Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsey Thomas.
Hi Chelsey, 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 Champaign, Illinois and moved to Atlanta in 2001. I can attribute my creativity and imagination to the loads and loads of cartoons and animated movies I watched throughout my childhood (teenage-hood and adulthood, too, honestly). Like most kids, I liked to draw and scribble here and there. The older I got, the better I got, the better I got, the more fun I started to have! I was always known as the girl who could draw in grade school, so I kind of took that and ran with it. I figured that since everyone else believed in me, why not shoot for a career doing it! So in 2015, I started going to the Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated in the infamous year of 2020. I’m currently working as a freelance Character Designer and Storyboard Artist!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I faced most of my biggest struggles as soon as I got to college all the way up until I graduated- the entire five years was a headache and a half. In the beginning, I nor my family could afford to get me into SCAD, so we had to scramble and take loans upon loans out to keep me there. I had to skip a few quarters due to money issues, which set me back about a year. The quarters that I did go, I was making a 3-hour commute to and from class almost every day for two years, all the while working a part-time job and doing commissions on the side to support myself since my parents moved back to Illinois.
Once my Junior year hit, I transferred to the Savannah campus and stayed there until graduation. I pulled many all-nighters, juggled 3-4 classes at a time for three years and had to press on through all of that despite losing my mother to breast cancer abruptly in 2018. It broke my heart. After she died, I didn’t want to go to school anymore- I didn’t really want to do anything anymore. She worked so hard to keep me in school and didn’t live to see me graduate. Despite losing her, my childhood best friend and a few other friends throughout the years, I finally made it to the finish line in 2020- only to have my opportunity of walking across the stage to celebrate my achievements ripped away by the Pandemic! All in all, the journey has not been smooth at all, but I’m just grateful that I’ve made it this far and that I’ve been receiving work and networking opportunities constantly since last June! And honestly, it was kind of funny graduating from my roommate’s couch in the living room.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I design characters and storyboard for animated shows and segments! I’m the most proud of the accomplishments that I’ve made since graduating last May. I’ve been able to design characters for Warner Brothers, make many connections, and Storyboard an entire episode of an animated show that’ll be released on Netflix within the next year or two!
From what I’ve heard from others, my shapes, poses and style makes my art stand out. I draw a lot of influence from ’90s and early-mid 2000’s cartoons, black culture and hip-hop, music, diverse people, fashion and of course, other artists. I was always drawn to colorful, stylized art that reflects real life. I love nothing more than seeing a stylized drawing of someone and going, “I’ve seen someone who looks like that before!”. I love the idea of looking at people and things through a funny, characterized, yet simplified lens.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I was born with an extra finger. All I have left to show for it is a little bump on my pinky finger. I’m scared to have it removed because I have this absurd thought that if I remove it, I won’t be able to draw with my right hand anymore.
Contact Info:
- Email: chelsthomasart@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.chelsthomasart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sketchnwhatevr/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sketchnwhatevr
- Other: https://linktr.ee/sketchnwhatevr
