In this week’s episode, I have such a refreshing conversation with Mexican-American illustrator and lettering artist Jackie Rivera. Jackie is a Seattle-based artist with an eye for bright colors and graphic lettering who has worked with clients like Adobe, Facebook, and the LA Times. Tune in to hear us talk about everything from growing up in immigrant families, cleaning houses with our moms, and taking a leap of faith to follow your dream career!
Leaving a stable desk job always feels risky, but this week’s artist — Jackie Rivera — took the leap and never looked back! She is a Seattle-based artist who creates colorful and very graphic pieces mixing illustration, animation, and lettering.
Jackie knew it was time to leave her admin job when she received an inquiry for a freelance project with a budget in the 5-figures, and even though she didn’t land the gig, she saw it as a sign to believe in herself. Just six months later she’s already taking on freelance projects with dream clients and pursuing the creative career she’s always wanted.
Beyond her career trajectory, we also get into the ins and outs of growing up Mexican in Northern California, cleaning your classmates’ homes with your mom, and dealing with the guilt that comes with being a first-gen college student.
Be sure to tune in to this episode for a few words of encouragement for artists who find themselves between a soul-sucking admin job and their dream creative career.
In this episode, we talk all about how Jackie found graphic design, how she gets inspired to create new work, and how she expanded her identity beyond her artistic output.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Topics Covered:
Guest Info
Check out Jackie Rivera’s Instagram and Portfolio.
Special Offer
Listeners of the podcast can get a free, undated weekly and monthly planner inspired by the show from our website here.
Follow Host Fabiola Lara between episodes:
00;00;10;04 - 00;00;29;25
Fabiola Lara
Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of [Draws in Spanish]. Thank you so much for clicking play for joining me in another episode. If this is your first episode. Welcome. Welcome to [Draws in Spanish]. This is a podcast that showcases the creative journey of notable Latinx visual artists and designers.
00;00;30;04 - 00;00;47;17
Fabiola Lara
I'm your host, illustrator, podcaster, YouTuber Fabiola Lara. Today, I'm honored to chat with Seattle based commercial artist Jackie Rivera. Jackie is a Mexican-American artist who creates vivid and groovy lettering pieces for clients like Adobe, Facebook and the L.A. Times.
00;00;47;27 - 00;01;02;17
Fabiola Lara
She was also recently featured in Today.com's 20 Latinx artists to watch, so I am truly so pumped and honored to have her here on my little podcast. We have such an insightful and touching conversation, and I can't wait for you to listen.
00;01;02;26 - 00;01;10;07
Fabiola Lara
Let's get right into the show. Hey, Jackie.
00;01;10;14 - 00;01;21;27
Fabiola Lara
Thanks so much for being here today. Thanks for being on the podcast. I was so happy when you agreed to be on the show. I love the work that you've been doing, especially the work you've been doing for Adobe, which I'm sure we'll talk about.
00;01;22;04 - 00;01;25;26
Fabiola Lara
But before we get started? Hi, how are you? How are you doing?
00;01;26;03 - 00;01;28;27
Jackie Rivera
I'm great. I'm doing great. I'm super excited to be here.
00;01;29;02 - 00;01;35;00
Fabiola Lara
For those listeners who aren't familiar with your work, why don't you give them a quick little introduction to everything that you do?
00;01;35;08 - 00;01;51;12
Jackie Rivera
Yeah. So, yeah, my name is Jackie Rivera. I'm a lettering artist and illustrator based, sometimes illustrator based in Seattle, Washington. Born and raised in California. But I just moved about six months ago, and my work covers a lot.
00;01;51;13 - 00;02;10;10
Jackie Rivera
I mean, everything from like existential dread living your life while you're here to like little obscure quotes that I heard growing up from my mom are like little like Mexican sayings. A lot of those things, like conversations with other Latinx people, really like inspire my work.
00;02;10;25 - 00;02;24;07
Fabiola Lara
So like, you know, the podcast is about Latinx identity and also art and how the two are intertwined. So can we get started talking about maybe where you were born and raised and start from there?
