Meet Jasmine Lorraine | Illustrator & Designer

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

Hi Jasmine, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I chose to pursue an artistic, creative career mainly because it was my passion when I was younger and something that I used to create my own happiness in my daily activities. I was always into drawing characters that I loved on television and trying to imitate the style of animation that I saw. It helped me attract like-minded people and gave me my community. Both my parents were doctors so it wasn’t a common route in my household and no one else had artistic talent like I did. I had other interests too like reading and writing, but I was always driven to color and linework that was present in the popular art culture at the time. Art and design became my own personal language that I developed and grew along with.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Picking a creative career has definitely not been easy. There’s so much competition that you can kind of get lost in what makes you stand out, what makes your art different, and other things. I always just wanted to draw what made me happy and things that I enjoyed. My goal has always been to bring a playful attitude and a feeling of childlike wonder to brands of the world and be able to tell their stories, but it didn’t start that way for me. At first, I was throwing myself into brands that I thought I wanted to be like or work for because I was a fan or grew up around their work: like Disney or Pixar. Overcoming the notion that I could only want to do art if it was for a big company or brand was something I had to outgrow. I had to live my truth to be able to see that I could tell stories for any brand that I feel stood true to my values and was close to my heart. I started taking my own interests as a target audience member and blending them with brand stories, values, and purposes. I started thinking about not only what I would like out of a brand, but also what I believe would bring joy and fun to a person through a brand. I wanted these stories to brighten other’s lives like they did mine during my phase of exploration. My story is still being written through my illustrations and expanding through brands of the world. I currently do contract work for different clients, but I’m still interested and looking for a brand to call my home for the long run.

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.
Coming from South Florida, I’m a big city girl so I definitely like going out. Living in Atlanta gives you so many options in terms of things to do and food. I’m a huge foodie, so that’s my go-to in Atlanta. I would say hey let’s grab some brunch at black-owned restaurants like Ms. Icey’s and then walk off our food at Stone Mountain Park. I’m very active and I enjoy working out so being outside in the sun is something I enjoy even if it’s just walking around the park or at Battery Atlanta. With COVID, I tend to really try to do everything outside including eating, hanging out, or even painting. And Atlanta has greats spots for that. The Beltline has always been one of my favorite places to be because of the murals, trails, and small shops that are in the area. I’m inspired by nature and animals so we’d be outside all day!

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 definitely want to give a shoutout to my art community from SCAD. College wasn’t the best time of my life, but the people I met there helped drive me to improve and not be afraid to chase my curiosity. My style has changed so much over the years and the feedback I received from others really impacted that especially once I started blending my Illustrations with Advertising Design. It does take a village to grow so I also want to recognize my family and my boyfriend for supporting me during the times where I was focusing on freelancing and trying to get my Masters of Arts in Advertising. There were definitely dark times in my journey as I tried to find myself through the storytelling of brands, and without the continuous support I might have given up. I’m glad I didn’t.

Website: jasminelorraine.com

Instagram: @jasminelorraine_art

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminelorraine/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasminelorraineart

Other: I have a TikTok just for my food escapades and enjoying life around Atlanta and Florida @jazzielbaby