Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess Lyle
Hi Jess, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Ever since I was a kid I knew I wanted to be an artist. I had this vague dream of being a painter and living in Paris, as I thought that is what being an artist meant. It wasn’t until I reached middle and high school that I realized there is more to being an artist than painting under the Eiffel Tower. I discovered illustration and decided that is what I was born to do.
I started out making fan art drawings of my favorite shows and animes (as every 13 year old nerd does) and moved on to discovering my own voice in my art. I was able to practice a lot of different techniques in high school thanks to some amazing teachers and ended up at the Fashion Institute of Technology studying illustration, which has been such a formative experience.
I’ve tried out as many different kinds of illustration as I could over my college years. Tattoo design, children’s books, editorial, visual development, pretty much everything. There are things I love about all of these fields and I am not sure I would be able to choose just one that I want to focus my entire career on. What I do know is that I love telling stories with my drawings. Practicing all these different kinds of illustration has taught me a lot about visual storytelling and no matter what I do in the future I would love to be able to keep sharing my stories.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The process of becoming an illustrator is not a very traditional career path. There are of course road blocks along the way, but I have taught myself to be grateful for every encounter, good and bad.
A big problem for me when I was starting out is that there is no roadmap for this industry. It’s not the kind of career where you get your degree, do some internships, and apply to full time jobs. There are very rarely full time jobs at all. I was lost for a while because I didn’t have anyone to tell me how the industry works and so I spent a few years at a liberal arts college trying to figure it all out. When I finally grasped it was when I started attending school for illustration. Being able to network and talk to people in the industry was essential for me to understand what I was getting myself into. Even though those couple years “set me back”, I still feel grateful for the time I was given to learn and improve myself.
I still feel nervous about what the future holds and I know that I will face many challenges entering what is a competitive and sometimes underpaid industry, but I try to put on a brave face and keep moving forward.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an illustrator who loves to tell stories with my drawings! As I have mentioned I have tried my hand at many different kinds of illustration, but the core of all of them is that I want to tell stories that make people feel something. I think that we could always use more joy in our lives so I would say I specialize in making drawings that are full of fun and whimsy.
I adore the fantasy world and I think that it truly comes to life in illustration. I love mythical creatures, witches and wizards, epic fantasy scenes and magic, so these are things you can often find in my work, whether I’m working on a children’s book, video game concepts, zines, or anything else.
Overall, I am the most proud of my growth as an artist and as a person. I look back on work from only a few years ago, and marvel at how far I’ve come. There is no better feeling than finishing a piece of artwork and recognizing how every piece that came before it was a building block to make you the best version of yourself.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Having people to guide me was extremely important for my practice. I would recommend going to school to study art if it is something you’re interested in, as my professors have been the best guidance I could have asked for, but I also know that college isn’t for everyone.
In terms of illustrators, I would say that we are generally nice people! I have cold-emailed many illustrators and gotten great feedback on my work and lots of good advice for working in the industry. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people, the worst that could happen is just not getting a response. And if you live near any kind of art community, attend events! I have met a lot of awesome illustrators, designers, and publishers just from going to gallery openings, award shows, and book talks and it feels so empowering to be surrounded with the people who do the job you want.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jesslyle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesslyleart/
Image Credits
Jess Lyle
