I recently sat down with my niece, Lily Engblom-Stryker, an illustrator about to graduate from RISD. I’ve watched as Lily fell in love with art as a little kid and then pursued it with an intensity I’ve always admired. As she pointed out in the interview, we’ve somehow watched each other’s passions unfold over the years — which was a sweet thing to realize mid-conversation.
What I didn’t expect was how much of our conversation would push against the story most of us tell about early-knowers. The easy version is that some kids just have it, and the rest of us have to find our way. Lily’s version is very different. Her childhood drawings were, in her words, “potato head people” — large lumps with stick arms and stickers. No one who saw her “kid art” would have predicted RISD. What got her here wasn’t talent. It was years of quiet hours, a high tolerance for feedback (including the time an admissions officer told her flatly that her compositions sucked), and a deep love of the process itself — not the finished piece.
We also got into her actual craft: gouache painting, ink wash, crayon, comics, picture books, editorial illustration, plein air. She’s going into narrative work for kids and middle-grade readers, and the thread running through all of it is communication — how to take something emotional and internal and make it into an image another person can actually hold.
And we touched on something I’ve always wondered about — what it’s actually like to be the kid who knew, while everyone around you was still figuring it out. Her answer was more complicated, and a little lonelier, than I expected.
Full interview transcript:
Krista: So I am super excited today because I am talking to my niece, Lily Engblom-Stryker, who is an amazing artist. She’s also about to graduate from RISD, which is, from what I know, one of the very best art and design schools in the country. Super cool. I have watched Lily, I’ve known her since she was a baby, and I’ve watched her really fall in love with art as a kid and then pursue it with an intensity that I’ve just always admired so much. And we’ve actually never talked that much about her journey or her passion for art. So I’m super excited for this conversation today. Thanks for being here, Lily.
Lily: Well, thank you so much for having me. I’m super excited. No, it’s really fun because in a similar way, I’ve like watched your passions grow with 12 Minute Athlete, now writing. So it—
Krista: So weird. We both watched each other grow up in really interesting ways.
Lily: Yeah, it is.
Krista: It is so interesting. I would love to know, do you remember the first time you kind of realized you’d like fallen in love with art?
Lily: It’s tough. There’s so many like little moments. And it’s always funny, like looking back on childhood, because I think so many of us have like the things we like to draw. And like I was kind of like any other kid, doodling on the kitchen counter, drawing on the walls. I think for me, the moment I really think about what I think has really set me on how I think about art now and what has really not changed is — I was, I want to say, maybe five or six, kind of that age, maybe preschool, kindergarten, and we had chickens. And my chicken, Marshmallow, had passed. I don’t know if you remember the chickens.
Krista: I do remember.
Lily: And my mom, in the morning, panicked and told me like right during breakfast before preschool, I’m pretty sure. And she’s like, “Oh, your chicken’s dead,” you know, like one of those gut reactions. And she told me — I have like small memories of it — that I had just very calmly went “okay.” And then I went and got paper and I got some crayons and I drew Marshmallow and I wrote her name and then I got her eggshells and I like glued them around. We like still have it in our laundry room.
And for me it was like such a moment where I didn’t even like consciously think about like why I was doing it. It was just this very like instinctual expression of something I was feeling and like this way to like memorialize someone.
And it’s something I still really think about, even though like, funny enough, I’ve gone back to crayons, you know, many years later. But like my art making and the way I make things is so different from that instinctual way you make as a kid. But I think that core reason of like emotional expression, like communication — was something I really struggled with, to communicate how I felt, whether it was like joy or that grief in that moment. And art was just this — people could understand it when they saw it, you know?
Krista: Yeah, that’s really beautiful. I really understand. I understand that. And I did not know that about you.
Lily: Yeah, well, there’s like little moments. That’s the one I always go back to as like the big one. And there’s other things that reinforce that love, that passion.
I think in any type of passion, you have those maybe those seeds that then keep getting watered by different people.
One of my older cousins on my mom’s side, I idolized her and she had how-to-draw books, and I just wanted to copy her. So a lot of those mirroring activities came into it. And then I was very lucky to have parents and teachers and friends in my life who never put pressure on me. So it got to be something that was really innate. I didn’t feel like I had to do it for anyone else. That drive all came internally, which I think is really special. Not everyone gets to have that grow just for themselves.
