Meet Calvin Reynolds | Author / Illustrator / Commercial Artist

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

Hi Calvin, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I pursued a creative career because art has been a part of my life since childhood. I was considered to be a visual learner and was always attracted to fun stories with colorful images. Snoopy from Charlie Brown was the first thing I ever drew. Honestly, cartoons and comics fueled my imagination and would later stoke my passion for storytelling. I became obsessed with creating unique characters and stories. Back then, my mom would bring home stacks of paper from her job just for me to draw. I never got tired of it!! Out of concern, my parents would sometimes make me take a break against my will. In high school, I would paint graffiti on my friend’s clothes for a couple of dollars here and there. I later fell in love with sports, especially basketball, and I would try to find cool ways to combine my love for art with sports. It wasn’t until my art teacher took notice of how much I loved drawing that my path to becoming an artist would begin. She brought me on a school visit to Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota Florida. After that trip, I knew I wanted to be an artist! I struggled for years trying to figure out what type of artist I wanted to be. I remember back in high school praying to God every day, “Please let me be an artist or a basketball player. When I graduated college, for the next 23yrs of my life I became a creative designer for one of the biggest sports companies in the country. He gave me both “lol”

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am extremely proud of my Jayce The Bee series and my Harold gets an F children’s book. Jayce The Bee is a character I created to help kids understand the importance of “Bee-Lieving” in themselves. His name is an acronym for (Just Accepting Yourself Changes Everything.) Harold Gets an F is a funny story about the importance of time management and responsibility. When I’m not writing or Illustrating my own stories, I love helping indie authors bring their stories to life with my illustrations through my creative services company called Concepts Redefined. I contract with other publishing companies to illustrate children’s books for authors that like my style of work. It is such a wonderful opportunity to expand my name and brand. It’s really hard for me to say what I think sets me apart from others. I’m not one who is looking to compete or compare my art to others. I just ask that God’s Glory be manifested in the art that I create and continue to do me.
I became a Children’s book author / Illustrator in 2015 with my first Jayce The Bee book. Little did I know it would be setting me up for other opportunities. My first story was extremely hard to write and Illustrate. From a literary standpoint, I had to learn the structure and rules of children’s stories and how I wanted my story to push and challenge that structure while fitting into that category. From an Illustration standpoint, I was challenged with overcoming my insecurities of feeling like my art wasn’t perfect or good enough. I was looking at so many types of artist that It confused me. I was able to overcome those insecurities and just be me… JAYCE ( Just Accepting Yourself Changes Everything). In the end, I truly hope my books and characters can leave a positive impression on the world and everyone that reads them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Tampa Bay also know as Champ-A-Bay has a lot of fun places to visit. 1. Bush Gardens theme park is always fun and exciting.
2. Adventure Island is a water park
3. For the night life you have Ybor City which is known for boutiques and vintage shops and offers a vast mix of bars, indie fast food, bars. Ybor attracts a diverse crowd to its bars and clubs.
4. Armature Works
5. Zoo Tampa (Lowry Park Zoo)
6, Beaches
I can name a lot more. There is quit a bit to do in Tampa. The nice part about Tampa is Orlando is literately 30-40 minutes away so whatever you would like to do can be found between Tampa and Orlando.

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?
My list is too long but I will shout out:

My friends & family
1. My brother and mentor Tim “Dino” Murphy. Thanks for believing in me.
2. My VF imagewear/ Majestic family. Thanks for the many great years. I was blessed to work with so many talented people.
3. Last but not least Stephanie Outten of Cocoon To Wings Publishng.

Website: www.jaycethebee.com

Instagram: jaycethebee

Other: www.conceptsredefined.net