Life & Work with Grace Blessing of Atlanta, SCAD

Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Blessing.

Hi Grace, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I first started my journey as I believe many other artists do which is simply being a kid with too much time on her hands. I saw these wonderfully designed Pokemon in a children’s magazine when I was younger and took an immediate liking to them, so of course I had to draw them. I was terrible so I had my dad draw them for me most of the time so I could cut out his drawings and play with them, but he eventually got tired of it and made me do it myself. It forced me to get better, and develop a love for the process of drawing. As I got older I knew it wasn’t just a hobby anymore, and led me to where I am today!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’m in my senior year of college and am going through my first major hurdle. I remember I started a journal back in sixth grade planning out where I’d move, what company I’d want to work for, what positions I’d eventually apply for, my income depending, etc. I had every second of my life planned out until college which is why I’m struggling now. For the first time in my life I don’t have a notebook to guide me, and am making a new one as I go. There’s not much in life you can definitely count on, but I know for sure I’m glad I chose to be an artist. I’d honestly be happy with any job as long as I’m drawing, but I hope to work in book publishing. I’m currently working on one right now so I think younger me would be proud. Currently, my main focus is trying to figure out where to move after college since I graduate a whole year early. It gives me less time, but more drive to figure it out quicker.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve chosen to go down the book publishing route but am also curious in trying out advertising. I’m also getting into starting my own business, so for the first time I’m designing more than just an 8×10 digital print or book cover. I’m working on designing stickers, keychains, jewelry, notebooks, totebags, Tshirt designs, and more which I’m quite proud of. I think it’s important to be flexible, but maintain consistency in style. Because of that I’m working on a rebrand so that my art is more recognizable. Right now my art could be described as fantasy, and digital painting. I focus on realism in my portraits with adding fantasy elements so it’s a bit more whimsical, but I want to go for a bit of a darker route. I’ve always loved gothic aesthetics and vampires, so I think making that switch might help reflect my personal interests better to set me apart from modern aesthetics.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
For me I feel perseverance is something to hold onto, but any artist could benefit from it. Art is often looked down upon as a real career, especially with the rise of AI. We’ve all been told our degree is meaningless at least once in our lives, or that we’ll lose our jobs, but it’s only true if you let it be. I’ve managed to make money off of my own commissions and proved myself wrong in my own moments of doubt when I wonder if I can live off of what used to just be a hobby. As long as there’s someone out there that respects and values art made by man, there will always be a client. So while AI may be rising, it must be recognized that there has also been a recent pushback for it as people miss authentic artwork.

Pricing:

• Full body character illustration with a background – $140
• Full body character no background – $90
• Any additional characters added into scenes will be a $30 charge
• Portraits $70

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gigadrawn?igsh=cTZ2ODk5dTU5Y2tm&utm_source=qr