Meet Abigail Faulkner of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Abigail Faulkner.

Hi Abigail, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m an illustrator and surface designer born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Though I was originally bound for cybersecurity, my trajectory was changed by my high school art teacher, who encouraged me persistently to pursue the arts. I bounced around in computer science and game design before finalizing my path as an illustrator. Now, I’ve just graduated Summa Cum Laude with an Illustration Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design last month, and I’m looking for work as a professional illustrator or surface designer! I can also sometimes be found at conventions and markets, selling my work locally.

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?
I mentioned earlier that I did not have a clear vision for my future before. I’ve worked odd jobs, worked professionally in Information Security, and briefly studied Game Design at SCAD before landing in Illustration. I think what I struggled most with was being able to trust myself enough that I was making the right choices when changing my direction each time. When I was younger, it felt like I absolutely had to get it right the first time. But I’ve now shown myself that I didn’t get it right the first time, and that was okay. Instead, I found something that I’m both excellent at and passionate for!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Honestly, I have tried to generalize myself as much as I could using my strongest interconnected skills. At SCAD, I specialized in Publication Design and Animated Illustration, as well as Illustration for Surface Design. Though I found motion media and related Animated Illustration skills fun, I ended up feeling much more comfortable with illustrating for Publications and Surface Design. This means I am well-equipped to illustrate across a lot of different markets: magazines, newspaper articles, books, greeting cards, as well as patterns for textiles, apparel, or consumer products. I currently work freelance for the former, and I am looking for in-house full-time work for the latter. A lot of skills in illustration and other related creative fields are easily transferrable, and I’ve relied on that a lot to branch out and try new things. I think, to an extent, being willing to work in so many different kinds of markets and not being so strict as to where I end up sets me apart. I understand the dream to end up in one perfect place – I’ve met a lot of people who had that – but I never had it myself, and that’s okay. It gives me the flexibility to see where I’m needed outside of where I planned to be, and the ability to change to fit where I’m needed, instead.

Right now, I think I’m best known for being hardworking. The closer I got to graduating from SCAD, the more I heard it from others. I balanced a full-time class schedule at SCAD, an internship, freelance projects, a part-time job, and my selling my own products at markets, all at the same time in the last four years. It was really hard to do, but I’m really proud that I could, and did. I opened a lot of doors for myself that I otherwise would have missed if I had decided any of those were too much to handle.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I am a risk-taker, but not an impulsive one. I think one of my earliest risks to date was to study at SCAD, regardless of major. Back then, I didn’t know much about creative fields. There are no professional creatives in my family, so I had no-one to turn to for advice. Deciding to step into a world that was new to myself and everyone around me, with little idea how it would go, was risky. However, every risk I’ve taken since then became more and more calculated. I started at SCAD studying Game Design, and when I realized it wasn’t for me, I researched what it would be like to work in Visual Development (illustration for games, instead of the technical side). I chose Illustration simply because a professor once told me I would do well there, and I trusted her judgement. However, I didn’t really like what I found out about working within Visual Development, so I chose a different market within illustration instead: Publication. I stuck with that for about two more years before I realized it would be very difficult to find an in-house job that way, and I decided to branch out into Surface Design as well in my final year at SCAD. Since it was relatively last-minute in my academic career, I knew the workload would be harsh, but it turned out exactly as I expected it to and was well worth the risk I took. Now, I may be less specialized than some of my peers, but I’m able to work within several different markets and not limited to just one path. I think risk is essential to growth. Repeatedly taking calculated risks changed how I saw my future, for the better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abigailfaulknerillu.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afauillustration/