Meet Shruthi Venkatesh

Thanks for sharing your story with us Shruthi. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was a little girl when I discovered crazy joy in drawing. I would draw on walls, clothes, books… pretty much anywhere. I’m originally from Chennai, India. The city is a hotspot to experience South Indian culture. My grandfather was a small-time comic artist and part-time historian in the city. Growing up around him, I was exposed to a lot of art that has influenced my work since childhood.

I decided I wanted to work in the field of art when I was in high school, so I picked visual communication, a course that exposed me to design and I discovered joy in moving pixels. While In college I also started learning Japanese and was head over heels in love with the art and culture of Japan.

After graduating top of my class, I joined a small advertising agency and worked as an illustrator and storyboard artist, while also working as a Japanese teacher on the weekends. This was a lot of learning. My art style was heavily influenced by Indian and Japanese artforms. I decided to start a Facebook page where I posted one drawing a day. This was to push me to draw every day. Soon the page started gathering an audience and I was starting to get a lot of opportunities. I quit my job and started freelancing while still teaching Japanese. In 2015, I was offered to work with a start-up in Chennai. I took it up since it was very interesting. The company was called Freshworks Inc. I worked there for 4 years while also working on smaller projects in my free time. This opportunity afforded me to analyze and solve unique design problems. 

In 2017, I started an Instagram page shruthi_artgram to sell and promote my work. My art style started evolving and was slowly turning into something I could call my own. In 2019, I worked in the corporate branding team at Freshworks and I was drawn towards advertising, so I decided to get my masters in this field. Savannah College of Art and Design was my first choice. I was over the moon when I was accepted. This brought me to Atlanta. I’m currently doing my MA in Advertising and I am having more fun than ever! I do have a long way to go from here but for now, I am enjoying this ride and am looking forward to where my passion takes me next.

Tell us more about your work.
I specialize in storytelling through illustrations and graphic design. I strongly believe that good design and illustrations need to communicate or be a window to the story that you are trying to tell. I try to keep my work visually consistent with the story across all mediums. This is also one of the reasons I enjoy working with publications and comics. They take you on a journey through characters.

My illustrations are pleasing to look at and my style is character-based, dynamic, colorful and can lend itself to both adult and children’s markets. 

As an Illustrator and a graphic designer, I get the best of both worlds. I work very well across different platforms. I know what medium would work for which story and am efficient in combining them to get just the right mix.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I believe I was lucky to have discovered my passion at an early age. It has not been easy and I have a long way to go, but I know that I enjoy doing what I do and that is my biggest motivation. I try not to dwell too much on disappointments in life and instead focus on what I can do next to better a situation. At the end of the day, lucky or not, I sleep well when I know I gave things my best.