Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Lee.
Melissa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I majored in studio art in college because I loved drawing, but honestly, I had no idea what else to do. After graduating in 2013 without a career plan, I decided to just try different creative things rather than pursue a master’s degree.
I interned at a video game company for two years doing character art and learned I really only wanted to make my own characters. The experience left me feeling completely drained and unwilling to draw anything for myself. I was prepared to give up on pursuing a career that involved drawing altogether because I didn’t want to risk turning my favorite hobby into something that felt like work.
Then I discovered online learning, and specifically surface design, and everything changed. Over the next four years (2015-2019), I learned Adobe Illustrator and developed my surface pattern design style. After a year of pitching my portfolio to companies, I signed my first licensing contract with Riley Blake Designs in May 2020. My first fabric collection was released in September 2021. (I definitely cried when I got that first offer!)
I also consider myself something of a professional creative community cheerleader. Over the past 5+ years, I’ve worked behind the scenes in various online creative communities as a moderator, mentor, and support team member. I love helping artists push through creative blocks, celebrate wins, nurture their creativity, and take their first steps toward monetizing their work.
Teaching online all these years led to my first how-to art book, ‘Caricature Drawing Made Easy: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Cartoons, Characters, and Fan Art’ with David & Charles Publishing, which was released in February of this year.
Alright, 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?
It has not. It can take a long time to build up an art career to a sustainable level. And that time is often plagued with doubt and imposter syndrome. But I’ve also learned that you can’t expect it to go away once you’ve reached a certain point of skill, experience, or success (whatever that looks like for you), because that just isn’t true for most people. You have to learn to manage it healthily, not push it away.
Which brings me to mindset in geenral. Mindset is just as important as technical skill for artists. A healthy mindset practice — emphasis on practice because it is ongoing — is integral. I believe one of the top reasons people fail at this career isn’t lack of talent or hard work, it’s mindset. People give up because it’s discouraging. They give up because improving art skills is hard. They give up because of comparison. They give up because they start pitching and don’t hear back right away.
I let myself get so discouraged for so long, and looking back, I was getting in my own way. Don’t get in your own way. Don’t listen to all those voices that make you doubt yourself. Feel your feels. But don’t let them rule your actions for long.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an illustrator, author, and surface pattern designer based in Northern California, in a small town near Sacramento. I do a bit of everything; freelance illustration work, quilting fabric design for Riley Blake Designs, art licensing. I caricature people’s pets, which is fun! I’m probably most proud of my caricature book, and the pattern collections I’ve created for quilting fabric. Two very different things, haha.
Often, the advice you see from professional artists is to niche down or have a single signature style, but clearly, I don’t know how to do that. My surface design work is much different from my character art, but I enjoy all of the things that I do so much that I’ve found a way to sort of sprinkle them here and there throughout my career, and teaching is one of the ways I’ve been able to do that. I’m not a hugely successful surface designer (yet), so it may not be the best advice, but it’s also what led me to getting to create a book with David & Charles, so like…follow your heart, maybe?
As far as style goes, I love blending vintage aesthetics with modern design to create artwork that feels both timeless and contemporary. And my love of caricature and character design brings a playful, stylized energy to much of my work. I’m endlessly inspired by animals and nature (whether living today or extinct), science fiction and fantasy, space and astrology, witchy things, and bees. Always bees.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I love Airtable and Notion for tracking and organizing my business. The Studio by Liz Kohler Brown is my #1 favorite creative membership I’ve ever been a part of (and I’ve been in/supported in a lot). I refuse to ever leave! It’s a treasure trove of helpful, actionable education on both the creative and business sides of running an art business. I also love the YouTube channels of artists Brooke Cormier and Kelsey Rodriguez. My favorite drawing app is Adobe Fresco. It is the most underappreciated iPad app out there. Procreate is an amazing app, too, don’t get me wrong, but Fresco is my go-to for most things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.melissaleedesign.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissaleedesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissaleedesign
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/melissaleedesign/
