Today we’d like to introduce you to Crystian Hopper.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Niceville, Florida, a small town located in the Florida Panhandle. I started drawing after I saw Spider-Man (2002) when I was six years old. I guess I thought it would be a good way to express my extreme admiration of the film and the character. Regardless, I would continue to draw for years after as a hobby. It did eventually become more than just drawing Spider-Man. Eventually. I didn’t really take that many art classes in middle/high school but still continued to work with it on my own, using drawing tutorial books and the internet as resources. I was in that huge percentage of high school students that had no clue what they wanted to do past graduation. I say ‘huge’ now, but back then, I thought I was different and that everyone around me already had their path figured out. For me, I enjoyed so many different things and activities. I was good at math and science, I liked psychology, I still loved to draw (though I wasn’t thinking of art at the time), but my passion was golf. I was on the golf team for the high school and had played since I could walk. This is ultimately what led the decision-making process when it came time to pick colleges. I wanted to go somewhere to play golf and pursue an education at the same time.
I ended up attending the University of Mobile in the fall of 2014, with the mindset of transferring after two years and pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. The school year was incredibly fun. I was a part of the golf team (a record-breaking golf team at that) and made great memories that year. I took one art history class while I was there and continued to draw on my own. At the end of freshman year, I even drew a small portrait for every member of the girls and boys golf team.
The summer of 2015 was really important for my career. I worked as an intern for an engineer in Destin, Florida. It was good experience for the field of engineering, and I learned a lot. However, I learned that engineering wasn’t actually what I wanted to do. The math and science behind creating buildings was cool, but the idea of creating the buildings as an architect sounded appealing to me. In the fall of 2015, my parents and I searched for schools where I could achieve a degree in architecture. This is how I found SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). In the fastest change of events, I transferred from the University of Mobile to SCAD Atlanta in the first week of school at Mobile.
Transferring schools is like having another freshman year. I was a bit uncomfortable at first, but as time went, I began settling into Atlanta and focusing on my classes. SCAD really helped me open my mind to new possibilities. After being in school for a while, I changed my major to Animation, then a few months later to Sequential Art (comic book art). I was also able to still compete on the golf team at SCAD while getting a degree. In taking classes at SCAD, particularly drawing classes, I was starting to figure out more of what I enjoyed doing. This is because I did a little bit of everything. Whether it was a school assignment or just an independent project outside of school, I worked on comic books, animations, illustrations, graphic design work, films, and countless other areas of art. In each one, I got to learn something new and meet new people, which was fantastic.
I continued this pattern of being open and helping other students, as well as playing on the golf team, for the next three and a half years. Near the end of my time at SCAD, I started to focus more on my drawing and film. After experimenting around and working hard, I found that I had a deep passion for both of them. Right now, I have my own business where people can send in pictures, and I turn them into drawings. I still work a little bit in film, but my main focus at the moment is drawing pictures for other people while putting together a collection of my own.
I would want people that read this to know that it’s okay to not know what you want. It’s okay to be unsure of where you want your career or life to go. No matter how many people around you are taking off and succeeding, have faith that it will work out and believe in what you do.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh goodness no. The journey to where you are now is always full of obstacles. For me, the challenge was the uncertainty of what I wanted to do. It has very much been a trial-and-error sort of thing, whether it be with work or school. I feel like you have to go out and try these other things so that you know what you do like and what you don’t. Regardless, I’m glad to have the experiences from trying and learning other things.
Crystian Hopper Art – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Crystian Hopper Art is a business that allows people to have whatever they want drawn in three main styles. In other words, customers will send in a picture (or pictures) of what they want drawn. Typically, they can choose between black and white, colored pencil, or tri-colored pencil, which is a special stylized drawing done on a cream toned paper. What sets me apart from others is that I work with the customer to create a canvas that we both like and one that enhances the picture(s) that have been sent in. I have to say, hearing the reactions from people when they see their pictures and knowing how happy it makes them is incredible, and it makes me extremely proud to do this.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career actually came this past December. I did a colored pencil drawing for two of best friends, Thor, and Bekah Schaefer, from my hometown. It was a picture of them taken on their wedding day, so they are dressed fine and she’s holding this huge bouquet of flowers. The drawing itself turned out really well, and they loved it, which made me happy. I posted it on Facebook like I do with all my drawings, but this one had a tremendous outcome. I got more likes than ever on that picture, which I usually don’t keep count of. I remember going through the likes right before Christmas and seeing hundreds and hundreds of names of friends from all different places around the world. It was so crazy to just see basically everyone I had ever encountered there to support me. It really made me realize how far I’ve come just right now and how many different walks of life I’ve had the opportunity to meet.
Contact Info:
- Email: crystianhopperart@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @crystianhopperart
- Facebook: Crystian Hopper Art
Image Credit:
Nora Benjamin Photos
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