Kelly McMahon, Illustrator and Graphic Designer
We are very pleased to introduce Kelly McMahon, a talented and well-known illustrator and graphic designer we met through WonderCon 2022 who works out of Australia. Below, Kelly shares some of her thoughtful insights on the art business and how she stands out in what is a very popular industry.
In a few sentences, this is what my business does:
I am an illustrator and graphic designer known mostly for my product design. I use thoughtful details combined with a sophisticated use of color and shape to create a unique minimalist style. My colorful designs have been featured in collaborations with fashion houses, actors and production studios around the world. In 2021 I successfully kickstarted Imperium, a deck of playing cards inspired by a fantasy realm ruled by powerful women from four nations.
My typical work environment is:
I move between my home office and on the road set up when traveling to conventions. I have learnt to be adaptable to the space I am in, I often do my best work mid flight!
The training or education that is required for my type of business is:
Some argue that illustration and graphic design can be self taught, and whilst there is merit in self directed learning and tutorials there are some key aspects and unwritten rules of design and illustration that are only taught at universities and colleges. I studied for 5 years and hold a Bachelor of Visual Communication and a Diploma of Graphic Design.
Creative careers constantly challenge you, the process of learning new skills and refreshing old ones is a key part of our jobs to keep up with the latest technology and industry demands.
To me, being part of the gig economy means:
There is an amazing energy that comes from conventions, being able to talk directly to fans and see people respond to your work is a truly heartwarming experience. Many artists spend a majority of their work hours alone and it is a breath of fresh air to be able to engage with customers and other creatives at these kind of 'gig' based events. There is a true sense of community and appreciation for small business and creative endeavors. We need this to keep going, art is meant to be seen and experienced and often the internet leaves us with a rather flat experience.
The benefits of my type of work are:
I've set my business up to engage my sense of adventure, no two days are alike and I love that I can work from anywhere in the world as it suits me.
The difficulties I encountered starting a business were:
My business structure is rather unique, I generate income via 3 streams; freelance jobs, my online store and conventions. Balancing these 3 channels alongside Patreon, administrative tasks, wholesale and social media comes with its challenges. Some days all tasks seem equally important and it can be challenging to prioritize everything. I have learnt to focus on one aspect at a time. I find dedicating time to one task is more efficient than trying to do four things at once.
The way I use/leverage social media is:
Social media has been incredibly helpful to me in the past, Instagram brought a lot of eyes to my work via art challenges and trending hashtags. In recent days I find it is impossible to be seen unless you are generating content daily, and I sadly do not have enough time in my week to be vigorously producing content for contents sake. Instagram used to be a big part of my marketing strategy and historically pushed a number of customers to my online store, as this changed I lowered my expectations of social media. I have maintained a weekly marketing strategy but at this point in time, my business drives traffic to my online store and generates income though other channels more successfully.
Integrating technology into my business is:
As a digital artist tech is a huge part of what I do, my work is vector based, generated in Adobe Illustrator. I can't recapture my style by hand, I rely heavily on the Adobe programs to create my work. Alongside the creative programs are the administrative such as Stripe, Hub Docs, Square, Xero and Shopify, the retail and administrative side of my business would cease to function without these apps and tech.
"Making it" and success in the gig economy to me means:
I started my venture in illustration to express the feminine side of my creativity, I never thought these little doodles would blossom into a career that has taken me on one of the greatest adventures of my life. There has been a lot of self discovery in starting my own business, I've gotten to know myself in new ways, I feel like the last four years have truly allowed me to grow into who I am meant to be and have helped me define my idea of success and happiness.
A large part of success in creative endeavours is resilience, not everything works out as we intended and sometimes we have to be content with closing a chapter earlier than we hoped. For me success in this environment is to keep my passion for my work alive, passion draws people in and will shine the light on new goals and opportunities.
The way I balance work and personal time is:
Switching off from work has become more and more challenging, carrying it around in your pocket all day makes it very easy to steal the focus from personal time. Working weekends at conventions and endless travel also puts my work life balance somewhat out of balance. For the most part I try to ensure that my weekends are for me and use the flexibility of working for myself to enjoy the little things! One of the key parts of my creative flow is to take a break and recharge, if I am trying to endlessly create I end up drained.
The pandemic impacted my business by:
The pandemic brought my business to a grinding halt mid 2020, I was heartbroken to see 2 years of hard work unravel in front of me in a matter of months. Within weeks of the first lock downs in April 2020 I lost all my freelance opportunities, all my conventions and the price of international shipping got so high and unreliable that I lost over 80% of my online revenue. I still find it hard to talk about, having your ability to continue your passion and generate income taken from you has a very emotional toll.
I was resilient and found new shipping methods, opened a Patreon, successfully funded my first kickstarter and applied for permission to fly for business once the USA opened for conventions in late 2021. I am still feeling the impacts of the pandemic today, online sales have all but dried up with Australian international shipping fees, and convention attendance is down so shows aren't as profitable as prior years. However there are no words to describe how much it means to be able to wake up and do what you love each day, and I'm so thankful that I made it through this challenge and can continue to grow my business and career.
The way that diversity impacts my business is:
Diversity, inclusivity and equality is an important part of art and media. Whilst it is very easy for creators to generate content that is derived from their experiences and social circles, I try very hard to expand my work beyond this. As creators it's important to be true to your own expression but also important to learn and grow creatively beyond your own experiences.
The future of my business and/or the gig economy is:
Keep pursuing my passion, I never truly know what this will look like, but there is no greater feeling than waking up every day to do what you love!
One final piece of useful advice I would give to others is:
Enjoy your success and follow your passion. We often spend too much time reworking ideas to fit others expectations and hurrying to the next job without enjoying the success of the current one.
To learn more about Kelly and her art, you can connect with her through:
Her Website: www.kmmcmdraws.com
Social media:
Kelly also has a Patreon page where you can help support her work: patreon.com/kmmcmdraws
And she also has an online Shop where you can buy prints, playing cards and jewelry based on her art: kellymcmahondesign.com