hello!♥☀
my name is Katie Kwiatkowski,
and I am a eternal student of Art and Life.
I am a 3D Generalist with a specialization
in Characters for Film.
In the past, I have done 2D Illustration, Graphic Design, and Photography professionally.
I don't have the common Artist's education or degree;
I never believed it was possible to make a living with my art.
And so I've spent years soul searching and working; as a wedding florist, nanny, barista, hostess, and more.
All while keeping an art gig of sorts on the side.
Throughout these many years,
and the trials that came with them,
it became clear that art was not something I could leave behind.
Although I tried to leave it,
My soul was called to pursue it.
And so I eventually mustered the faith and courage
to believe in myself
and give my best
at making art into my life and career.
Although my journey isn't traditional;
it has given me a unique skillset & perspective
that has evolved me into the well-rounded artist and person I am today.
Although… you can't really separate those two things, can you? 🙂
When I’m not computer art-ing, you can find me…
˘ᗜ˘✎ Reading & yapping & ideating
༘⋆ surfing the interwebs for new artists & artworks to fall in love with
☾✸ Exploring the world via trail running; and absorbing as much nature & fresh air as possible (can I live in a tent outside with my PC?)
ᵔᴗᵔ☘︎ Doing my best to make the most out of the beautiful, brief life we are given.
ow
im busy
gamer life
here's my long story about
how me & my art came to be,
My path was different,
not how I hoped or imagined,
But took me down and up in a way
I wouldn't change for the world.
So whether you'd like to get to know a little bit more about me, or open to some inspiration; here you are.
TLDR;
My art history;
first i did,
then i didn't,
then i did,
and now i do,
and always will do,
the art.
Yoyo. My name is Katie. I have been creating art, hot and cold, for eternity.
My childhood was defined by three things;
friends,
computers,
& art.
I arted often as a kiddo;
but stopped when I got sucked into playing computer games;
Club Penguin, then Runescape.
I've been hunched over the computer since I was a wee babe,
and so now I'm essentially blind,
and really need to fix my posture.
. . .
For as long as I can remember,
nothing brought me more joy, more purpose, in life
than uplifting others.
i had no problem making maxima goofball of myself
in order to cheer up a crying classmate.
and as I got a lil older,
I realized I could brighten up others in another way;
by making drawings for them.
Birthdays or any other day,
I was making art for my dear friends,
and even for some kids I didn't like much…
which makes for good practice, i suppose – in art, and in loving.
enter digi-age
I was 12 and my BFFL, Kathleen, introduced me to anime & manga.
I was hooked, fast.
And it wasn't just the ⋆｡♡˚ magical shoujo girl stories ✩°｡
it was the a r t s t y l e .
And i wanted to make art juuuust like that.
But how do I color like that with my markers?
How is it possible to make the colors so consistent and bright?
Upon consulting the age old Yahoo Answers,
I found out that there was such thing as Digital art.
Oooooooh.
That makes a lot of sense… my computer buddy.
After drawing with my mouse for a while,
I managed to convince my parent
to put in their magic credit card numbers
into a mysterious website,
making the grand purchase of a $50 Wacom tablet.
Soon, it arrived at my door.
⋆｡♡˚ Happily Anime Ever After, here we come! ✩°｡
♡ The End. ♡
jk.
My sparkly art spurt ended quickly;
as my BFFL and I split schools.
💔 h e a r t b r e a k 💔
don't worry! we're still BFFLs -
she is living out our adolescent dreams of living in Japan.
I hope to join her there one day. :)
What reason did I have to make art,
if my future manga-artist partner is gone?!
And so,
another art hiatus ensued.
until not much later when everything changed.
during a game of Search & Destroy
on Call of Duty: BO2.
Jeffie (my boy "Bear" from the Bronx, he sucked at COD):
"Yo Meebs, check out this guy's YouTube Banner. It's sick as hell"
And so I, Meebs,
my old gamertag — and after I died of course—
walked over to my computer and looked it up.
me, over my cheeto dust broken Turtle Beach headset;
"Dude this sucks! I can do wayy better."
yes, i was toxic gamer child, it was the times.
or should I say the lobbys… iykyk
Pffft. That garbage banner was made in Microsoft Paint!
I know how to use my superior anime painting program! Mwahaha!
And thus began
My art's second resurrection;
but this time,
for gamers,
and the possibility
of makin' some cash
My first ever paid art piece
It took me 19 total hours.
I know because I would screen record and create 'speedart' videos:
--- you can watch the archaic video here.
and thank you to BronxBear for showing me how to record videos! :)
I painstakingly traced every dot and line
of the $100 bill of thomas edison.
(jk i know its Linkin)
It was for some random 12 year old COD player.
I was paid $15
$ Uh Huh Honey. $
Now we're in business
kind of…
At this time, I had clocked in a total of over 350 days played on Runescape, months more into my xbox
embarrassingggg…
. . . I'm a professional at cutting down digital trees, thanks
So, I traded in my xbox controller for wacom pen.
I was connected to an internet community of gamers; who posted their sick sniper clips on YouTube; and got a ton of views.
