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THE FEATURED IMAGE
 

 

Welcome to the tenth issue of The Featured Image newsletter, a place where writing meets art. As a reminder, the goal here is to add visual creativity to our work and gain inspiration from those already doing it.
 
One thing I've struggled putting into words is why I am so drawn to these creations that mix words and art. Today's creator interviewee, Sophie Lucido Johnson, put this dynamic into words that I just love:

"I think brains enjoy texture. The part of your brain that deals with language, order, and logic, is different from the part of your brain that deals with images, feelings, and pictures. It’s nice to let both parts of the brain play while they’re taking in a work of art." 

She nailed it in my opinion.

I first found the work of Sophie Lucido Johnson from the delightful article, How to Do 50 Things. This led me down an inevitable rabbit hole of consuming a large portion of her writing on Medium and her website. Sophie combines writing and drawing effortlessly in a way that I aspire to, across all sorts of formats and styles.

It’s this playing with different formats that I really appreciate. Some people are so good at really narrowing in on their thing, but that’s never been my personality. I like to experiment, and the success of Sophie’s varied
work feels like permission for all of us to do that. 

So even if you have a thing, go ahead and explore different visual formats.

Below are Sophie’s responses to some questions she was kind enough to answer for us about her work and process. Please enjoy.

Creator Interview: The Words and Art of Sophie Lucido Johnson
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Please tell us about the creative work you do.

The coolest thing I currently do is work as a contributing cartoonist for The New Yorker.

"Will you be my podcast guest?" Can't see image? turn on photos

I also make illustrated essays, short comics, and other things that incorporate writing and drawings at the same time. My next book is called Dear Sophie, Love Sophie (Harper Collins), and it’s a full color, totally graphic work, which I am very excited about. 

What went into the decision to add artwork to your writing (or vice versa)?

I think brains enjoy texture. The part of your brain that deals with language, order, and logic, is different from the part of your brain that deals with images, feelings, and pictures. It’s nice to let both parts of the brain play while they’re taking in a work of art. The first time I sat down and read a graphic novel cover to cover, I noticed that I had this warm tickled feeling in a very deep part of myself. “Ah! My brain is so happy!” I thought. And I knew I wanted to make art like that. 

Also, I took a class from Chris Ware and Lynda Barry (yes I am BRAGGING!) that helped me solidify a foundational belief that I now hold about art and literature. Art benefits from taking itself less seriously. Creativity is served by access. Chris Ware asked if we would rather make one work of art that could reach one person who would pay $1,000 for it; or make (effectively) 1,000 works of art that 1,000 people could access for $1 each. He was making a case for comics. Comics take a long time to make, but they’re accessible; they’re for everyone. I love how comics artists spend so much time on their work, and readers spend so little time consuming it. It is a way of saying to the reader / viewer: “Thank you for taking the time to look at my work. I put a lot of time into it too, to make it worthy of yours.”

You have a wide range of styles and formats that all work amazingly well. How do you decide what direction to go in with an idea?

Thank you! This is a hard question to answer, although I think maybe the truest thing would be to say that I spend a great deal of my time staring out windows and at lakes. 

Is there one piece that incorporates your art + writing that seemed to resonate with people the most? Why do you think that was?

I get a lot of emails to this day about my first book. It’s about polyamory, and breaking standard narratives of what love is supposed to look like. Representation matters; there are so many people who have emailed me to tell me that they were grateful to see their kind of love written about somewhere in the world. I have had the experience of reading something or seeing something and thinking, “Oh my god! That’s about me!” and feeling so FREED by the recognition. It feels nice to not be alone in the world. 

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

Right now, I’m really into the idea of abundance, and I have always believed that there is no such thing as bad art or good art. So my point is: have fun while you’re making something. The idea that there is only so much success to be had and only one way to succeed is a lie about scarcity that benefits the status quo. Creating should be fun and pleasurable. Every type of writing and art has an audience. Only make what brings you joy.

What are your artistic tools?

[Note: this and the next question are answered so well on Sophie’s FAQ page that I pulled directly from there. Check it out for even more info.]