00;02;24;15 - 00;02;37;15
Jackie Rivera
So I was born and raised in a small town in Northern California. People often like when you say Northern California, think Bay Area, but I'm like even further north than that, you know, small town and like wine country ish.
00;02;37;16 - 00;02;52;08
Jackie Rivera
So I grew up surrounded by vineyards. My parents came to the states in like the eighties and worked in the fields, and I have my town. It's it's a big agriculture town, so there's a lot of immigrants that come to work there.
00;02;52;10 - 00;03;00;04
Fabiola Lara
I'm glad that they came here and were able to find that community. You know, like, have each other not be like oddballs.
00;03;00;10 - 00;03;13;00
Jackie Rivera
Exactly. Because when my mom came here in the eighties, she remembers, like, there are barely any other like people here. She and her sister were like the only Hispanic people there, and it was like very much culture shock.
00;03;13;00 - 00;03;18;03
Jackie Rivera
And now it's like, there's so many specifically Mexican people there.
00;03;18;06 - 00;03;23;18
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, it's like pretty normal. It's not bizarre to run into a Mexican person there anymore.
00;03;23;19 - 00;03;27;11
Jackie Rivera
No, it's like probably predominantly Mexican at this point.
00;03;27;18 - 00;03;36;27
Fabiola Lara
Yes, I love that good. So are both your parents Mexican? Yes. Yes. And how many generations has your family been in the U.S.?
00;03;37;02 - 00;03;38;14
Jackie Rivera
They're the first ones to come here.
00;03;38;20 - 00;03;45;15
Fabiola Lara
What's your relationship been like with your Mexican heritage, given that you're like the first generation in the U.S.?
00;03;46;00 - 00;04;00;02
Jackie Rivera
Oh boy, growing up, I definitely knew that we were different, I guess, because I mean, I grew up with a lot around a lot of white people, and I could tell that like, OK, our families like different, I'm different from these people.
00;04;00;13 - 00;04;03;13
Jackie Rivera
But I came to really love that.
00;04;03;17 - 00;04;10;06
Fabiola Lara
What do you think made you love that as opposed to feel weird because you can go the other way where you just reject that, right?
00;04;10;19 - 00;04;26;13
Jackie Rivera
You know, one of the biggest things with my family, it was like cooking and having meals together. And that's one of the biggest ways that I connect with my culture. I guess it was kind of difficult to find at times, more so like growing up and especially because, like I grew up kind of strict Christian.
00;04;26;13 - 00;04;44;26
Jackie Rivera
Like, we were different in that like we were Catholic, has a lot of Mexicans, are Catholic and we were not Catholic. And that religion really kind of separated me from my culture at times because there were things that we weren't allowed to do that were considered like secular.
00;04;45;09 - 00;05;02;18
Jackie Rivera
This is crazy, but I don't think I've ever been to a quinceanera because like dancing and drinking and like a bunch of like, I guess, secular things were involved there. So there's like those kinds of things. I kind of separated before my culture a little bit.
00;05;03;06 - 00;05;05;06
Jackie Rivera
I thought, that's like the whole entirety of the culture.
00;05;05;10 - 00;05;23;12
Fabiola Lara
Oh, I love this. I mean, I don't love that for you, but I think it's really interesting to talk about the differences because it's already when you're in the U.S. hard to connect with your culture. When you're first gen, because it's like, I'm literally separated from it and I'm just like getting whatever is trickling down to me
00;05;23;25 - 00;05;32;22
Fabiola Lara
. And that is like a barrier, right? Like, if that's not the predominant faith of Mexican-Americans, you feel disconnected even further here.
00;05;33;05 - 00;05;52;17
Jackie Rivera
Definitely. It was definitely like a disconnect from my family that was in the states, too, because they noticed that we were like different. And like, I'm no longer associated with that religion. But it was definitely interesting because you already have that kind of like split identity where you're like, in my American and my Mexican, like when I
00;05;52;17 - 00;06;05;17
Jackie Rivera
would go to Mexico, I was definitely not Mexican to that. I'm like American. I got like, made fun of, but I would say like, Oh my god, oh right. There are different phrases like that.
