Illinois Institute of Technology’s Cosplay Club hosted its third semesterly Artist Alley event, an event meant to provide a space where students and local artists can display and sell their artwork. On September 18, 2025, I published an article explaining the importance of hosting events like this, where people can feel proud of the work that they do. Of course, the issue was that I was only explaining my personal experience. This time around, I wanted to highlight the voices of those who are participating in the event. The following Q&A reflects the local artists participating in the event, as well as some local artists within a Midwest Discord server that I am an active member of.
Q: What inspired you to start making art?
“Can’t recall the exact start. Apparently, my kindergarten teachers told my mom my drawings looked advanced for my age. I was always drawn to it. She enrolled me in a lot of art competitions and some private art teachers. I remember my private art teacher being disappointed in me because I only wanted to draw cats at the time. Eventually, I discovered ANIME while being stranded at a library (sometime during early middle school), and I ate that up. I thought to myself, I can draw… why shouldn’t I make my own manga? By the time that happened, I already had a friend group of artsy budding weebs. I learned what OCs were; My friend and I would meet at BORDERS every week and exchange and fill in each other’s comics with our DeviantArt-lookin’ edgy OCs. It was paradise in the pre-social-media-boom era. That drive to create never waivered, but the medium may have oscillated.” – MylCreates on Instagram
“I remember the earlier days and rise of DeviantArt. I especially remember when it became known for FanArt. Something about seeing my favorite characters outside of their respective games and shows just blew my little-kid mind. I would steal paper around the house and draw my favorite characters, then I saw people make OCs, and I started making my own. Before I knew it, I became obsessed with making stuff, even if it looked messy. I remember the first digital piece I ever made. I was literally 12 and realized I could use Microsoft Paint on my computer to make art. I drew a really bad picture of Midna from Legend of Zelda next to an Umbreon from Pokémon. It was my first ever post to DeviantArt. I still love (and have) that cursed little image to this day.” – Quack_A_Cola on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
“I’ve always been creative, ever since I was a child. I had an interest in art the moment I was able to grab a pencil and use it, so I sadly can’t pinpoint a spot where my inspiration to draw started. But one of the inspirations I remember that really started inspiring me to draw back in the day was seeing map projects. Map stands for Multi Animation Projects, and usually features a collaboration of multiple artists animating a snippet of a song, in which, at the end, all of the artists’ parts get edited together over a song to make an animated video. As a child, watching these inspired me to draw and even delve into a bit of animation myself. These YouTube projects (not just map projects, but also YouTube series with small voice actors and animatics/storyboards) gave me ideas to inspire my original characters. Back when I was a child, I also looked up to artists online; many of them have sadly become inactive online over the years. But those artists still made an impact on my childhood self, and I’ll forever be grateful for them.” – NimbleJingleCo on Instagram, Etsy, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook
Q: Who or what influences you to continue making art?
“I want to create small moments for people to feel happy. My art is mostly fan art, and it’s an easy way for people to connect to each other and talk about their favorite games and anime. Art for 1000s of years has been a way for people to connect and tell their stories through history. Art made by humans is needed more than ever since tech is replacing human connection.” – Caitieboo__ on Instagram and TikTok
“My best friend, aka the husband. My patron of the arts. He was my first fan waaaaaayyyyyy back in high school when I used to draw comics in the windowsill after class, before social media was really even a thing in my life. He continues to support and encourage me to draw and express my creativity. Even if I fell off the face of the internet, he’d still be there, every step of my artistic journey, probably asking me when I’ll break my stories out of hiatus. ♡(´･ω･)(･ω･`)♡” – MylCreates
“In all honesty, I’d have to admit that lots of my inspiration came from my own drive to draw and seeing how my artwork positively affected others around me. Seeing how happy my work makes others gives me hope and a desire to continue to create! And I’m grateful for that! At 14, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a blood cancer. During my time, the constant support from those online and in person inspired me to continue my art, and I even turned it into a career. I took on many commission projects, and always brought my art supplies to the hospital while I was getting treatment. And with the new technology and AI, making art and standing out are extremely important. Artists’ voices are getting silenced, and many artists are losing motivation due to AI feeding their work into the algorithm. To continue making art is to fight back against technology. Art has always been around, and by continuing my work and being successful, is another win against AI!” – NimbleJingleCo
Q: To those who don’t do art full-time, what do you “do for a living”?
