Meet Brittany Osaseri | Comic Artist & Illustrator

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

Hi Brittany, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
This is a tough question to answer but a relevant one as I’ve thought about giving up a few times, especially as my art career has gone far from what I planned and imagined. Coming off the high of steady flow of commission work during COVID, I got comfortable freelancing. My dream of living off my art work was realized and I felt like I was one of the lucky few. However post COVID, I was met with a steady decline of new opportunities, having to take up a part time job to make ends meet, clients pausing projects or stopping communication all together. It could be a by-product of the advent of A.I., people not locked in doors anymore and being forced to fill up their time with new endeavors, or just the tides of life taking people in different directions. And commission work isn’t all fun and rainbows either. Sometimes projects would suck the life out of me, with the repeated cycle of my ideas being edited and reduced to a shell of itself, and long lists of unnecessary corrections and edits. I grew to learn to just get through it because I needed the money rather than out of passion. I think having a client ghost me for the first time in the middle of a project was my final straw. I can’t put my heart and soul into art that is at the mercy of someone else. I can’t depend solely on clients to make my dreams come true.

So there were many nights where I would oscillate between emptiness and sadness, having to wake up to go to a job I hate, having enough for bills but nothing more. My passion dried up. Despite that, during this time I was able to work up the courage to apply to a batch of agencies to see if I could pursue my dream that way. It’s very unlikely to be offered representation the first round of queries sent, and that turned out to be true. A few agents were kind enough to give me advice and encouragement though. One of them said that if my art evolved or if I had a dummy book to share then I could query them again. This advice acted as the final push to take a good hard look at my work, which at that point was 99% commission work, and realize that none of it really represented me and what I wanted to create. It also fueled me to see that it didn’t show my full potential either.

So when it comes to knowing whether to keep going or give up, I asked myself, would I be satisfied if everything just ended here? These ideas of stories, characters, emotions just dying with me with nothing made of it? Many artists have given up, no longer finding joy in it. But there are so many people that have given me their support, given me their time and energy to help push me and support me in my endeavors. I’ve had this long-lasting fear that after everything, all their effort would be in vain. I wanted to make something of myself, create something that I can show them and say, “Hey, look! I did it! I couldn’t have done it without you.” My twin sister Brianna Osaseri, an artist in her own right which your magazine has interviewed before, said, “It’ll only be a waste IF I gave up.”

With that I took the step to buy a new sketchbook, a little cheap one from Dollar Tree, to just draw whatever I wanted, not caring if it looked bad but to draw for myself again, something I haven’t done in years. Along with putting pencil to paper again, something I haven’t done in years either, it revitalized me to “learn how to draw” again. My interests in watching tutorials greatly increased: going back to basics, reading up on color theory and art history, things I didn’t care to pursue when I was younger.

And things have gotten better. I’ve gotten a slightly better and less miserable part time job, with enough flexibility to draw while I’m on the clock, I have more disposable income to not only pay my bills, but also afford to eat out, get new clothes. My art in my little sketchbook is noticeably improving and now I’m even writing again. I’m currently working on my own graphic novel and will use this project to reapply to agencies as a Writer/Artist. Now I don’t know what will come of it, but I’m excited again. Drawing what I want has me excited again. The support I’ve had from my family and friends has remained constant as ever. I’m glad I didn’t give up.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As I’m on this renewed journey of artistic development and discovery, I’m excited to see how my art will improve over time! This purposeful dive into furthering my artistic abilities I think is going to give me the correct mindset going into this undertaking. Another positive is that I’m not starting from zero. Looking back and seeing my art as not the ultimate showcasing of my abilities is an indication of my improvement already. My personal interests outside of art are music and fashion, particularly on the gothic and alternative subculture side. I’m excited to imbue that into my new work as well.

Being born in ’97, I was growing up amidst anime’s soaring popularity into mainstream American culture. My oldest sister, four years my senior, started drawing and sketching first in my family and was already coming up with characters and storylines by the time I wanted to put pencil to paper as well. I would draw what I consumed at the time, favorites being Naruto, Bleach, Yugioh, many of the anime that would play on Cartoon Network, Toonami, 4KidsTV, and more. I remember in fifth grade confirming to myself that I would “stick to this art thing.” Growing up I was a very quiet kid. I wasn’t great at approaching and connecting with people myself but the thing that would help bridge that gap was drawing. Kids would approach me, curious, mostly friendly and encouraging. My teachers too were very kind and motivating. I became known as that kid good at drawing. I think that’s what led me in my adulthood to initially pursue drawing for other people as my career. I enjoyed materializing the imaginations of those who couldn’t. This became my ethos for some time.

In college is where I got my first real exposure to western comics that weren’t just super hero comics. Comics like “Pretty Deadly” by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos, “Blue is the Warmest Color” by Jul Maroh, and “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” by Alison Bechdel, that had a diverse array of styles, excellent and purposeful use of color, and meaningful narratives and thoughtful layout utilization. This added a new source of inspiration to my work, which has developed into more of a mix between manga and western graphic novel styles.