00;06;06;10 - 00;06;07;01
Fabiola Lara
That's horrible.
00;06;07;01 - 00;06;15;21
Jackie Rivera
And funny at the. I know. And when I hear it, I'm like, I'm clearly like the Mexican in my school, in.
00;06;15;21 - 00;06;17;25
Fabiola Lara
The friend group, at the school or wherever. Yeah.
00;06;18;09 - 00;06;30;29
Jackie Rivera
Yeah. So yeah. And then like add like the religion aspect to it or I'm like, and that's like really strict like religion. That's like, you know, I went to like my friends, but you know, like these private Christian schools like my whole life.
00;06;31;08 - 00;06;37;00
Jackie Rivera
So it's like a whole other like added element that I think kind of separated me a little bit from my culture.
00;06;37;01 - 00;06;41;05
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, it's like divided divide and divided a little bit further. That's tough.
00;06;41;16 - 00;06;53;09
Jackie Rivera
Yeah. So the way that I would actually connect to it was like either like cooking with my mom and like hearing her stories from Mexico. But also, it's been about ten years since I went back to Mexico about growing up.
00;06;53;23 - 00;07;03;11
Jackie Rivera
We would go to Mexico like for Christmas, and that was probably my biggest connection because I don't think I had it very much here in the state.
00;07;03;27 - 00;07;16;02
Fabiola Lara
Right? It's like when you went there, you kind of had like an immersive Mexican experience, but you're you're immersed and then you leave and you're like, OK, I'm gonna carry that with me. Like in my mind, make it last.
00;07;16;18 - 00;07;26;20
Jackie Rivera
Savor it. Exactly. But it's also like weird because like, I go there and I'm like, I'm not Mexican. I come here. I'm not American. I don't know. It's weird.
00;07;26;27 - 00;07;41;29
Fabiola Lara
Yes, that is weird. I can definitely relate to that in the sense that my entire family is from Chile and my nuclear family is the only are the only people that are here in the U.S. and I came here at six months.
00;07;42;22 - 00;08;02;28
Fabiola Lara
So I'm like, technically, I'm generation zero, but technically I'm first generation at the same time because as a baby, I just grew up here and I feel that to where I'm like, I haven't been back to Chile yet for a multitude of reasons, but I know already that I am not Chilean and I know that I will
00;08;02;28 - 00;08;13;08
Fabiola Lara
not be perceived that way when I'm there. And it's the truth. Like now that I've been here a long time, like if I go there, I'm gonna be like, you know, I'm like, Obviously, I'm American. I live there almost the whole time.
00;08;13;08 - 00;08;30;16
Fabiola Lara
Like obvious, but also when I'm here, there are things where I'm like, I'm not totally American. Like, I grew up undocumented. My family was undocumented, so it's like, I'm not really accepted here either, which makes it even more strange.
00;08;30;16 - 00;08;32;03
Fabiola Lara
But so I feel, you.
00;08;32;15 - 00;08;40;29
Jackie Rivera
Know, it's nice. It's nice that people experience it, but it's nice to be able to, like, talk to people about it and kind of commiserate over that.
00;08;41;09 - 00;08;53;10
Fabiola Lara
Yes, I agree. I mean, I grew up in Miami for a long time, and so that I felt like this middle ground of Latinx is that we're experiencing here in Miami was good enough, you know.
00;08;53;13 - 00;08;57;28
Jackie Rivera
Felt, yeah, yeah, I know, because there's probably like a really big like Latinx presence there.
00;08;57;28 - 00;09;10;23
Fabiola Lara
Yeah. And then I left that and I was in a more white area and I was like, Oh, things are weird. It's weird. It's actually kind of weird over here. And like other things are happening in the U.S. that I didn't realize were happening because I was in Miami.
