Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Clark.
Colleen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Before moving to Atlanta, I grew up in Maryland and then went to college and started my career in Columbus, Ohio. I moved to Atlanta to work at Cartoon Network as a Designer for Social Media. It was my absolute dream job at the time, so I dropped everything and moved, knowing no one in the city. Five days after moving, I ended up meeting my partner, and I’ve been making a comfy home in Atlanta with them ever since! We currently live in East Atlanta with our little cat, Fairy.
I ended up leaving Cartoon Network to pursue freelancing and art direction, hoping to find a smaller company where I could get more hands-on with different kinds of design. I just started working for Dagger (in Inman Park), after freelancing with Coca-Cola for two months. I feel incredibly grateful for my time at Cartoon Network, but I’ve also been enjoying the exposure to other parts of Atlanta. This city has so many creative opportunities; when I started really networking, it was obvious that the artist community here is tight-knit and supportive. It has been an invaluable asset as I reassess my career!
My main motive as an artist is to deliver every story with as much kindness as possible. At Cartoon Network, I had the opportunity to have my work seen by millions of kids every day. That left me with an immense responsibility to create safe and inclusive messages. I loved being able to take shows that were already meaningful and help tell that story. I’m hoping that with a little bit of distance from that work, I can focus on what kind of stories of my own I want to tell. At Dagger, working with a variety of clients, I’m looking forward to seeing how my skills translate into some very different aesthetics from Cartoon Network’s.
Other places my design, illustration, and comic works have been found are: EA Games, Reebok, Huffington Post, and Marie-Claire Magazine.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I feel very privileged in my opportunities. I think that as a white woman who was able to afford a college education due to my parents’ generosity, I lucked out in ways that many women who are more talented and driven than me have not. I’m also very lucky to have always had female bosses and mentors at my jobs, so any sexism I have experienced has been marginal.
It took a long time for me to find confidence in myself as a person. I was outed as gay in high school, and I carried the harassment from that time with me into college where I dated men for years. I only started really allowing myself to be who I really am a few years ago. Since I’ve started facing the world more authentically, I’ve been able to have a better grasp on my goal for kinder, more inclusive messages in my work.
There is always the doubt that what I see as strengths of mine – my easy-to-read emotions and willingness to be vulnerable – will be seen by others as weaknesses because I’m female. In college, I made comics about my bad body image where I illustrated my naked body. That comic ended up being shared more than I ever expected and then was republished in the Huffington Post. At that point, there was no real looking back for me. I had decided to be vulnerable and it paid off! I feel like the more trust I’ve had in my earnest feelings, the more successful I’ve become.
My biggest advice will always be to trust your gut when it comes to creativity. If you can’t stop obsessing over something, make some art about it. Tell your story to whoever you can trust, and put it on paper. There will always be people who will be affected positively by your story. I’m so excited by the trends I’m seeing in media where more and more oppressed voices are being brought to the forefront, and I hope that path gets smoother for these voices to tell their stories.
What should we know about your business? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’m currently working in a yet-to-be-defined role at the Atlanta-based agency, Dagger. I really love it so far, because I’m working with a combination of digital design, animation, illustration, and strategy. I’ve really started to enjoy the strategizing and brainstorming process that comes with creative concepts, which is why I’m seeking the Art Direction path after working as a Designer for the last few years.
I would say, I’m most known for my #SketchSaturday videos that I made with Cartoon Network. This was a series I helped create with my co-workers, where I got to experiment with filming painting and drawing processes for social media. I especially love working with ink and watercolor illustration.
I feel like my extroversion and excitement about working collaboratively with other people can set me apart from other illustrators. I studied Illustration in school, where I realized that the freelancing path sounded isolating. I strive to combine my illustrative skill with a marketing strategy for colorful executions that bring positivity to the table.
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I have incredibly supportive parents who sacrificed a lot to make my education happen, and my career would not exist without them being willing to send their only kid to art school in the first place! Knowing they had faith in me and that I don’t want to disappoint them motivates me so much.
On the more negative side, after experiencing an abusive relationship in my teenage years, I had a kind of delayed adolescence. I started understanding my queerness in my twenties, and I’m still going through growing pains that influence what I want my life to be like. It’s only recently that I learned I could be vulnerable and authentic without the walls crashing down around me. I have an amazing partner now, and learning how to love someone and be loved for the first time has not only made it all worth it, but it’s made me a more well-rounded creator.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.colleenclarkdesign.com
- Email: colleenmaryclark@gmail.com
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenclarkart/
Image Credit:
Minecraft Finn Photo: Taken by Mai Phung
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