Today we’d like to introduce you to Devin Kraft.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I was born and raised in Roswell, NM. I used to pass the time by renting every and any movie I could find at our local Hastings, and I got really into Japanese animation. In college while pursuing a film degree at Baylor University, I started studying Japanese, and ended up studying abroad for a year at Hosei University.
During high school and even college classes, I constantly wrote and illustrated my own comic and eventually graphic novels, and after saving up for a bit after college, I went freelance and made a living by crowdfunding original graphic novels and selling posters at comic, anime and gaming conventions.
Please tell us about your art.
I tend to gravitate towards two types of projects- poster design and long form graphic novels. For poster designs, I usually try to create a dynamic, vivid and colorful representation of the subject matter I’m working on. Something that you can post up in your place and use as a conversation piece with people to connect over a shared interest. I tend to work from things that inspire me and use my art as a way to connect with people, and I hope that’s how my poster work is used as well.
For my graphic novels, I tend to take a subject or concept I’m passionate about and wrap fiction around it to keep the audience entertained while I try to explore the core theme. Dragon Slayer, my first fully colored graphic novel follows the hollow victories of revenge, but at its core the book is about holding on to pain longer than you should, as well as trying to find a mission to believe in while the world is on fire.
Silence, my most recent graphic novel is about a girl who runs away from home after a heated argument, only to receive a letter several months later that his ship is lost at sea. It’s a story about reconciliation, and making up for the mistakes of youth, while also being about how music can hold everything together when life gets tough. I try to make fiction serve fact or what I perceive to be ‘truth’ as much as I can in my stories, while trying to use artifice to enhance the stakes or better the core theme whenever possible.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
To me, success is creating a story that resonates with people and helps them deal with their problems in one way or another. I crowdfund my comics, so the actual number of copies that make it into people’s hands are few, but I think less important than being widespread is inspiring friends and family by chasing my dreams wholeheartedly.
Most of the work I do is alone and for long stretches, so it’s a huge pat on the back when aspiring artists or peers recognize the effort put into something like a graphic novel and let me know that it helped them push forward on their projects too. I kind of feel like my work ethic is more inspiring than the work itself sometimes.
To me becoming a successful artist hinges on not only putting in the hours but forcing yourself to push your boundaries. I constantly have to break my own artistic bones so they can reset and form into a better, more efficient, and more dynamic art style. I know a lot of artists from doing the convention circuit, and the ones who try to see what the audience is seeing and aim for that are the ones who tend to succeed. I also feel like having something to say is huge – coming at art theme first as opposed to subject matter first.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I post as much as I can up on www.cheshirecatart.com, and it’s a great place to see both my poster portfolio as well as find more info on my graphic novels and professional work.
I have an Etsy shop as well, where you can pick up physical copies of everything: https://etsy.com/shop/cheshirecatart
I’m on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram as @cheshirecatart. I also try to make it out to comic, anime and gaming conventions in the DFW area whenever possible!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cheshirecatart.com
- Email: cheschirecat@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheshirecatart/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheshirecatart
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/devinkraft
- Other: www.cheshirecatart.com
Image Credit:
The photo credit for the photo of me is by Micah Nunley.
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