00;09;11;10 - 00;09;17;05
Fabiola Lara
I'm sure you felt that too all over. I mean, I'm sure you've been all over California and felt the different extremes of that.
00;09;17;26 - 00;09;31;02
Jackie Rivera
Yeah. Well, it's interesting because like so I grew up, I thought it. There's the school that I went to was like very small. I did not go to like public school, like probably a lot of people I went to like tiny private school and there were like 100 kids total.
00;09;31;27 - 00;09;48;10
Jackie Rivera
And I was one of the Mexicans and then like the other Mexicans or my cousins. So then after I left that school, I went to like boarding school for high school. And that was actually a really interesting experience because there were kids from all over the world.
00;09;48;10 - 00;09;58;22
Jackie Rivera
They're like Haiti, Africa, like all over Asia, Brazil. So I got to know I had a lot more of a diverse environment once I left.
00;09;59;02 - 00;10;03;00
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, like a global, multicultural experience.
00;10;03;01 - 00;10;11;02
Jackie Rivera
Yeah. And that was my first, I guess, experience with, like, you know, multicultural people, which is really cool.
00;10;11;11 - 00;10;22;21
Fabiola Lara
Yes. Seems like we had the opposite. Like, I grew up with that and then I got taken out of it and I was like, Whoa. And you kind of got used to it. And then we're shown the way.
00;10;23;25 - 00;10;34;06
Jackie Rivera
I know and I'm like, Wow, this would have been really cool to grow up with. I mean, I grew up mainly like Mexican and like white people. So outside of that, I didn't have very many friends outside of it.
00;10;34;07 - 00;10;41;06
Jackie Rivera
So that was really cool to actually be able to be friends with like Brazilians and see what their experience is like.
00;10;41;20 - 00;10;56;20
Fabiola Lara
Are there any misconceptions about Mexican culture that you faced growing up that you feel like you know you're tired of and you want to maybe set the right tone for or correct any kind of misconceptions like that?
00;10;57;00 - 00;11;16;06
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, I guess like one stereotype that's kind of tired is like Mexicans only being like the help, the people that do the dirty work even though like they do and. Many people are more than willing to do that, and that's that's great, but I feel like there is that stereotype, but then they're so much more than what
00;11;16;06 - 00;11;31;02
Jackie Rivera
they do and what they have to do to survive. Like, there's so many people that, you know, like my parents, my mom that had to do what they had to do to get ahead, and they didn't have the chance to follow their dreams or that's such a privilege.
00;11;31;19 - 00;11;46;14
Fabiola Lara
It's a huge privilege to be able to be here and follow your dreams and not just just get by. Survival is such a big thing at first. How lucky are you and I to be able to be like, We want to go be artist or we want and we want to go to college and we want to
00;11;46;14 - 00;11;58;20
Fabiola Lara
do these things? What a privilege they would have loved to get the opportunity to do, but they had to take that stepping stone to let the next generation go further. And it's so fresh it makes me really frustrated.
00;11;59;08 - 00;12;15;25
Jackie Rivera
I know I like, struggle with a lot of guilt from that. I feel so incredibly privileged because I had the option to choose what I wanted to do. I didn't just have to like, survive like my parents gave me the option to be able to thrive.
00;12;16;16 - 00;12;27;23
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, I feel guilty of that. Sometimes in the sense, just feel bad that they weren't able to do the same thing. But at the same time, I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing. You can only be thankful.
00;12;28;07 - 00;12;37;01
Fabiola Lara
I think knowing that makes you and I may be hungrier because you have to like, validate, which is a big pressure to have to, like, validate. So I I'm getting emotional.
00;12;37;15 - 00;12;38;24
Jackie Rivera
So I totally understand.
00;12;38;27 - 00;12;51;09
Fabiola Lara
You have to validate the struggles, right? All the sacrifice that went into getting here and making something for you to be able to go to college, something as simple as that. You have to like, you know, you got to crush it.
00;12;51;18 - 00;12;54;17
Fabiola Lara
You got to go to college and crush it. Because look at all that sacrifice.
