Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Vasquez.
Michael, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started off studying graphic design illustration in college at Fresno State University. I started off creating fan art of Pokemon illustrations that were in the style of indigenous groups from Mesoamerica. I really only made these for fun, but people were wanting to buy them, so I started to attend little pop-up events in my town of Fresno, CA. selling art prints and stickers. I then expanded to make more original art that represented the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America. My product line also expanded into enamel pins, embroidered patches, and apparel. In 2021, I was an artist resident of the Changarrito program at the Mexic-Arte Museum. That program gave me a ton of exposure and growth in my artwork in Texas. After the program, the museum wholesale bought my products to sell in their gift shop. I started exploring other museums to get my artwork into.
In 2022, I started collaborating with the Dallas Art Museum to sell some of my products. You can find enamel pins, patches, and apparel in their gift shop!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
For the most part, it has been a smooth road. I think the biggest struggles for me have been time management. Along with running my business, I have also kept a full-time job all throughout. I’ve always had to juggle my time between those two along with personal responsibilities, and other obligations of mine. I still struggle with this today, but I am able to manage my time a little better by keeping a calendar to remind me of projects, events, or other things that need to get or will happen. Another struggle that I think many people can relate to was the Covid pandemic. At least for me, a lot of my marketing and business revenue came from in-person events, and since the pandemic caused many events to get canceled/rescheduled, that took a huge toll on my business’ revenue. I was able to offset this a bit by building out my personal website and marketing al to more on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Thankfully most events have been slowly coming back, so I’ve been excited to get back into those.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a graphic designer and illustrator that specializes in digital illustration of indigenous and Mesoamerican designs. I am most known for my original art of various Mesoamerican gods from mythology, but I am also known for my Pokemon fan art illustrations :). Along with making digital illustrations, I also produce art prints, vinyl stickers, enamel pins, embroidered patches, and apparel for my illustrations. I am very proud of how happy my art products make people. A lot of people make comments on how they don’t see this kind of artwork that celebrates indigenous designs. So when people see animals, objects, or gods that represent their culture, they immediately love it. And so, just seeing that my art can make people joyful and excited makes me proud.
What matters most to you?
I think what matters most to me is sticking to my roots and the mission that I am seeking to accomplish. I always get told to explore other cultures other than the indigenous central American cultures, but I think I just want to stick with those for right now and continue expanding and exploring ideas within that culture. It is not a culture that is explored very often within this realm, so I want to continue doing that.
Pricing:
- Enamel Pins – $15
- Embroidered Patches – $10
- T-shirts – $30
- Art Prints – $12 through $30
- Custom designs – Contact me 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.michaelvasquezillustration.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/izelillustrations
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IzelStudios
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Izel_Art
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM8WhArRy/