Krista: Absolutely. Okay, there’s two points I want to remember to ask you. One is — yeah, I’ve actually always realized, or I’ve always wondered where the exposure came for you, because as you are well aware, no one in our immediate family is an artist like in any way. And so I’ve always thought that was so interesting. And yeah, I’ve never actually asked you about that.
Lily: It’s really funny because now being at a design school on the East Coast where there’s a lot of people whose parents are artists, so like have encouraged them—
Krista: Right.
Lily: Or the kind of joke is like your parents are usually like architects. Like that’s kind of the pipeline to being a fine arts major. And that is, yeah, like you’re saying, not really the case. But I think it’s like — our family is very creative beyond those things. I think me and my parents are very similar in a lot of ways. And it’s like I was saying, I think it was that very accepting support of being very nonjudgmental. Because even though neither my parents are in the arts or grandparents are, everyone, I think, had very nonconventional paths in a way that I think made them very accepting. Like, no one saw me drawing and was like, “Put the pen down, you need to be doing math equations.” I was very lucky in that respect. And I talked about this with a friend — of like parents who were very willing to give the support when it was asked for, and you know, help get our supplies if we wanted to pursue something, they would help. But I think for me it was just this almost very internal thing that started happening, of like, the sensation of drawing is so special. And painting — now like I paint primarily, and I work traditionally, I don’t work digitally — like that connection to paper, to movement, is really special to me. It’s something that I think satisfies my brain, and that like dopamine bit of like, I’ve solved a problem and I’ve also made a beautiful thing.
You know, people compliment you. That’s like a wonderful thing that can happen with art, is that shared experience of, oh, you’ve communicated something I didn’t know how to communicate. And we get to share in that expression together. I think that’s always been really a draw. And then I think when you like to consume art, you like to make it too. Not always, but oftentimes those things go hand in hand.
Krista: Yeah. Wow, that’s really cool. One of the parts about your journey that I really love is that when you were a kid, no one would have said that your art was like amazing. It was like any other kid art.
Lily: It’s just kid art. Yeah.
Krista: It was kid art. And it was like, you know, it wasn’t like the worst kid art, but it wasn’t certainly like — not like an art prodigy.
Lily: Yeah, so—
Krista: Yeah, go ahead.
Lily: It’s very fun to look back on fondly. Like, we would call my drawings like potato head people, because they were just — they were potato people. Like they were just large lumps. My mom had a faux hawk at the time. So the main thing I would draw was like a big oval with a mohawk and stick arms and stickers. There’s this very like classic story of — I’m in preschool and they’re there for the preschool art show. And my parents and Grandma Jill and Grandpa Larry are walking around. And they kind of see this one — there’s all these apple drawings from this one class. And they’re kind of snickering because they’re like, “Oh man, those poor parents. Like, that kid must be insane, because it’s just so wildly different from all of the other apples.” And they’re like, “Wow, that’s hysterical.” They walk past to see all these self-portraits. And then they’re laughing again because they’re like, “Oh my gosh, the rest look like people. That one kind of looks like a pig.” And then I come running out and I’m like, “Mom, dad, I’m here.” And they’re like, “Oh baby, which ones are yours?” And I’m like, “Oh, the weird apple that’s this big and it’s black. It’s like just a round circle. And the pink portrait — like those are mine. I made those.” And they were like, “Oh, that’s our weird kid. We’re the parents.” And it’s just — I have photos of it. I’ll send it to you after. It’s just hysterical.
But I was not any inherently gifted kid that you see on your Pinterest or your Apple News, this 12-year-old painted all these crazy portraits. I was just there to have fun and create things I loved.
And I was really lucky just about the support and the environment I was in to do those things.
Krista: Yeah. I’ve just watched you just continuously try to get better, and you just seem — you just always seem so curious and so open to feedback. And yeah, you have this — from the outside, you have this very like playful, open attitude. And it’s not like this heavy thing, like, “Oh my gosh, I need to get better at this like by tomorrow or my life is over,” which is kind of how I grew up. Yeah. How did you maintain that attitude? Or is that what it really was for you?
