words by Marco Smith Photo by Emily McCartney
The first
thing you get when you meet Christina Moreland is energy. It’s evident even before you meet her. Just take a look at any of her profiles
across any social media platform and
it’s easy to see. You feel it when she
walks into a room. She’s just a huge
burst of positive energy and excitement.
The type where it would be hard to imagine her sad about anything. She’s a self-proclaimed “goofball” who doesn’t
take herself too seriously. She also
happens to be an extremely talented illustrator but don't limit her to just that label. "I guess I prefer saying artist because I like doing other things. I like animation, I like video and photography as well. You know just being able to dabble in other things." Whatever medium she chooses there in one constant....her sense of humor. "I think humor is important. I think being able to make people laugh is important. So I always try to combine the two and make really funny goofy art. Cartoons that's my thing. It's such a universal thing to me."
What inspires you?
What is it in your opinion that you
bring to the table artistically that is unique to you?
IT: What led you to do what it is
you do now or how did you get started?
CM: I got started just by being that "art kid" in high school. I was the kid that would doodle in her notebook instead of taking notes. Eventually people noticed and would tell me how good I was. Then I thought that maybe this was something I could pursue. It also helped that my parents were really encouraging with my artistic endeavors.
What is your opinion of the art
scene here in Dallas?
I love it! I think it's the right size compared to bigger cities like New York and L.A. It's small enough to when I attend events or art shows I can approach people and they're very welcoming and supportive of what I'm doing. For the most part it's very family oriented from my experience. That spirit of collaboration is definitely here. But I've learned I haved to be more extroverted to be able to really take advantage of it.
Disney for sure. Like those first animated movies were like the first seed in my whole love for art. Artists like Mike Mitchell who does really awesome cartoon work and hyper-realism portraits. Also local artists like Joonbug whom I've always followed. He really showed me that you can make it as a freelancer and as an illustrator. Especially when people tell you not to go into illustration because of money or whatever. He really inspired me to stick with it. I also get inspired by artists who don't necessarily draw like Jeremy Biggers who does all sorts of things or Topic.
What has been your experience being
a female artist positive or negative?
I honestly don't think I've received any negative experiences being a woman. Maybe being as young as I am, people don't want to take you seriously unless you've already made a name for yourself. But for the most part people have treated me pretty well. I'm pretty lucky because I know that women, especially women of color experience prejudices and discrimination.
I just want to be able to work wherever I want to because my work is that good. I want them to hunt me down to work on their brand or collaborate on their project. Mainly because I love the idea of traveling and I want to be able to do that with my art. That inspires me. Also because I know If I don't put the work in I'll be disappointing all the people who supported and believed in me and also myself.
What gives you the most joy in doing
what you do?
Just having that person come to me and say "Hey I saw that illustration you did" or "Hey I saw that artwork that you posted and I loved it." It makes me feel good. I giggle a little bit. Here's a stranger that became my friend in that way. I love that feeling.
I think just my energy. I always try to be overwhelmingly positive and goofy with my work. There is so much negative crap out there and I don't ever want that to be the focus. I want to reflect that positive energy in my work.
Ok, so what’s next?
That's a good question. I'm in the process of finishing my comic book which is a learning process in itself because I didn't know much about the production of comics. But I want to do a little miniseries for that. I want to get into animation more and just finishing up school.
You can check out Christina's work here
You can check out Christina's work here
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