Rising Stars: Meet Cait Jayme

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cait Jayme.

Hi Cait, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in the Philippines and then moved to Hong Kong when I was 7, where I lived until I came to Atlanta to finish my college degree in Illustration. I decided to pursue art as a career simply because I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. When I was growing up, I found a lot of joy in creating random doodles and illustrations of my favorite characters from movies, TV shows, video games, and books, which is what I still mainly focus on in my work today, albeit with more refined technical skills.

Pop culture is something I have always gravitated toward because the idea of escaping to a different world always intrigued me. Whenever things in real life were bringing me down, I could always count on watching movies about epic adventures and powerful characters to cheer me up, which is why I am in practice to work in concept art and visual development, as it would be such a dream for me to be a part of developing these fantastic universes for other people to enjoy and immerse themselves in.

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?
Any kind of personal journey to discover yourself and what you want to do with your life is never the easiest. I always battled with comparing myself to other older, more well-established artists, wondering why I was not as successful or as skilled as them in art when in reality, it’s an incredibly harmful mindset to have. Everyone walks a different path, and the only person I should compare myself to is me, and as long as I feel like my work is improving, that should be enough for me. It’s something I’m still working on.

There are also always those doubts about chasing your dream. My parents sacrificed a lot so that I could come here to the States and learn art, even though it’s usually not a career path that is taken seriously. I always wonder if I’m doing enough to ensure that I will be making a living off of my art and if my work is good enough for others. I realized that instead of worrying too much, I need to channel that energy into working hard for my future. It helps a lot that I am surrounded with so many like-minded people that are aiming toward similar goals.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Nowadays, I mostly do illustrations that pertain to sci-fi and fantasy art, focusing on character work and how people react to the environments and situations around them. Though I used to do a lot of portrait work which I believe I am more comfortable and well-known for. I think making that jump in style and content in my work hasn’t been easy in the slightest as I often feel that I am biting off way more than I can chew, but I am proud of pursuing what I want to do even though it’s different from the work that I have been doing for the longest time. I do not think that I have found what sets me apart from others yet, but I’m sure I will eventually.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Persistence! Just the ability to push forward despite any hiccups along the way is a major factor in success. To always be determined to prove to myself that I belong where I want to be even after rejections and other setbacks and to always work hard to improve and be better than I was yesterday.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://caitjayme.art
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/caitjaymeart
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/caitjayme