Lily: I mean, it is at moments. I think it all comes and goes in ways. I think especially growing up young with the internet, you’re really shown so much to compare yourself against. And there’s kind of a lot of different ways that can affect you. And I’ve experienced all of those different feelings of the, “I’m never going to be able to make work like how I want to make work,” because I see all these wonderful things, like what else is there to be made? And then on the other hand, like that’s very inspiring of like, oh, there’s all of these wonderful things in the world and I get to add to that pool, like how wonderful. And like that curiosity, I think for me has always been a very constant thing, and never something that’s gone away. What definitely has happened has been the “I know this problem is here and I don’t know how to fix it.” And that’s where that support system of teachers comes in. And that’s the beauty of the internet. I grew up in that age of art tutorials being extremely popular on YouTube. And I didn’t have to deal with anything super crazy. It was just speed paints that I would watch, and learn painting by watching people paint at 10 times speed.
And for me, there was definitely moments — I remember in middle school, the first time I painted with acrylics, and I knew what I wanted it to look like, and I wasn’t mixing the colors right, and I cried. And it just totally came out of me, because I was just like, I know I can do this. I want to do this.
And I think for me, I really don’t know what it is that made me want to stick with it. I think I really got to a point where — you realize — I compare improving art to bodybuilding quite a bit, actually, in any type of fitness. It’s really similar. We’ve kind of talked about this.
Krista: Yeah.
Lily: Because it is a muscle that you grow. It’s on a lot of different levels. It’s hand-eye coordination. That is something you’re learning very, very early on. And that can be make or break. And I think once I realized that these things just take time — and I’m really lucky to enjoy the process itself. There’s people who — the love for art making comes because of the end result. And I find oftentimes those are who burn out the quickest, because you’re not always going to measure up to the things that you want to be making. Versus for me, I still — my heart still skips a beat sometimes when I’m painting. Like I have a very fun time doing it. It’s something that I get a puzzle out and — there’s this freedom that you get to kind of make anything you want. And now I’m in the stage where I know how to do things. So I get to really indulge in a lot of ways. I think there was a moment for me that I think was really pivotal, which was my junior, senior year of high school, where I was starting to think about applying to art schools and applying to normal universities. I was still very like, oh, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll go study law. That was my backup.
Krista: Interesting. Interesting.
Lily: Going to UW and doing white-collar law was super interesting, like financial law. And so I chose the other thing — art. And I talked to an admissions officer for Rhode Island School of Design, RISD, during the National Portfolio Day, where all these schools go to different art colleges across the country, and it’s open to high school students and anyone to come and get their portfolio reviewed. And I had gone, and I just remember I was like, this was my dream school. My favorite illustrator went here. I loved the ethos of the program. And the guy looks at my work and he’s like, “I mean, it’s fine, but like, your compositions suck.” I was like, “Oh, okay.” And he told me what was wrong. He was like, “They’re all really centered. Like they’re all kind of doing the same thing.” And it had taken someone telling me that — you kind of have this out-of-body experience where you see your work and it’s not your work all of a sudden, it’s just work.
I like to call them my shiny rocks. They’re not really anything except shiny rocks, you know.
And you kind of end up seeing it like, oh, you’re right, I am doing the same thing over and over again, when it felt so new to me. And I spent the next three, four years — and it’s a never-ending journey — of like, okay, I’m going to figure this composition thing out. Like I’m going to read as much about it as I can. Turns out there’s not too much to explain about it. It’s one of those things that it’s like, there’s kind of — here’s some guidelines, but it’s a thing you have to practice and you have to get feedback. That’s the big thing in art — is you have to do it, get feedback, repeat. And so it was years of doing it. And then I get to my sophomore year at RISD, where in the illustration program, we have a sophomore review end of the year where three random professors look at a wall of your work. And it’s like a 20, 30 minute meeting. And they tell you what’s working, what’s not working, what classes they recommend. And I put all my work on the wall. I’ve got all these paintings. Your sophomore year, everyone’s in traditional painting classes, traditional drawing classes for perspective, anatomy, oil painting, color, and some design practices. And I have all these oil paintings up, all these drawings for my conceptual classes. And I have these three teachers and two of them I’ve never met. And one of the first things they talk about is, “Oh, you’re a great composer.”
And it was like one of the first things they said — and it was this thing I had been struggling against, and still does not necessarily come to me easily, but I now have a rhythm. I have a process on how to get there. And that’s what art — and illustration particularly, and design — is about. Is repeating what works and figuring out how to repeat what works, and like why it worked in the first place. It’s a lot of internal reflection. But it was this moment where I was like, oh, it proved to me that that work I had put in, that had felt really hard, had paid off, even though it was three-plus years later of like not really seeing it, not really feeling it. And then to now be almost graduating, and it’s this thing that I have so many things I’m excited to improve at, because it means I get to make a better image. And I love beautiful images. I love successful images. And there’s something lovely about the fact that there are answers actually to what is not working in an image. Like, there’s an answer.
That’s the great part about illustration — is it teaches you: how do you find that answer? And then how do you solve that answer? And how do you do that with your peers? How are you okay with taking feedback? And that’s one of my favorite skills leaving the school — is just being able to look at my work. And it’s not like about me. It’s about the work. One of my favorite professors at RISD, Fred Lynch, who’s wonderful — he very famously says, “Bring your work into crit like this.” Like, you could drop it at any moment.
Krista: Yeah.
Lily: Because things are going to hurt sometimes. There’s going to be pieces you care about deeply that you want everyone to love as much as you do. And then you’re going to bring it in and put it on the wall. And everyone’s going to be like, “Honestly, it’s not really a great color of green. And that part’s not working. And oh, there’s a tangent there.” You know, like so many things can be picked apart in an image infinitely, forever. But the wonderful part at the end of that is — you got to say, okay, I like that part. I don’t like that part of the feedback. Let’s try again. Let’s do the next piece. And there is a solution for it. It’s about honing that muscle, honing your eye, honing your hands, figuring out what materials you like, the processes.
Yeah, I don’t know. I think it’s something that I was very lucky that — I think maybe some part of my neurodivergence just said, this is the thing that we’re going to do and we’re not going to stop.
Krista: You know — wait, I have that too. We are related. There’s no—
Lily: Yeah, we’re related.
Krista: Oh, who could tell.
Lily: And so I literally cannot imagine a world in which I did not pursue it in some way. Like, I was talking to my brother and I was like — I told him like last year, I was like, “Yeah, my backup was like going into law.” And he looked at me like I was crazy. He’s like, “I can’t imagine you doing anything else.” Yeah, it’s like tough. I don’t have a good answer. I think it’s something you do have to find internally, to not give up, you know.
Krista: Okay, I have a lot of questions from that. It was amazing.
Lily: I said a lot.
Krista: You did say a lot.
Lily: I’m a yapper.
Krista: That’s okay. I love it. I do look at you as someone who like found your thing early, and like in some way you’ve pursued it until, you know, you’re almost graduated from college. You know, you have — by this, there’s the whole thing about like 10 years to mastery. I mean, you put in like way more than that.
Lily: My whole life.
Krista: Your whole life. Is there anything — I’ve always been curious, because I was like the opposite. Like I didn’t have a thing until way later in life. And I always wonder what it’s like to be someone who found their thing young. Like, I’m assuming in some ways it was amazing. I’m also wondering if in other ways it was isolating at all. Did you feel like super different from other people? Can you talk about it?
Lily: Yeah, for sure. I mean, even on like the family level, like I know in the family dynamic, because I had found my thing so early and I was also an older sister, I really felt, and felt very cognizant of, the fact that like, the model I was setting forth for like my younger brother. And I know that was a lot of pressure on him to feel like he had a thing. And I tried my best to communicate, no, like my brain is just wired in a really weird way. And I got really lucky. And like now he’s figured out things he really loves. And he got to it in the way he needed to get there. For me in high school—
Krista: Still very young.
Lily: Still very young. Exactly. And who knows — it can always change.
Krista: For sure.
Lily: And that’s the beauty of it. For me in high school, middle school, it was really tough because even though I wasn’t sure it was something I would pursue in school or as a career, it was something I knew I wanted to get better at, and I knew I wanted to treat seriously. To me, the arts are a very serious thing and should be treated with a lot of respect. There’s a lot of skill and thought and care that goes into it. And that was like a feeling I had had from a very young age. So it was very tough when you’re all prepubescent teenagers, you know, and not everyone cares as much as you do. That’s a very hard thing to communicate. I’m pretty stubborn, too. So it was definitely hard for me to understand why the people in my art class didn’t feel as strongly as I did. Because I was like, “You’re in this art class with me. Like, what do you mean?”
Krista: Yeah.
Lily: And it made me, in a lot of ways, feel somewhat like a little bit of a cuckoo, or an odd duck out, in that. Because it was something I was not only putting time in during the school hours, but also it was the thing I would do for all my free time after school. I improved at a much faster pace than people who weren’t putting in all that time. So to other people, it looked like this very quick skill increase, versus it was a lot of these very quiet isolated hours behind it.
Krista: Yeah, I saw that. It’s amazing. Yeah.
Lily: And even in college, it’s really interesting, where I’m surrounded by extremely serious people, like some of the most talented people I will ever be around in my life at such a large scale. Like, it’s amazing. And even then, I’m a little bit of a cuckoo odd duck out of like, it’s the thing I eat, sleep, and breathe. My joke is, yeah, I go home from our five-hour crit, I do homework, and then I get home and I do art for myself. I’m like, that’s my day. Because it’s just — it’s really lovely. I have friends who are like that. Other people who are a little bit better at work-life balance. And luckily RISD has been a place where you’re surrounded by people who care about it in so many different ways and levels. But definitely those early years felt like very much an odd duck situation. And even now, about to enter the industry, and about to enter the real world, so to speak, and to leave the college bubble — a lot of us seniors are already really starting to feel that pressure of how people outside of the arts don’t always think of it as seriously as we do. And that’s very tough to deal with when you’re like, oh, this thing that I treat with so much respect and so much dedication is not thought of on the same level by everybody else. And you have to be okay with that to a certain degree, that you can’t explain the skill and the time and the expertise that goes into making a really well-crafted image to everybody. Sometimes you just have to kind of take it and be okay. Like, “Okay, fine, whatever, just sign the contract, like I get it,” you know.
Krista: It’s true. It’s true for any craft, though, you know. Like, I always think of — like when people watch — because I didn’t grow up doing gymnastics, and I would watch gymnastics like in the Olympics. I’m like, “Oh, that’s pretty cool.” And then in my mid-20s, I took a gymnastics class and I was like, oh my gosh. And it’s the same with art. Like, if I go and try to make something that’s in my head, like, it is not going to show up like I want it to. And that makes me appreciate what you do so much more. But it’s just, you know, it’s hard for people to understand the level.
Lily: And on a lot of levels, I really — I sympathize, and I really understand it, because it’s not something everyone wants to try at the end of the day. So I understand like not having that like awareness. Or, like, we all live really busy lives. We all have things we’re experts in. And we don’t always have the time to consider what other people are working on in their day-to-day life. The wonderful thing about illustration is, even the parts that I had deeply respected, being in an illustration program like the one at RISD, which really puts an emphasis not only on your technical skill, but really on your conceptual development and your ability to communicate and talk about art — something I’ve just really appreciated is, these things I didn’t realize were going on behind an image, even as someone who loved making images and painting, whether it was more fine arts paintings or more illustrative work — suddenly it was like the world opened up to me and I was like, wow, so many decisions are happening in every image. Like, it’s insane. Like, on the commercial advertisement level, to the narrative picture book, to a comic — like, so much is going on behind the scenes that to me, it’s just so exciting, and really fun to consider like how something got made and why.
Krista: Yeah. What do you think about the relationship between getting better at something and having a passion for it? Do you think they’re super intertwined?
Lily: I don’t think they are, actually. I think for me — I think getting better at something can be a symptom of being passionate about something. I think for me, passion can really come from just a deep place of love, of enjoying something. I am really passionate about horses and horse care and horseback riding, and it took me a lot of years to realize that the things I was passionate about were not necessarily things I wanted to improve at. I thought I really loved riding for a very long time. And it turned out through a lot of trial and error that the thing about horses I love so much is the care of them — is like the muscular development, is the veterinary care, is like the housing. And that, while I like riding here and there, it’s not something I have as much of a drive to improve at, because the things I want to put attention to are like in other dimensions. I think there’s so many people who — I mean, just because I’m an artist — who are very passionate about art and don’t make art themselves. I think like art historians are a really interesting example. Oftentimes they have painting degrees, they have illustration degrees, then they go and get their master’s in history, and are equally, if not maybe more passionate about the arts as I am, and maybe just don’t make as much art. So I think it’s something that can be really linked, but can also be really separate at the same time. I think improvement happens from doing something and from being willing to be critical of yourself and be able to reflect. And sometimes we are able to do that about the things we’re passionate about, which is really hard. Some things we love — and it’s really hard to look internally and be like, okay, what parts am I really bad at? And that’s one of the most important parts of your life, oftentimes, is realizing that.
Krista: Do you ever think about the difference between a calling and a passion? And do those words hit differently for you? Do you feel like you were called to art?
Lily: Yeah. I wonder. I wonder — I think maybe if I had to categorize them as separate things…
Maybe a calling is like this very external thing that you feel is coming from the world. Like the world needs you to do this thing. Maybe a passion is something more internal and self-serving in a lot of ways. I think for me, they’re very intertwined.
I think there’s a part of me that — making art is something that comes from inside to out, like I want to show to the world. But also that’s kind of that calling, as I feel called to show art to the world, like to show and make beautiful images that make people’s lives better, help them understand things, share stories that are important to me, and like give people a window into stories they wouldn’t otherwise experience. So those things for me are really intertwined — like that call to share. For some people, maybe that calling is like more specific, maybe even more external than mine. I think mine is very lumped together with the internal just joy of making.
Krista: I love that actually a lot. Tell us what type of art that you’re doing right now. I don’t always even know. What are you super excited about?
Lily: Yeah, I’m super excited about a lot. I’m one of those where people always are like, “Okay, slow down. You are going to be alive for at least 30 more years, let’s hope.”
Krista: Let’s hope. Come on, Lily. Let’s hope.
Lily: I’m hoping for more. I’m hoping for more, but I’m hedging my bets. Who knows sometimes? For me, so in an illustration program like I’m in, I have — I’m trying to think of a good way to encapsulate what I do. I work with a lot of narrative art specifically. As a graduate, I’m planning on going into picture books, on a variety of skills, doing narrative art for picture books for like ages five to eight around. I have a book possibly in talks with a publisher.
Krista: Let’s see. Let’s see.
Lily: Oh, I know that’s news to you, but I’m trying to keep that a little bit — I’m trying to, I’m hoping it works. So if it doesn’t, I’ll be sad. You know, middle grade work, and YA in terms of like covers and black-and-white interiors, is really fun for me. I work primarily with traditional media. So I paint with gouache, which is a bit of a blend between watercolor and acrylic. It’s a very opaque watercolor that can be water soluble, but it has a really nice matte finish. And I work with crayons on top, which is very fun. And I also, when I’m doing black and white, I work with ink wash. So I use like a dip calligraphy pen and then brushes with ink. That’s a big part of my practice — is narrative work and storytelling. And parts of that have really involved and begun to include comics quite a bit. I’ve done a little bit of journal comicking where I document daily life moments, but also more large, expansive stories. Another part of my practice that’s a little bit smaller are things like editorial illustration for magazines. And this is all on the very commercial side. I very much have my personal practice of doing plein air painting. And I see — I do everything. It’s really fun. It’s that moment of — how to do things. So now I get to do a bunch. It’s wonderful. I am someone who — I would call myself a colorist. I love color. Love seeing how we can interpret the world in different ways through color, through shape, through designing a landscape and a world. And what that can tell us about each other. So the wonderful thing about illustration is, a lot of the core skills of illustration, which for me at least boils down to communication — how well can you communicate? Are you communicating what you intend? And then does the audience read what you want them to read? Or does it become something new? A lot of that is really what boils my practice down to — of like narrative art and a little bit of conceptual work as well. And that communication goes all the way back to when you’re a little kid.
Krista: All the way back.
Lily: And those are just still really the things I like to talk about, whether it’s in picture books — like, how do you experience those big feelings? How do you work through them? But in the way that doesn’t feel condescending, but is also interesting for the parent to read and listen to. And then in comics, like — I love an allegory. You know, I love thinking about how can we externalize and make physical these really emotional internal experiences, and create a whole world and a story out of those moments.
Krista: I love that. I could ask you so many questions, but I’m going to let you go soon. I have one last question for you. So for people who are interested in art — and art is such a big word, it just means so many things.
Lily: Capital A, Art.
Krista: And they have no idea where to start. And they have that — I always think of — do you know who Ira Glass is? He is the host of This American Life.
Lily: I’m not sure.
Krista: Anyway, he talks about this thing he calls the taste gap, which is kind of what you were talking about earlier. It’s like, you have this image in your head, but your skills are like nowhere near where you need to be to be able to create that thing. So when people have basically zero skills yet, but they have things they like — we’re all there — and yeah, you have more skills than you think you do. So like, what’s like a little journey they could take? Like, where could they start and how could they keep going so that they don’t get discouraged by that first like terrible drawing or whatever it is that they’re trying to create?
Lily: Yeah. I think one of the first things to remember is, we all make terrible drawings. Even 20 years later of making terrible drawings as a preschooler, I still make terrible drawings now. And it’s about finding joy and finding humor in the fact that we can make those things. I think about — cave paintings are so beautiful and also so wonderfully simple. A lot of people think of cave paintings as that first illustration in a lot of ways. I think a really great place to start is — think about the things that you like looking at art-wise. If you’re interested in art, maybe that’s comics. Maybe you love Ghibli movies. Maybe you’re really into video games. Maybe you love going to museums. And I think it’s really great to start yourself off with the things you’re already interested in, because then you have that passion, that pull to keep you going. Instead of being like, okay, well, everyone says I need to draw portraits and hands, so I’m going to start there. Don’t do that. Like, you’ll get there when you get there. You have the rest of your life to figure out portraits and hands. If you want to draw elephants and you want them to be really cute, draw cute little elephants. I’m a big fan of drawing how-to books, because there’s so many types — they cover so many different genres and art styles. And just, you know, one of the first ways I practiced drawing was using tracing paper and this how-to-draw-dogs book, and I would just trace the dog drawings. And I was like seven, you know. And I think giving yourself the freedom to trace, just to figure out — how does it feel to move your hand in these different ways? To practice drawing from an image that you’re looking at, and like, okay, how do I draw this water bottle that’s right in front of me? And being okay when it looks a little bit wonky, or when you do nail it. I think those are great ways to start. And again, it’s about following that interest. If you’re interested in video game characters, draw your dream video game character, even if it looks silly. Follow those passions. I have so many sketchbooks from when I was in middle school that are just dragons. They’re not good dragons, but I wanted to draw dragons. And same with purses. And I think it’s really about following the parts of it that make you happy, and taking away that pressure that it has to be good, because you don’t have to show it to anybody. We’re in this era that we feel like we have to share, post on Instagram, post on Tumblr, share, share, share. But your sketchbook is yours. You can hide it away. You can lock it up. No one has to see it. I have so many I never want anyone to see from when I was a kid. And I will as an adult. We all kind of get a little, “Oh god, you’re looking at that. You shouldn’t. That’s private.” And take that pressure off. Go back to those ways you made as a kid. Throw paint at a wall and paint over it again.
And just remind yourself that it’s not about creating something perfect. It’s about creating something that you made — especially in this digital era of AI. It’s about touching stuff. It’s about saying, “I made that.” Even if it’s not beautiful. I made that. There’s ownership. There’s autonomy in that. You get to make choices. And I think there’s just something really beautiful in that.
It’s not a super concise answer. If I could, I could give a whole workout regimen for drawing. But it’s tough because there’s so many different ways to go with it.
Krista: For sure.
Lily: And truly, just the best way is being like, what do I like looking at? And try and draw that.
Krista: That’s very wise advice. Thank you so much, Lily. I love watching your journey. I can’t wait to see where you go from here.
Lily: Thank you. I’m excited.
