Today we’d like to introduce you to Addie Gilley.
Addie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Ever since I was a child, I have always been content with a pencil and some copy paper. I would spend hours sketching and creating worlds for characters to exist in, then scrap it and move on to another idea. Throughout middle school and high school, my passions floated around between animation, graphic novels, and graphic design- being an artist was never something to be questioned! It wasn’t until my junior year of high school that my career interest in illustration really took off.
Most of my work until that point had been very character-driven, inspired by the cartoons and shows I was keeping up with at the time, but my passion slowly began to shift towards design and refining my technical ability. I had known that Illustration was my field, but what exactly did that mean? It didn’t take me long to discover the world of publication design, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Alright, 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?
Choosing to venture into a creative field was never out of the question for me, and I’m lucky to have family and friends who have supported me and my work throughout my life. However, choosing which route to follow has definitely had its ups and downs!
I sometimes struggle with fitting my work into practical applications or letting markets influence the way my work looks. For a while, I pushed aside what I enjoyed doing and tried imitating what I thought was the “right” look for a particular assignment, only to be met with frustration towards the final result. It took me too long to understand that this bitterness towards my work wasn’t due to any faults in my ability but because I didn’t enjoy the process of making it! Understanding this has ushered me down a path of discovering what truly makes me excited to create, and I couldn’t be happier doing so.
Because illustration is needed across a wide variety of industries, it’s easy to pigeonhole yourself in one specialty just because it’s what you know. In reality, the illustration world is your oyster! The beautiful thing about these different applications is that there are limitless possibilities to explore, which opens the door to so many types of experimentation and growth in your craft.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an illustrator who specializes in publication design alongside some dabbling in graphic design. I’ve discovered a love for texture, slight imperfections, and traditional mediums- anything that points to a handmade process- and have enjoyed implementing these elements into my work. While studying illustration, I found that using digital tools is the most efficient method for completing assignments, which leads to a fun challenge of adding that tactile feel to an otherwise polished look. This process is somewhat new to me, but has led to the most rewarding projects I’ve created, and cannot wait to see how it evolves!
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I don’t necessarily view myself as a risk-taker, but believe it’s important to step outside of your comfort zone every once in a while. It’s easy to stick to what you know, but when you venture out a little into something uncomfortable, that’s when real growth happens!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.addiegilley.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/addie.etc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/addie-gilley-0b13a9329
- Other: https://addielena.substack.com/
