Hi! My name is Iman, and let’s talk about why I became an artist.
Since I was little, I’ve always preferred cartoons and illustrations. I was a crafter; I would make duct tape wallets and flowers, do origami, and make dresses out of bedsheets. I loved creating, and for most of my childhood, I thought I would be a fashion designer. However, I found art, illustration, to be exact. I drew my comic books. I read graphic novels. At first, I thought it couldn’t be a career because I didn’t know of any careers in art, and there was a time when I thought art was a selfish endeavor because it’s just creating what you wanna make. I couldn’t see how it could help a lot of people.
It wasn’t until high school that I found this YouTube channel called Bobby Chu. He works in the movie industry as an illustrator. He does monster design for film, and he interviewed various illustrators and artists in the entertainment industry. That’s when I decided to go to art school. I’m going to make this art career happen. I made it to art college, but it wasn’t what I thought. It didn’t teach me what I needed to know to get these highly competitive jobs, so then I pivoted. I was like, what else do I like?
This is when I decided on children’s book illustration as a kid. I felt a gap in relating to characters because they didn’t look like me. There wasn’t much I could look up to, so I wanted to fill that hole. Post-college graduation, I went to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Convention in New York. It didn’t work out. I didn’t get anything, so after that, I stopped drawing because I felt discouraged; plus, I had a job lined up before leaving for New York. I returned home to my first job as a publishing Assistant at a small company and got let go not too long after starting. It crushed me and shook the foundation of who I thought I was. I thought I was a competent person who could get things done, but losing my first job kinda shook my self-worth. That’s what I was going through for about 2-3 months. I was just in mental agony. How would I get a job if I can’t do a basic job like this?
My parents, particularly my dad, encouraged me to keep pushing for my business to work because I am a very goal-oriented, type-A. They believed in me; I just started to trust them that they see something I don’t, and that’s when I thought to push to build ImanBrush up to create art that reflects my values and themes about magic, friendship, love, and empathy. I also care about spreading art that centers on stories about education, adventure, discovery, hope, and optimism. I started to create a plan to make it work. And that’s where we are, the first of many welcomes to my blog on Iman Brush’s Blogging Corner.