Today we’d like to introduce you to Napkin Killa.
Hello Napkin Killa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
My mom’s family immigrated to Boyle Heights in the early 1900’s. My pops grew up in the UK, building hot rods & listening to The Beach Boys. This love of Cali culture eventually brought him out west, and he ended up in Van Nuys – the home of cruising. My mom grew up in Silverlake and has dedicated her life to the arts, especially bringing arts programs to kids in underserved communities of LA.
I grew up mainly around El Valle, aka The Great-One-Eight, but also, around the westside & Echo Park. I was very immersed in LA’s underground hip-hop & graffiti community. I graduated from CalArts with a BFA in Character Animation. I started working in advertising, mainly on cartoon commercials like the Red Bull spots. Despite being a proud Angeleno, I always revered NYC culture, so I moved to Brooklyn. My sister and best friend since middle school had relocated there already, so I was drawn east.
I always enjoyed doing observational drawings of strangers in candid moments, like on the subway. My artist friends and I would regularly get drinks and draw funny doodles of each other. In an effort to be creative and social after my unfulfilling advertising job, I started an after-work routine of drawing at my local dive bars. Cute girls would notice and ask me to draw them, so of course this became a regular hobby. I thought it would be funny to start a joke Instagram account of my napkin doodles. I thought of the name as I was killing the bar’s napkin supply and began the account in July 2014. At first, I was mainly an anonymous assassin – drawing unsuspecting bar patrons, then leaving the drawings behind for them to find after I disappeared in a poof of smoke.
There was local buzz after a few months, so a local Brooklyn blog posted a story about Napkin Killa. This story caught the eye of Stella Bugbee, Editorial Director of New York Magazine’s fashion vertical – The Cut. She reached out to me to draw at NY Fashion Week parties & runway shows. I was flabbergasted that someone wanted to pay me to draw on napkins when I had no intention of monetizing Napkin Killa. That exposure made napkin portraits a hot commodity in the fashion world. I soon quit my day job in advertising, and my silly napkin doodles accidentally became my new career.
Now, I’m on year 10 of drawing napkin portraits at corporate, celebrity, and private events worldwide. I do other types of art like murals, animation, illustration, painting, and wood carving… but napkin art is still my greatest hits album. I’ve drawn events in almost every major city and abroad in places like the south of France & on a luxury charter between Sicily & Corsica. I’ve drawn celebrities from supermodels to Hall of Fame athletes to legendary musicians to A-List actors, etc. I’ve done almost every major event: all the award shows and major sporting events like the Super Bowl (four SBs & counting). My doodles have gotten me on live TV 3 times, on NY1 & twice on MLB Network, drawing trade predictions on baseballs. I’ve worked with a long list of all the big brands. Since I draw on an unusual medium, I’ve been asked to draw on other unorthodox canvasses like baseballs, basketballs, footballs, sunglass cases, eyewear cloth, denim jackets, and even buttwipe packaging. There are lots of examples on my website and Instagram of all the aforementioned stuff.
I moved back to LA in 2022. I’ve been bicoastal since around 2016. When I was based in NYC, events would bring me back west almost monthly. Now I’m based in LA again; clients bring me back east almost monthly. I’m enjoying being back here, close to my family with a chiller life, while still getting doses of NYC excitement.
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?
There have definitely been slow times over 10 years when I’ve had to freelance on some advertising projects. Though I’ve been lucky that drawing at events kinda promotes itself since it involves a lot of in-person exposure. There’s also a lot of word of mouth that has kept the momentum rolling. As any self-employed business owner knows, there are inevitable pitfalls.
I’ve fluctuated between being excited about my unique job and feeling bored of the redundancy & tired of the gimmick. I’ve wanted to abandon my niche many times, but then I get pulled back in. I’ve had to learn some hard lessons about running my own business by myself. There was a point where I also got a bit of an inflated ego and had to learn how to be humble but confident.
Another challenge has been evolution. I don’t think that artists need to constantly reinvent themselves, but they definitely need to evolve or else it gets stale. I’ve made a lot of small developments and upgrades over the years to keep it growing and elevated.
The perfect setup for most artists is to take their time by themselves in a comfortable setting. I quickly draw often drunk & impatient strangers while making small talk in loud, dark rooms – which is basically the opposite. When I’m in the mood to be social and vibe with the guests, it’s fun. Though there are definitely nights where I’m feeling tired and antisocial but have to push through to be “on”. I’ve never worked as a bartender or server, but I can relate due to those similarities.
People also think that traveling for events nonstop is like being on constant vacation, but it more so feels like having a long commute and can be exhausting. It feels similar to musicians and comedians who are always on tour. There are definitely perks that come with the travel, as I sometimes piggyback off the work trip and extend if I like the city and have time. I’ve also gotten to explore places I’d otherwise never go.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m not the first person to draw on napkins, but I am the first to brand it. I think people are drawn to the novelty because we all write ideas, info, or doodles on napkins.
I always dreamed of being independent and I’ve managed to carve out a nice lifestyle on my own terms. I’m proud of the wild rooms I’ve found myself in with legends and been able to build friendships with all sorts of interesting people around the world. I’m proud to be my own boss. I’m grateful for the many influential people who championed my art to help put me on and grow.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
[email protected]
@napkinkilla on every social
I’m open to all sorts of collaborations and opportunities!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.napkinkilla.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/napkinkilla
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/napkinkilla
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerockwell/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/napkinkilla
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/18QbjICJzco?
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/napkinkilla
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@napkinkilla
Image Credits
Evan Brown-Bacchus
Neil Rasmus
Danny Dwyer
Napkin Killa