The funny thing about answering as to what sets me apart from others is something I think everyone at some point tries to figure that out. I am an artist with a concentration in comic art and illustration. I draw my inspiration from both eastern sources, anime and manga, and western sources, specifically western graphic novels. With art educators, there may still be a stigma against anime and manga art, or maybe that’s gone away in the years as anime and manga have only gained popularity in the states. I never got the opportunity to take an art class until college, in which those years were the first time where my style was critiqued and questioned. Out of the art professors I had, there was one that offered criticism regarding my style as a whole, questioning why I drew in an anime/manga style “since I’m not Japanese.” I had never been questioned about that until then. I think in part due to never taking an art class until undergrad. My initial reaction was of bewilderment honestly, but as I’ve grown up more, she was right to question me. There was nothing in the way I drew that represented my own voice, nothing that truly was unique that I could only do. It’s funny how just time can make someone understand advice from years earlier.

During college I had an identity crisis as to what career I wanted to pursue. I went into college with the mindset that I would be studying biology to become a dermatologist and keep drawing on the side. I majored in Studio Art and Biology, but because of the school scheduling system itself, I couldn’t pursue a Bachelors of Science Biology degree and a Bachelors of Arts Studio Art degree, leaving me with the choice to either just minor in art, or to study for a Bachelors of Arts in Biology, keeping the double major but not having vital classes that would prepare me to go to med school for dermatology. It’s funny how my advisor at the time could see right through me on what I wanted to truly do with my life. I chose to double major with double Bachelors of Arts degrees in Biology and Studio Art. Guess how much biology I’m doing now? None! Zero! My advice to others is to not let your pride get in the way of realizing that there may be such a thing as trying to do too much. Also to listen to your heart.

I’ve discussed this more in the first question, but after graduation I pursued freelancing to build up my portfolio. During COVID, work got so good that I got comfortable just freelancing. Post COVID, I saw a vast decline in projects, and had to pick up part time work to make ends meet. First it was working in fast food which was one of the worst experiences of my life. Respect fast food workers people, the hell they go through for pennies is insane. In spite of the nightmare it was, I still worked hard. Developed my social skills by interacting with customers and my coworkers, making sure that I was dependable. During that time I decided that since I have a degree in art, I could go into art teaching for k-12, and got the advice to apply to be a substitute teacher to pad out my resume for teaching experience. Thankfully through my hard work in my fast food job, managers I asked to be a reference said yes with no hesitation and I am now a substitute teacher. This has given me the space to work on my commissions that I still have and finally create for myself again to truly discover what’s unique to me in comparison to my industry colleagues. This road has been nothing but challenging to say the least. I’d say that the lessons I’ve learned from my journey so far is to not get comfortable letting your business hang in the balance of a few hands. What I should’ve done at the same time as my commission work was keep up with my own art and branch out into new avenues to apply my art. I’ve gotten the advice countless times to post on social media, table at cons and sell merch, but I was too comfortable just doing my commission work. It was secure until it wasn’t. But sometimes it just takes growing up a bit more to have the mental clarity to finally get that ball rolling. I’m excited to finish writing and illustrating my graphic novel, as well as getting into making fun merchandise like charms, keychains, buttons, accessories, and more to apply my art to other avenues as well.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
You can’t go wrong with just strolling the streets of Downtown Lawrenceville! Great unique eateries and nice spot sit and talk, nice areas to walk, shop, all within a few blocks, and STILL expanding. Some of my favorite restaurants to eat would be McCray’s, which has a really nice vibe inside and out, complete with a rooftop dining area above the center of downtown. Oyster Bay Seafood Cafe which has an awesome atmosphere complete with neon lights and sea themed decor, as well as outdoor seating across downtown’s main street. Pearl’s Tea for delicious milk teas and cozy seating area. Tea Lam’s Corner, just for their beautiful parasol decolorated ceiling alone! But great food and drinks as well! Lawrenceville Lawn also often has fun events throughout the year, such as musical performances, food and crafts fests that would be great to walk through. Now as a comic book and manga fan I’d be remiss to mention Galactic Quest, a comic book store with a great selection of both comics and manga in the heart of downtown. They always have a line around the block during free comic book day, and ceases to have in stock great new interesting finds, as well as more traditional single issue older comics if interested. Outside of Downtown Lawrenceville, there’s also Sugarloaf Mills. A great sized mall providing access to great food and buys as well, such as Korean corn dogs from Mr. Cow, Annie’s Pretzels, catching a movie at AMC, shopping at Hot Topic (my wardrobe Mecca), Books-a-Million carrying almost every manga I can think of, and just in general having anime merchandise at practically every store in the mall, it’s awesome! And waaaay closer than the Mall of Georgia. Lastly in terms of beautiful views, a little outside of downtown there’s Rhodes Jordan Park. Its walking path is along a huge scenic lake in the center. Stunning area to be at sunset.

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?
I’d like to shoutout my twin sister Brianna Osaseri for being my rock throughout my highs and lows, my ever supportive mom Felicity Ibeh, and my past instructors especially Professor Leigh Ann Beavers and Professor Chris Gavaler for introducing me to the idea of creating comics my first year of college.

Website: https://brittanyosaseri.wixsite.com/biocomics

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bio_art/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-osaseri

Twitter: https://x.com/bio_art97

Image Credits
Brittany Osaseri