Today we’d like to introduce you to Gen Wolfe.
Gen, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up, I always enjoyed drawing and taking art classes. I was always known as “the art kid” all throughout grade school.
After high school, I attended the University of South Florida and got a more traditional BFA. Unfortunately for me, the art department at USF didn’t have the resources to give me the knowledge I needed to land a job in animation. My boyfriend at the time (now my fiancé) still had a year of college, so in that time I studied art on my own and worked on my portfolio.
In order to financially support myself during this time, I got a job as a high school digital arts teacher but really didn’t enjoy it. I learned I liked teaching, but not in a school setting that required me to discipline students. and force them to learn things they didn’t care about. I think I was able to help a few students during my time there, but I ultimately decided to leave the job after eight months.
After teaching, I took a job at a Blick art store. Although it was retail, I actually remember my time there fondly. The team we had was great, and I got to learn about art materials I never would have used. I was even able to do some store demos for acrylic pouring and watercolor. When I finally had to leave that job to pursue my goals, my boss was very supportive and understanding.
Working part-time gave me the chance to focus on my portfolio. I used free resources available on YouTube and also did the self-directed subscription to Schoolism. I watched SO many videos and drew along with them as well. I filled some sketchbooks and got my website together. By the time September 2019 rolled around, I attended Lightbox Expo to get my work reviewed by industry pros. I took notes, asked questions, and reworked my entire portfolio again before moving out to LA in February of 2020.
The pandemic started only a few weeks after we moved here, but I was still fortunate enough to be offered my first character design job on Final Space season 3. To this day, I still thank DVO (Devin Roth) for reaching out to me over Instagram to offer me a chance to test for the show. He’s an amazing art director and taught me so much.
Since then, I’ve been working consistently, hopping from project to project. My more notable jobs have been on: Final Space, Duncanville, Gimsburg, and Rick and Morty. Currently, I’m a full-time prop designer on Rick and Morty, and it’s been a great time!
I’ve learned a lot from the shows I’ve been on, and have gotten to design characters, props and do color work as well. I hope to continue improving my skills to one day be a lead designer and maybe even an art director.
Aside from my work in the industry, I’m also very proud of the artist meetup group I helped start with Marshall Hall. We started Sketchtoonz almost by accident. Just by telling people on Instagram that we’ll be drawing in the park, the group was born. Our first more “official” meetup brought in about 20 people. In the almost 2 years we’ve been around, the group has grown just by word of mouth.
Currently, the main host of the group is me, but I’ve gathered a group of amazing people to help put together other events to give us artists reasons to leave our caves lol. Through our Discord server, we arrange meetups at parks, bars, the zoo, museums, and more.
Our community wouldn’t be the same without these lovely people.
Fernando Caire
Nikki Goldberg
Stella Fiorello
Ellie Reis
Jack Frischer
Alex Untoria
Ed Gaskew
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Having to teach myself what I needed to know to get the job I wanted because college just wasn’t even close to enough.
Organizing and saving money for a cross-country move to a big city where you only know two people.
Making the move only to then be trapped inside by a pandemic.
For a while, it felt like the obstacles just kept getting bigger and were happening one right after another. It was so stressful, and it took me so long to learn how to enjoy hobbies and relax. Even now, I still feel like I’m working on it. Like many others, I also struggle with mental illness but have finally been able to address it properly. I’ve also built a strong support network, and can confidently say I’m really happy with where I am right now.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a character and prop designer for TV animation. I’ve mainly worked on shows that target an adult audience, but my style ranges all over the place. I’ve been told I’m very versatile since I can do both character and prop design, and I’m able to adapt to different show styles.
For my personal work, I love drawing food characters and silly expressions. Lately, I’ve also gotten into playing games on old handheld devices, so I’ve been inspired to do fanart for those games.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I want to get more into selling prints and stickers, so please follow my Instagram. @the.sketch
I also have a storefront on TeePublic for made to order shirts.
You can also check out my portfolio at genwolfe.com or reach out to me by email, [email protected].
Contact Info:
- Website: https://genwolfe.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.sketch/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gen-wolfe-bb0118190
- Other: https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-sketch
Image Credits
Personal Photo by Brent Noll
