Meet Brianna Osaseri | Illustrator & Comic Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brianna Osaseri and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brianna, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
I think a lot of artists can relate to the finishing stages of a project when you decide you’re done with a project because you physically can’t look at it anymore. This piece has taken hours, days, or months out of your life and you’re just happy to finally send it off to whichever client or school you’re working for at the time. What makes me happy is when I look back at the piece after some time with a fresh set of eyes and can say “Hey, that’s not bad!” The feeling of accomplishment, especially if it’s a piece not in my comfort zone, starts to creep through. What makes me even happier is the supporters around encouraging me since more often than not my inner voices get really loud! Throughout my time working in the industry and pursuing an MFA, I have felt like a failure, thinking I am blocking my own way of reaching my potential. But when I start to actually listen to my teachers, peers, and family in the same industry, it makes me happy to know that people care about me and my success. So, finishing major projects that get me further in developing or realizing my skills as an artist and the support people lend me along the way make me the happiest.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a digital illustrator and specialize in book illustration, comics, and concept illustration. I use expressive linework and rich color to capture diverse personalities, subjects, and narratives in detail-oriented characters and environments. My biggest inspirations are Japanese and American comics and animation for their techniques in visual storytelling. So much so that my bookshelf teeters on the border of collection and hoard and my “to watch” list is miles long. Between two earbuds with music cranked to full blast, my favorite part of my job is bringing new stories to the forefront through my work. One of the biggest challenges with my work that I’m still facing today is overinvesting in my work. I love drawing and taking an image in my head and bringing it to life before my eyes- it’s thrilling and relaxing at its best and anxiety-inducing and crippling at its worse but it’s all because I care deeply for my work and the work I do for others. But striking a balance between work and experiencing life beyond my computer screen is something I need to reckon with myself. Once I do, I know my life will be better for it. Another struggle I have is recognizing my value and the experience it took me to get to the point I am and taking that into account when valuing my work. When I first graduated, I was desperate to get any job I could since I was already anxious after only a month out of graduation. I thought I would be one of the artists who couldn’t find work after graduation and the thought of the investment that I put into schooling had gone to waste. So, when I finally got a job, I know now I drastically undervalued myself- offering discounts so clients came back, offering cheap options since I was afraid I’d push people away with my pricing, and doing way more work than what I was being paid for. This is the same kind of journey many artists have when they first start out and don’t know how to navigate the industry and I was right there with them. One of the biggest lessons I’ve taken away from freelancing and advice from teachers is that my experience didn’t start and end with my education. I literally have 26 years of experience- all the education, hours spent drawing and practicing, all the school work, all the personal commissions I’ve done for friends, the sketchbooks and scrap pieces of paper I filled with drawings throughout childhood- all the work I’ve done throughout my whole life have created the artist I am today. I should value my work based on that.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The biggest shoutout to my friends and family and my instructors at SCAD and the art department at Washington and Lee University for being pinnacle players in my journey to becoming the artist and person I am today. I don’t know where I’d be today without any of you!

Website: briannaosaseri.com

Instagram: @boo._.art

Linkedin: BriannaOsaseri

Twitter: BriannaOsaseri