Conversations with Janky Dood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Janky Dood.

So excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil. When I got older, I knew I wanted to live a creative life even if it wasn’t “practical”. Conveniently right before the pandemic, I had discovered my art style while doodling on a napkin at a cafe I worked at. Once the pandemic hit, I lost my job and had a lot of time on my hands. This led me to starting Janky Dood. For a while, it was a balance of working a “day job” while doing my art on the side. Thankfully after a lot of hard work, I’ve been able to turn this dream into my full-time gig.

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?
I think I’d be lying if I said it’s been a smooth road. I still consider myself in the beginning of my art career; however, in the very beginning, I worked some pretty gnarly jobs in order to make ends meet while pursuing this. Working on your craft on top of being exhausted from your main “money making” job is really tough. A lot of 12-hour days.

There’s also a huge learning curve. It’s not just making art, it’s also learning how to run a business. In the beginning, you’re wearing all of the hats and just trying your best to navigate this thing you’re pursuing with no roadmap.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My real name is Amanda, but my alias is Janky Dood. My main character that I draw is Janky Dood, and she is me. Most of my drawings are “self-portraits”. I’ve started to branch out to other characters though. I think many of my characters hold different facets of my personality. A few words I would use to describe my illustrations are unamused, simple, and humorous. I enjoy finding humor in the mundanities of life.

Lately, I seem to be known for my commissions of girls and their dogs. I’m kind of surprised people enjoy the unamused looks I put on all my characters and that they want portraits of themselves looking like that! I’m very grateful I get to do so many.

I think what I’m most proud of currently is that I’ve been able to turn my art into a career and way of life. As time goes on, I fall deeper and deeper into this life path, and there is no turning back. I’ve gotten so used to the instability and being uncomfortable that I’m now oddly comfortable and excited to see what’s in store for the future.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Email is always best. My email is [email protected]. Always feel free to reach out, even if it’s just to say hey!

I have an online shop/portfolio on my website, jankydood.com.

I also have an Instagram and TikTok, @janky_dood- the support is greatly appreciated!

Contact Info:

• Website: jankydood.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janky_dood/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janky_dood