“I currently work for corporate America. It’s not my favorite thing to do, but it does have its benefits. For example, I work from home. I have a consistent paycheck, which is nice since I own a home. I also have health insurance. I am very lucky with my current role since my boss does work with me and my art schedule for conventions. That is a new thing. My old jobs were very demanding, and I hated them. Since they did not care about me or my goals of becoming a full-time artist one day.” – Caitieboo__
“I worked as a senior designer in an Architecture firm for multi-site remodels and essentially was their unofficially-titled-one-man-machine-go-to for all of their renderings. If only the economy would stop tanking… Things aren’t getting better; But, at least I have more time now for honing my art skills.” – MylCreates
“I currently don’t work there anymore, but I used to work at Michaels (fitting for an artist, right?), for around 2 years. Earning this income helped me start NimbleJingleCo, and, while I was paid minimum wage, I’ll forever appreciate that income that helped fund my first enamel pin design, which has now led to over 200 products on my Etsy now!
I also used to work at Ghoulish Mortals in St. Charles, Illinois. To describe it in one sentence, this store is basically a horror and oddities artist alley open every day. I sell my enamel pins, stickers, keychains, art prints, and magnets there, but I also physically worked at the store! It was such a pleasure working there, but I was vending too often and wanted to focus more on my business! Now, I am fully committed to my work full-time! I might not make as much as other people do at a 9-5 job, but I’m vending nearly every weekend and getting many people enjoying my work!” – NimbleJingleCo
Q: How do you manage your time between your business and your personal life?
“Giving myself a strict schedule. I work roughly 40-45 hours a week on art, but I give myself weekends and certain evenings off for socializing and refreshing myself. That’s not to say I never work outside of my schedule, but I find it helps me keep from burnout or overworking myself. When I have a convention/event weekend that I’m working, I take that much extra time off the following week to recoup (especially since con crunch is very real and I usually am already working overtime leading up to the event).” – Quack_A_Cola
“That’s a great question. I am still working on this, but I have a full-time job. I have to plan a lot. Which means I don’t do last-minute hangs. I have a planner and have to schedule everything. I also make a goal to finish a min of 4 art pieces a month. Months I have cons, I make smaller work, and months I do not, I work on bigger pieces. I also have a rule that once a week I take the night off and spend time with my partner.” – Caitieboo__
“Unfortunately, with me vending on weekends typically, being able to get together with friends has been admittedly difficult. I’m 22 years old, so many of my friends that are around my age are still in college, which makes it difficult to plan free time with them, since they’re available on weekends, but I’m not.
Honestly l still haven’t figured out a good way to manage my personal life and business life. And that’s okay! Part of running your own business is figuring out what works for you and what doesn’t. Currently, I work on art when I’m motivated. I have over 200 products in my shop, so that at least helps a bit when vending. I have more than enough items and variety for people to buy from!” – NimbleJingleCo
Q: What are your favorite art mediums and why?
“My all-time favorite art medium is copic markers. Ever since I was 12, and starting to become more of an artist, I was taking on commissions with copic markers. A lot of the artists I looked up to online used copic markers to color pieces, especially badges for the furry community. I’ve been in that community for a decade now, and I’ve exclusively used copics in my traditional work! They blend really well, and I enjoy it! Though I don’t do traditional as much anymore, I will always come back to it when doing traditional commission work!
I also delve into the graphite work for hyper realism, as I can get a more refined detail than copics for it!
