Today we’d like to introduce you to Jane Walker.
Hi Jane, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a 22-year-old originally from Oklahoma City. I’ve always loved to draw, and from an early age, I knew I wanted to create as long as I could. Being homeschooled, I was encouraged to follow my passions and was given the space and time to practice my craft. So, through the power of hard work, pursuing my dreams & networking, I’ve been afforded some amazing opportunities. From working in the Indie Animation scene to gig work at Nickelodeon, I’ve crossed some things off of my “in my wildest dreams” bucket list. While that’s all fun and fancy, I’ve always been a storyteller at heart, and my biggest goals and dreams pertain to putting my own stories out there. During the pandemic I created two comics; a children’s horror comedy called “Mystery Meat” and a short Valentine’s Day comic, ‘Mismatched’, about a washed-up-child-star take on Cupid. Since then, I’ve been developing a bigger project and have found success creating animated short-form content for TikTok and Instagram.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It certainly hasn’t been easy. Creative differences and stress from the pandemic have put spanners in the works left and right. Even now I am struggling with my mental health, so that’s been a journey all on its own. There’s been a profound sense of “now what?” for the last year or so, and while I have projects on the back burner, it’s difficult to find the drive or enthusiasm I had before. It’s hard not to become jaded or lose trust after the upheaval we’ve all been living through, but I’m trying to find my way, and I have a stubborn belief that I am meant to.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Generally speaking, I’m a cartoonist. I have been fortunate enough to get work in areas that make my brain tick, like character design and layout (the fancy term for ‘person who draws backgrounds’). I’ve done extensive work in the Indie Animation scene on YouTube and more recently gotten to do work on SpongeBob.
However, I take most pride in my original work. I am very grateful for the following I’ve built up over the years on Instagram. The internet is a place that I can express myself and share my character without the stress of pleasing bosses. I put a lot of love into my comics and pieces that I post, and I spend a lot of time dreaming up different bizarre little creatures.
At the moment though, I’ve been slowing down a lot to regain my bearings. It’s easy to get wrapped up in things that ultimately don’t matter, like self-inflicted high expectations that can snuff out your creativity. I’ve been taking my time to really reassess what I want out of this life and enjoying myself in the present rather than stressing over imagined futures. Life has a lot more to offer than social media.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love Los Angeles because to me, it offers personal freedom. I’m suddenly in a world where I could pivot and be anyone or anything, and that’s exciting to me. Having come from a very isolated living situation, it’s a breath of fresh air to be around other living, breathing humans. Making friends has been hugely beneficial to me and made my world a little brighter.
I could live without the gas prices and taxes. I’ve had a few unfair run-ins with parking meters for sure. There are definitely some Characters who live around here, but I’m now the kind of person to pack up and leave if someone is treating me unkindly. You just have to pay attention to people’s attitudes because sometimes it can be subtle.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://janewalkerart.wixsite.com/janegumball
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/janegumball?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-walker-29a7b2175/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneGumball?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6gdskKGoZzBA931QI2G-gQ
