COVER ARTIST SARA RICHARD: The Joys — and Demands — of Living a Creative Life
FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS… By FRANCO One of the things about being in the creative business is figuring out how to be creative. How to do business. How to do marketing. People don’t realize how many other things you need to do to keep being that creative force you want to be. Above all we’re in this business because we’re artists. Many make the assumption that being an artist is a solo pursuit, and sometimes it can be. Time in the studio is often spent alone with little interaction with others as you create. But as an artist, I have found that having a network of other artists around you can give you insight into your own artwork and helps you be a better creator. I’ve got some pretty talented friends and from time to time I’ll reach out to them and ask them questions that I think will have different answers depending on the person but give insight to the creative process. Here, I’ve reached out to friend, writer, artist, and all around badass, Sara Richard, who has created comic-book covers, book illustrations and other work for DC Comics, Marvel, IDW, Oni Press, Dynamite, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, British Vogue, Vanity Fair, and others. FRANCO: What’s a creative day like for you? SARA: I’m really not much of a morning person. I wish I was. Every time I need to get up for an early flight, the quiet morning sunrise is really magical. But! That’s not how my body works, I’m a bit of a night owl. So I usually get a good breakfast and coffee in and tucked into working about 11 a.m. Depending on what the project is and how intense my brain wants to hyperfocus for the day, I’ll work until I’m bleary-eyed and the sun has long since set. F: What is the biggest challenge of being creative? S: Honestly, trying not to get sidetracked or fall down any rabbit holes. I’m really detail-oriented and I’ve gone down “side-quests” (as I like to think of them) that have probably eaten into a lot of real work time. But! Who knows, maybe that knowledge will save me in my darkest hour, right? Or at least kill at trivia. I’d also say, trying to separate your passion of creating from the business side of artistic freelancing. It...
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