00;12;55;01 - 00;13;05;12
Jackie Rivera
Like all that sacrifice that my parents mentor, even though, like my dad didn't really understand art or why I wanted to do it. Like, we may not have always seen eye to eye on that.
00;13;05;13 - 00;13;17;04
Fabiola Lara
When did you start showing an interest in art and navigating kind of that with your family's? Not that they maybe weren't supportive, but just like questioning it, I'm assuming, yeah.
00;13;17;15 - 00;13;35;12
Jackie Rivera
Well, I have been interested in art since kindergarten, since I was a little kid. I like made a beeline towards like the arts, and that was always like my thing. And for a second, I was like. I couldn't decide if I wanted to be an artist or a brain surgeon.
00;13;36;27 - 00;13;52;03
Jackie Rivera
And then I realized, OK, that's being an artist might be a little more attainable. Brands are interested in the little hard. But anyway, I just ended up taking that role and I I honestly I remember thinking as a career, I want to be an artist when I grow up.
00;13;52;03 - 00;14;08;18
Jackie Rivera
I just don't know what kind or how I remember. I would look up like stock like art websites. This is back in like the early 2000s when, like the internet was like new to me and I would just look up like stock art and like, kind of like, copy it.
00;14;08;26 - 00;14;11;00
Jackie Rivera
I was like, what? Like, nine or ten.
00;14;11;10 - 00;14;13;16
Fabiola Lara
What do you mean, stock art? Give me.
00;14;13;16 - 00;14;27;21
Jackie Rivera
An example. There is like a website. I can't remember the name of the website. It was like, I stock JD.com or something, and you could look up basically like clip art. I like what is it called? It was like then doodle then.
00;14;28;22 - 00;14;30;04
Jackie Rivera
Do you know what I'm talking about?
00;14;30;10 - 00;14;37;26
Fabiola Lara
I don't know, I don't. I remember I stopped there. That is coming up in my memory. So you would look up stock images and just redraw them.
00;14;38;08 - 00;14;42;13
Jackie Rivera
It was like a little illustration, like bits or like like.
00;14;42;13 - 00;14;43;13
Fabiola Lara
Clip art type of thing.
00;14;43;14 - 00;14;54;02
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, it was like clip art, kind of. But they would have like little banners or like flowers or patterns, different things. And I would just like Draw.
00;14;54;02 - 00;14;55;17
Fabiola Lara
Although I love.
00;14;55;17 - 00;14;58;20
Jackie Rivera
That so much, you don't know how.
00;14;58;20 - 00;15;10;17
Fabiola Lara
Happy that makes me. I had a computer, but I used to watch cartoons and pause the cartoons. Like with the picture, you know, picture in picture, like the TV's all always had that and I would you could pause the picture in picture.
00;15;10;17 - 00;15;19;11
Fabiola Lara
You couldn't pause regular TV, but you could pause picture in picture and I would pause it and just sit there and draw. And it was always SpongeBob. I was always redrawing SpongeBob.
00;15;19;11 - 00;15;22;14
Jackie Rivera
Like I redrew SpongeBob so much.
00;15;22;20 - 00;15;29;07
Fabiola Lara
And it was just like days of just like SpongeBob drawings, like because I was just like. And the next day and the next day, the next day, like, what else are we doing?
00;15;29;19 - 00;15;36;08
Jackie Rivera
Oh my goodness, I drew SpongeBob, too. I was also really inspired by like Bratz and like Miocene dolls.
00;15;36;20 - 00;15;38;28
Fabiola Lara
Yes, the Bad Girl Dolls.
00;15;39;04 - 00;15;52;01
Jackie Rivera
Oh my gosh, I have like a little sketchbook somewhere from what I was like twelve. And they're all like different scenarios of like me, like going out with my friends, like going out dancing or like shopping like shopping sprees.
00;15;52;01 - 00;15;53;11
Jackie Rivera
And I'm like twelve.
00;15;54;15 - 00;15;55;24
Fabiola Lara
But you're like, That must be.