As of now, I do nearly all my artwork digitally. It’s much easier to use it when designing products, and it’s overall much easier to use if you make a mistake in the sketch. One of the benefits of digital art is that you can select a piece of the sketch and move it around as much as you’d like! It definitely helps when perfecting your art, and I’ve noticed I improved once starting digital art!” – NimbleJingleCo
“Digital, because I can edit my renderings easily. But- pre-tech- I was always a mechanical pencil + felt pen on basic computer paper kinda gal. I like the accessible, technical, brute force aspect of it. I didn’t have that side cash for fancy markers in the early days, so I just put all my skill points into the gear I scrounged around the house.” – MylCreates
“Honestly, my favorite medium is still cosplay. This is mainly because it can incorporate every other art medium that I already enjoy, from digital art to sewing to just playing with cardboard. I got into it in middle school when I decided it was time to sew my own Link cosplay from scratch for Halloween (nobody knew who I was, so it was clearly a success), so I guess that means I’ve been cosplaying for 12 years… ouch, that makes me feel old for sure. Anyways, the 3-D mediums have always been my favorite, but doing art as a business has given me more confidence in my 2-D art as well.” – Trash_Cat_Trove on Instagram
Q: Why do you vend at events such as artist alleys?
“To pay the bills. Seriously, though, it’s probably one of the most rewarding income streams I’ve ever had. I get to talk and be genuine with strangers about interests and show off the artwork I’m proud of. Plus, I meet so many amazing and skilled artists! Also being able to afford bills and food is cool too.” – Quack_A_Cola
“When my focus was cosplaying, I spent all my time in the artist alleys. I always thought artist alley vendors were cool. Figured that would be the next natural progression on my art journey. Now, having been on the side of artist vendors, the general social aspect feels a lot more appealing in comparison to the cosplay side. The post-event tax stuff is PAIN, and I’m still in the negative in terms of making money compared to what I spend to make the art sooooo… Right now, I’m just aiming for that NET ZERO, babyyyyy!” – MylCreates
“I vend at conventions/artist alleys to do three things mainly! One, for making money, as all us artists do! We can’t continue making products without the income! The second reason is that it’s great for networking! Finding other artist friends allows you to gather information from others’ experiences! One of my vendor friends that I met at a convention is skilled in running backer kits, which is something I’ve been planning on doing for pre-orders, but I know absolutely nothing about. Since they have a lot of knowledge, it helps me grow my business and learn new skills as well! And in the end, I’ll likely teach someone else how to start a business! The third reason I vend, one of which is super important to me, is making others smile by seeing my work. I want to be that vendor that people look for at a convention when they see my name in the vendor list!” – NimbleJingleCo
Q: Do you ever deal with burnout, and how do you cope/recover from it?
“My biggest demotivator is actually comparing myself to other artists. It’s something that many people struggle with, so it’s not an uncommon issue. Sometimes it just drives me to take a break from making art for my business and to create art for myself. Other times, I get inspired by others via socials, television, or by my surroundings, and I find myself just HAVING to make art. It’s ok to take breaks, you just need to believe in yourself enough to keep going.” – Trash_Cat_Trove
“When it comes to burnout, it’s mostly from having to post to social media. There are too many rules, and frankly, I don’t have time or want to learn the rules. But it’s important if you want online sales. So I try to schedule at least one post a week, and I post it on all my socials. I am also part of a network of people who work on being better with social media, and that group makes it fun to post more content. Since different people follow me on different platforms. I learned early on that if I stop drawing, my life becomes chaotic. That being said, I only draw what I love, and I don’t worry about what will sell. It’s great if they overlap, but that’s not the main goal. I feel like people can tell if you draw to sell vs draw what you love.” – Caitieboo__
“I’ve been dealing with burnout a little differently than most people. I like to give in to the burnout for a bit, I mean, there’s a reason you’re burned out, right? You deserve a break! Start by going back to your roots of what you like to draw. Not what other people want you to draw. Taking a break sometimes helps! Or, learn new media in between burnouts. Sometimes, vending at conventions and taking on commissions helps with the burnout, too. You’re getting paid to draw a piece, and the client is eagerly awaiting the drawing, not to mention the client is commissioning you for YOUR art style, so enjoy that little thought. Not that this applies to everyone, but it works for me, though! But truly, art block can be difficult, especially when you are unhappy with your artwork. My best advice is to let loose! It’s ok if the piece doesn’t look the way you want! Many, many artists feel the same way. Think of all the artists in the past; they might not have liked their work during these art blocks, but if they’d stopped creating, they wouldn’t be so memorable and historical today. So keep that in mind! Rest, do things at your own pace, and if it helps, take on commission work or requests from people to help get you back into the swing of things!” – NimbleJingleCo
Q: What advice would you give to your younger self or others?
