Featured Artist Megan Roy

Artist Megan Roy creates delightfully whimsical illustrations for merchandise, books and other projects. See more by visiting her website.

 

 

I’ve explored several paths on the way to finding myself, but the constant in my life has always been creativity. It’s the process of making something original that’s exciting to me. Getting so lost in a project that time ceases to exist—that’s my favorite place to live and I’m always trying to get back there.

 

 

I started drawing when I was a kid. I often had a hard time expressing myself, but with a pencil in hand I had a voice. My adolescence coincided with the rise of the internet, so technology is something that is deeply intertwined with my interest in creativity.  I would spend hours recording and editing videos, just for fun. I loved watching movies, but I loved the behind-the-scenes extras on DVDs even more. When it came time to choose a major, I settled on film production because it looked creative and collaborative.

 

 

College set the tone for my style going forward and gave me an enormous confidence boost when it came to trying new things and expressing myself. I graduated and promptly moved to Los Angeles where I realized the culture of the entertainment industry was not for me after all.

 

 

I began to doubt my place in the creative world and considered teaching as a more “normal” path, but it didn’t take long to realize that wasn’t a good fit either. I craved the excitement of my former career, but without the egos and transactional relationships.

 

 

During this time, I rediscovered my love of drawing. Instagram began taking off, and through it, I discovered a lot of people making and sharing art. If my light had been dimmed by my experiences in entertainment and education, the fuse was fully reignited by this new combination of creative expression and technology.

 

 

I threw myself into illustration, taking any job I could and using every free moment to work on passion projects. I got an iPad and taught myself to draw digitally. This was a game changer for someone who has always found a home in technology. I worked tirelessly to build something from nothing, and I succeeded.

 

 

I describe my style now as playful and relatable with a touch of quiet mischief, much like my real-life personality. What I value most is original, inventive thinking and clever execution. I have fun when I’m making art, and I want you to feel that when you look at it.

 

 

Earlier this year, I created one of my most exciting projects to date: The Endless Art Challenge Card Deck that contains over 25,000 combinations of prompts, colors, and art exercises. I collaborated with 90 artists worldwide to bring this project to life. Another highlight has been turning one of my early passion projects into a children’s book series called Can You Do This? published by Blue Star Press—a dream item checked off my bucket list.

 

 

My best advice? The universe has a funny way of guiding you, but if you trust it, it’ll show you where to go.

 

Megan Roy invites you to follow on Instagram and to view The Endless Art Challenge Deck and Can You Do This?

 

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