Conversations with Stephanie Brown-Young

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Brown-Young

Hi Stephanie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
So I went through the Like a lot of artists in the beginning, I was one of those kids always doodling on line paper that I’d toss into a ripped-off binder folder. I wanted to be a million and 7 things before I settled on being an artist, which goes all the way from a marine biologist to President Cinderella (Brandy’s Cinderella altered my brain chemistry). Time went on and I kept trying to learn how art worked by watching Inuyasha on repeat and trying to teach myself how to draw. I would play Kingdom Hearts and write fanfics about the fan characters I designed. It started out as just a hobby. I never really saw it going anywhere. I finally started writing my stories once I got into high school and everything changed. I saw just how much art meant to me and thought I could really do it. I worked and I worked, I studied, doubted myself, and compared myself to other artists. The whole bag! I found my voice as an artist, or at least the start of it. I found what I loved and kept chasing it. I’m still working towards it now but I’m further than I’ve ever been before.

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?
What’s that cheesy old saying? Nothing worth having is ever easy? Something like that! It wasn’t a smooth ride, I hit a couple of forks and bumps. I lost a lot of people getting to where I am today. My family was a big support system. Some moved away but, most ended up passing away. I really had to adjust to life without those faces and voices that had guided me through my childhood. It took a toll on me. I dove into my work to take me away from everything that was happening around me. Luckily that worked for a short time. We lost our home during the pandemic and after that, I had to really hammer down where I wanted my life to go. Whether that was staying in St. Louis, committing to teaching English in Japan, or applying to school and seeing what happened. For a few months, my life was just a “Maybe?” “What if?” and it was scary. I didn’t know where I was gonna end up. Throughout the entire process, I never stopped drawing and working to improve my craft. I feel like it was a driving factor that kept me going.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I. Love. Comics. I love storytelling! Bringing characters to life! It’s what makes my job fun. In the last 4 years, I fell in love with the comics practice and telling my own stories. When it comes to art? I think I’m most known for my expressions and color choices. I’m a very expressive person and that really feeds into my artwork.  Which leads to our next question, what am I most proud of? At the moment, my senior thesis. We were able to do an original story for our senior comics and I chose to do a small snippet of my own comic series When Branded: Night at The Circus. Our page recruitment was 10, and I did 23 pages. I always knew it was possible, but attending SVA and having the chance to do a full comic on my own REALLY opened my eyes. When it comes to my stories and characters, I like having serious narratives that expose my character’s weaknesses and fears. With that in mind, they have stable support systems in each other. The themes of the stories may be heavy but, the tone is lighthearted and would leave the reader connecting more with the cast.

What’s next?
I recently planned out each issue of my comic series! I plan on following up on Night at the Circus with part two before I move on to the main series. With all that, I did my first freelance job a few months back and had some other publishers who were interested in working with me- but said I needed an agent. So I’m on the hunt for one right now! Things really haven’t stopped moving since graduating this past May, I’m excited to keep working and meeting new people. Recent changes though? I started a new job at SVA as an admissions counselor. I’m on the road meeting young artists sharing my experience and helping them start theirs. It’s a busy job, but I love what we’re doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.behance.net/stephanbrown-y1
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bubaquirk/

Image Credits
All owned by me!