“Always be authentic. Being yourself gets you way farther than putting on a front for someone or a group of people. At times, it may seem like someone might be doing better than you, but everything that glitters and shines isn’t what it’s made out to be. Not to mention, being authentic is more fulfilling for your energy.” – omo.scribbles on Instagram
“Network! Network! Network!! There is a beautiful community of creatives out there to meet with different experiences and skillsets. It’s so unbelievably important to create these magical connections with the community. Artists stick together! I really wish I were less shy and more confident in talking to the people I idolized way back when. Now I’m personal friends with some of those same people!” – Quack_A_Cola
“START NOW!!! I wish I started when I was younger. I have always been an artist, but I only started selling my art a year ago. I am now 31, breaking into the con scene, and it’s harder on my body to go to cons. It’s also the age where a lot of people my age start to slow down. I love the con scene and wish I had more experience. Also, maybe I could have been a full-time artist by now.” – Caitieboo__
“If it was myself? Bro- I’d totally jumped on the Undertale hype train even sooner, LOL. ‘Regression Isekai, but I retained my skills from when I used to be older’ type story-plot. JK JK… Ah, but… I should have put more effort into reminding others that I still know they exist and that I exist. Maybe keep a list with descriptions and our history, in case things get foggy. Also, numbers don’t matter in the end, despite how enticing they are. Bigger numbers don’t mean people care more about you; it just makes you a bigger target. Having reached those numbers before, there’s no real worthwhile reward at the end when you hit those tiers, just more pressure, more anxiety. Cherish the people who are still there when things get quiet. Re-re-discover why you love art in the first place. Remind yourself that happiness is not numerical.” – MylCreates
“Make a friend group with artists when you’re starting to delve into art! Having those friends growing up and enjoying art is literally why I enjoy doing art. I love, LOVE, sharing my work with my friends, and I love seeing the work they create.
Secondly, take your time learning how to draw/bettering yourself! You don’t owe anyone improvement in your art. The internet has become such a hateful place in recent years. It’s such a shame to see people hate on others’ art because the style doesn’t fit into the boxes that they want. Be your authentic self, don’t let hateful criticism be the reason you improve in your art. Kind constructive criticism is alright, but only if you want it!
Your art is special to you, it’s your art style, and it will be history someday! Regardless of how small an artist you are, whether you share your art with the world or not, your art is history. And the future. Don’t ever forget that!” – NimbleJingleCo
“I really do believe that putting your heart into something is way more important than it looking perfect. Sure, it’s okay to compare yourself at times, but always remember that practice will improve the output. I gave up drawing at a young age because I compared myself too much to my older brother. Now, at the ripe old age of 24, I realize that I wasn’t looking at my own strengths, just at what I couldn’t do. Stepping away to pursue other mediums gave me the confidence to start again, but I would do anything to go back in time and hone my 2-D skills just so I could be a little better than I am now.” – Trash_Cat_Trove
Thank you to all the participating artists at the Artist Alley, as well as the artists who participated in this Q&A, for sharing their personal experiences. All artists in the article are credited, and their Instagram accounts are hyperlinked in the online version of this article.