I had to wake up at 3:am in the morning, leave the house by 4am with my mom, drive to the metrolink station which took about 30 minutes. Then catch the metrolink and ride it to school for an 1 hour. BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE! Once off the metrolink, I had to catch a 30 minute bus to college. Phew~ Then I could relax and focus on my classes until I had to do it all in reverse to get back home. It was very tiring and the commute made it impossible to really participate in any school activities (Bus and train schedules got in the way). I could not participate in any coffee house draw-ins so I formed a small group of artists near my area that would meet every other Sunday to draw at dog parks or a Starbucks.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I do illustration and visual development which is just another way to say concept art which is just another way to say “telling stories with art”. For me, it’s not enough for something to be visually appealing, there has to be a story. Want to draw a character? Who is he? What is he thinking? What is he feeling in this one picture? How can I capture a mood? Who is doing what, and where, and why? The work that I am most proud of is a small piece I drew for Storyteller Academy called Fabulous Frank. This piece encapsulates everything that I am about as an artist. It tells a very simple story about a boy who is unashamed to wear a skirt that he just looks FAB-U-LOUS in. It has a mood of funk. I feeling of power. A story with very little and yet it says so much.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory would have to be seeing the Lion King for the first time. It did not start my love for lions (A little lion plushie by the name of Curly did that) but it did make it grow. Awkwardly enough before seeing that movie, I was not really aware that my parents would ever die or leave me someday. My dad and I had a long emotional discussion about it when I was six that apparently resulted in him quitting his second job so he can spend more time with the family. Even though I barely remember the discussion, I still remember the massive amount of glee I felt when I found out that my dad would be home all day now and only be away at night.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://leaohness.portfoliobox.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leaohness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeaohnessArt
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/leaohness
• Other: https://leaohness.tumblr.com/

Image Credits
Fanart of the Proud Family