Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria C. Geis.
Victoria, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Born Oct. 4th, 1995 in San Pedro, CA. Daughter of Sergeant First Class, National Guard father and Mexican immigrant (got citizenship later on in life). Grew up in San Pedro, half school life in Palos Verdes, half in San Pedro. PV school had a once monthly art program that gave me some exposure to art. During this time, I drew on my own and was self-taught. I painted scale models as well with my father. Entering and winning many competitions. Sometime in middle school, I decided I wanted to become an artist in some form as a career path.
During my middle school years, my father went on activity duty and went overseas to Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The painting supplies for the scale models were put away and my skills for drawing started to grow. High school was the same in terms of art. Took freshman and senior art classes, junior and senior photoshop classes. In my senior year of high school, I took some art college classes at night to get more art in my life as well as get some college credit. Once I graduated high school, I went straight to community college where I took all my GE and art classes. It was all the basic art stuff like drawing, painting, history, 2/3 dimensional. Community college is where I felt like my art started to make better progress and to expand.
I felt like I learned so many new things in terms of technique, history, etc. So my appreciation for the arts deepened. After CC, I went to CSULB as a transfer where I decided to aim for the Illustration track. Entering into CSULB, was quite a rough trip cause the school and classes were much harder and more demanding. Became an intern and then art gallery assistant at Midnight Gallery, Long Beach, CA. This year in 2020, I graduated with a BFA in Illustration and a Minor in Art History.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Low-income family, so no professional help or art taught classes. Father going overseas during my middle school years, so painting was hard to do cause of emotional attachment. Dyslexia became challenging at times, so written instruction was quite hard on me. Extended family having doubts about major choices in college.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
What I do:
– Illustration
– Storyboard
– Character design
– Concept art
– Painting
– Crafts/building
Specialize in:
– Illustration
– Concept art
– Building and painting scale models
Known:
– Scale models
– Cartoonsim
– Punctuality of finished art pieces
Most proud of:
– Multiple art styles
– Cute artwork
– Color choice
– Producing multiple pieces of artwork
Set me apart:
– Making scale models
– Multiple art styles
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
– Love of cartoons and animated films
– Love of soft, pastel colors
– Love of simple, cute designs
– Good and happy vibes
– Optimistic views on life
– Friendly and understanding
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artstation.com/victoriacgeis
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriac.geis/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-geis-752496166/
Image Credit:
Profile picture taken by Cornell Wheeler
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