Basically, there was famous gamers.
and basically, I would make graphics for them.
Many of them were my friends, and I did it for free,
because I just love my pals, damnit.
Others were famous gamers,
who I didn't know, and I'd do the work for free;
in exchange for the publicity of having my work on their oh-so popular YouTube channels.
All in hopes that the visibility would drive paying clients to me.
I made a lil cash. Very tiny amounts, if ever.
And I was scammed, a loooot.
And I did this for a whiiile. And I made a lot of stuff.
A lot.
Well deservingly, I eventually made it to a place where I was able to charge a decent dollar for my work.
From my very first youtube banners to the later ones;
behold…
pretty nice,
until an unexpected visitor came.
Knock, Knock.
Who’s there?
ADULTHOOD!
entra real world
High school was ending,
and suddenly everyone was talking about college.
I really had never thought about the future.
I had no idea what was going on.
and I really didn't even understand what college was.
My sweet art teacher stayed after school with me one day
to help me apply to colleges.
Regular and art ones.
I really wanted to go to art school.
I dreamed of becoming an illustrator & concept artist
And so,
I did my due diligence internet research:
And the results came back:
➜ exorbitantly expensive; debt until death
➜ impossible to make it as an artist
➜ but if you do manage to get a job?
(and only made possible by your handy dandy acquired social "network")
➜ your career will be insecure
➜ you'll make pennies
➜ you'll hate the work.
Article after article, the consensus was clear;
➜ DON'T
➜ DO
➜ IT
➜ DUMMY.
And so what did I do?
I didn't do it damnit.
But, one thing -
before I left highschool,
I was 'forced' to make artworks for my senior year art class.
This art wasn't for . . .
– cheering up a friend,
– making a loved one feel special,
– someone's epic gaming youtube channel,
– making a dollar
I didn't know what it was for.
So i just drew something.
and those drawings turned out to be
the first time I made something
for me.
little lady’s search for meaning
During class, my dear friend asked me
about the meaning of my work
I shrugged, a little perplexed & annoyed by the question,
"I don't know, they don't mean anything to me, they're just drawings"
And it wasn't until yeeears later,
when I came upon these buried pieces again,
did I realize,
they did mean something.
and they meant, kind of, everything.
for me.
They were a deep mirror into my inner world.
sheer isolation, loneliness
acts of yearning, reflecting, missing, and searching.
I was never sure what I was looking for,
or where to even look.
returning to familiar places of the past,
and venturing into the unknown darkness.
little was I aware of the mirror they were, back then.
And little would i have guessed,
how they would continue to reflect,
for the years to come.
I called it "Robot Project," which, quite well, represents how detached, and impersonal I felt from the work.
But now when I look at it,
all i see is me.
So perhaps if I was to retitle today,
I would call it
'my world'
. . . how my world was, for a very long time, at least.
'Dream' Egg ➜ 'X' Egg
High school ended,
Adulthood began;
and so did my art career, die again.
and my sparkle too.
I responsibly laid my art dreams to rest.
and i think along with it,
went all of my hopes and dreams for a sparkly future.
but without the warm enduring nature of hopes and dreams,
the once shadowed underbelly of reality
& the ghosts you'd rather ignore,
grew colder,
all encompassing.
I became the trope i used to watch in my animes;
the pathetic, depressing, cynical, apathetic adult.
and years went by,
1 . . .
2 . . .
3 . . .
4 . . .
5 . . .
6 . . .
7 . . .
8 . . .
9 . . .
1 0
y e a r s
went by
that I went around,
lost, alone,
worrying, working, wondering . . .
But now, Today,
I have finally made my way to the other side of the chaos.
Finally, I have come upon a deep sense of clarity, of direction, of knowing.
I found myself.
and too,
I found myself back in a place I was once before,
here.
A R T !
Welcome to the next dimension, Neo
Voilà! I had discovered what 3D art was;
it seemed more realistic to get a job;
I found an education pathway that made sense,
I decided to go for it.
as it turns out, I did get to go to art school!
and so,
my final, third resurrection of art has commenced.
it's still scary and unknown.
And no, I don't know how things will end up.
and I'm okay with that.
Career or not,
Hope, Love, & Art are inextricably tied for me.
so from now on,
I will always keep art by my side.
for others,
and for me.
Although my journey wasn't as planned,
nor as I hoped,
I wouldn't change a thing.
Because it was only through the people I met,
the places I've been,
that made me into the lil lady
I so proudly am.
My lesson?
things have a way of figuring themselves out.
and for the best.
the final frontier
the final piece in the series;
ends with hope.
you see,
in the bottom right,
there is a screw to be found,
a shard of evidence,
that what he is searching for;
whether it's a robot friend afar,
or piece missing of himself,
Whatever it is,
it exists.
So as long as he keeps going forth in the dark
does not turn around,
does not give up;
he will come upon it.
So, you. me. us.
Keep looking.
Keep going.
it is there.
sitting,
waiting,
for you.
until next time,
and with lots of love,
katie
. . . . . . . . .
all to be continued :-)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .