Doing what you love with artist Steph Edwards

We've been excited to learn more about talented female creative Steph Edwards. Behind her beautiful illustrations that depict female empowerment, positivity and inclusivity is her story; which has been quite the journey! Steph gets real about her creative path and the up's and down's that have lead to her successful art career today. We hope you are inspired by her story as much as we are.

Creative Journey

A lot of people don't know this, but this time last year, my creative niche was Photoshop Art, where I would bring to life fantasy self-portraits and magical scenes. I had a successful journey through this niche, working with some great brands like Adobe and Disney. However, there was still something missing for me creatively, and as a business, it wasn't consistent enough to stay alive.

For well over a year, I had been dabbling with the idea of pursuing illustration until I finally got the guts in April 2021 to purchase my first iPad and stylus and give it a go. I was hooked. I felt this instant connection between myself and this outlet. 8 months later, and I'm still obsessed!

"My greatest life lesson so far is that it's not always about talent; it's about persistence."

LESSONS LEARNED IN BUSINESS

Oh, so many! This year has been a really steep learning curve for me. I went from having a little to no income through Me Myself and Steph to a very consistent income, which gives me the opportunity to work full-time as an artist if I choose. (I'm also a part-time English teacher).

The biggest lesson I've learned is that no matter how much research you do, you're still going to make mistakes along the way (especially at the beginning), but you learn a lot from them very quickly. I've learned a lot about my worth this year, too; I've turned down work with very big brands who weren't willing to pay me properly for my work.

I've also learned plenty about bookkeeping, profit margins, logistics, customer service, packaging... you name it!

AMAZING ADVICE I'VE RECEIVED

When I was thinking about venturing into illustration, I was cautious about it as I already had a creative outlet (Photoshop art); I thought everyone would roll their eyes and think, "oh, here she goes again." It was really the main contributing factor to why it took me so long to jump into it.

I had a video call with my good friend Anna from @annamcnaughty all about it, and she immediately said, "you should just do it; creative people are allowed to explore as many outlets as they want to express themselves." I never heard it put so simply and true before. 

LIFE LESSONS

My greatest life lesson so far is that it's not always about talent; it's about persistence. I could have given up on this Business back when it was @memyselfandsteph_. I was actually only a couple of days away from heading to the official offices to close it when I bought my iPad, and everything turned around. Then, I just changed the business name and got back to work.

CREATIVE TOOLS

My iPad Pro, Procreate, and my stylus. They're all the tools I've used to build my Business so far.

SOMETHING I DIDN'T KNOW WHEN STARTING OUT...

I didn't know how popular my art would become and how fast my account would grow. It's been such a rollercoaster of a year for me! I'm so excited to see what 2022 brings!

FAVORITE MOTTO

I have so many, it's hard to choose. I guess my favorite has to be "all we have is now." It motivates me so much!

TAKE A LOOK AT MY WORK

You can see my Photoshop work at @memyselfandsteph_, but I'm no longer actively pursuing this outlet anymore. It's still a cool place to see some of my previous stuff, though.

@toyoufromsteph
www.toyoufromsteph.com