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of my work using Procreate on the iPad with the Apple Pencil. I use the brush Pencil 6B. I will own that I do a lot of tracing, and that I also stray from the tracing, depending on what I am trying to work on.

When I’m drawing by hand, my tools are:

  • Pencils: I like Staedtler with an HB lead softness (and while we’re at it, I have more than 5 Staedtler write plastic erasers).
  • Pencil sharpener: exclusively the Alvin brass bullet, which will change your whole life.
  • Pen and ink: I use a G-nib exclusively with any number of nib holders; I haven’t got a favorite. I like Speedball India ink, although I don’t know that it’s different than any other India inks.
  • Felt pens: I’m a Micron girl. I pretty much only use size 03, and I replace them constantly.

What artists do you like?

In no particular order (but you will notice these are pretty much all people who make comics, which I think is the holy grail of the art forms):

  • Lynda Barry is my religion. I have her tattooed on my bicep (along with Chris Ware, who is also perfect). Her philosophy about art and learning is the basis of everything I make and do. Start with “Syllabus” but then get “What It Is,” which is just the greatest book I’ve read in my life. I bought several copies so I could give them out to people. Then I ran out, so you’ll have to buy your own.
  • Chris Ware. I didn’t realize how wonderful he was until I took a class from him, but all that meticulousness and humor and sweet self-deprecation isn’t an act; it’s the real deal.
  • Jillian Tamaki. I shamelessly copy her style as much as and as best as I can, which is to say, incredibly often but not very well. “Super Mutant Magic Academy” is, in fact, my number one favorite book.
  • Eleanor Davis. “What Is Art” is the quintessential art school book, and it’s lovely and perfect. Eleanor Davis drew the background for my desktop. She doesn’t know that.
  • Sam Alden. Sam is a magician with light and shadows. His artwork is ALL OVER MY HOUSE (seriously: it’s in pretty much every single room, and my house is big), and looking at it makes me feel both jealous and whole.
  • Jessica Thompson. Full disclosure: Jessica is one of my best friends. But she’s also a genius who doesn’t completely know that she’s a genius yet, and so you can buy art from her pretty cheap still. I want to live in the world that Jessica draws.
  • Bianca Xunise. Bianca is the artist the world needs right now. Her work is gorgeous, challenging, and it is making change in the world. Follow, subscribe, hire.
  • Liz Montague. One of the only Black female cartoonists the New Yorker has published. Her work is vibrant, funny, and unapologetically itself. I am a big fan, and I can’t wait for her forthcoming memoir.
Read the interview online
Ten issues of this newsletter! Thank you all who have been regularly checking it out. I'm having a lot of fun doing this and it would mean the world if you would share this with one of your creative friends.

The amount of creators who are doing cool things at the intersection of words + art is unbelievable. There are cartoonists, essay writers who make their own images, Twitter visual creators, sketchnoters, and everything in between. I truly believe the future of the internet will involve more and more of a focus on good writing interplaying with original visuals. 

I've really enjoyed getting to know some of them and I'm endlessly curious about their background and processes. I hope you have been getting something out of the interviews.

This project isn't all about interviews though, as I hope to showcase coming up shortly.

Links to spark creativity:

I know we just did a whole interview, but really check out the writing section of Sophie Lucido Johnson's website. Follow the key at the top to find articles that involve illustrations. If the whole internet could be full of creators like this, imagine how much better that would be?

A New Yorker Cartoonist Explains How to Draw Social Change. This features Liz Montague mentioned above. It's really great.

7 Questions. 75 Artists. 1 Very Bad Year. Very meaty piece with tons of inspiration. 

Chad Moore (previous guest in this newsletter!) is doing a zoom presentation about animating in Procreate this Monday the 12th. Check out the link to sign up.

Craig Burgess of Daily Visual did simple visuals for this viral thread about stoic philosophy. Here is a video of him creating them as well if interested. 

A visual I made about a popular podcast that was retweeted by the host.
Ok, that's it for this week. Be sure to create something cool and share it with someone.

Twitter | The Featured Image site

Erik 
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