00;15;55;24 - 00;16;00;27
Jackie Rivera
Life like imagining. I know, like imagining my future life as, yeah.
00;16;01;01 - 00;16;12;28
Fabiola Lara
Like living is going out with your friends and going on shopping sprees. That's what they're telling you, right? But it's kind of true. I love that. Oh, I absolutely love that you were looking up stock images and redrawing.
00;16;12;28 - 00;16;13;12
Jackie Rivera
It, because.
00;16;13;19 - 00;16;20;14
Fabiola Lara
That's the same thing I was doing with SpongeBob. I was like, Pause, this is the I got the perfect like scene. I have to draw it.
00;16;20;21 - 00;16;32;16
Jackie Rivera
Oh, I remember with a doodle thing, what's called it, then tangle. It's like a style of doodling and it was like really popular and like the 2000 and I try to like, copy them. I was like, obsessed with it.
00;16;32;17 - 00;16;42;00
Fabiola Lara
Oh my gosh. This is like how people say that they get really into anime and like, start drawing anime. You got really into like early internet art and you were like, I need to know how to do it.
00;16;42;09 - 00;16;47;09
Fabiola Lara
I'm imagining it was like very computerized, though, right? And you were drawing it with by hand.
00;16;47;18 - 00;16;49;09
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, I was just drawing it by hand.
00;16;49;09 - 00;16;52;26
Fabiola Lara
So it was like never going to look the same, but it's still like you were like learning it.
00;16;52;26 - 00;17;07;21
Jackie Rivera
I know I was like learning my brother, but also you always get like ESPN magazines and you know how there's like, you know, like the intro page to like the article and it's like really cool art, sometimes like really cool typography and photography or like illustration.
00;17;08;07 - 00;17;18;01
Jackie Rivera
And I was thinking like, Oh my God, those are so cool. Like, I want to be able to make one. I don't even it was like, you should just write to them and see if they'll let you like to show.
00;17;18;01 - 00;17;24;08
Jackie Rivera
I was like, No. And then when I grew up, I realized, Oh my God, that's like, what a graphic designer does. Or like an illustrator?
00;17;24;15 - 00;17;28;13
Fabiola Lara
Yes, your brother was telling you, reach out to art directors.
00;17;28;20 - 00;17;36;02
Jackie Rivera
I know. I know I should have. I had no idea graphic design of the thing or even like illustration or any of that.
00;17;36;06 - 00;17;47;25
Fabiola Lara
I feel like everyone that I talked to feels that way like nobody knows. Illustration is a thing nobody knows. Graphic design is a thing. Who are those people out there who know it's a thing? It has to be people who have like family members who do it.
00;17;48;05 - 00;17;50;10
Jackie Rivera
Exactly. And I did not have anyone that.
00;17;50;18 - 00;18;04;24
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, I'm making art. You want to make art? Go, go, go. Make it. You know, I'm trying to be that positive force as opposed to being like, you know, the broke stereotype of the struggling artist. I'm trying to break the struggling artist stereotype.
00;18;04;28 - 00;18;07;20
Jackie Rivera
Oh my god, for always trying to break that.
00;18;08;11 - 00;18;09;16
Fabiola Lara
Do you still get that?
00;18;09;27 - 00;18;20;21
Jackie Rivera
Not so much anymore. What if I meet someone new and I tell them that I'm an artist like a freelance artist? I'm always kind of like worried that people are going to be like, Oh, if you're like a starving artist, like.
00;18;21;06 - 00;18;23;14
Fabiola Lara
It's not, invite her to dinner. Yeah, that kind of thing.
00;18;23;25 - 00;18;30;06
Jackie Rivera
Yeah. So I'm always afraid, but usually people are like, you know, have really positive reactions. It's probably just in my head. I feel.
00;18;30;06 - 00;18;43;12
Fabiola Lara
Like peers, people in the industry get it. But it's usually when I'm telling like an older person that's asking me what I do for a living. I'm like, They definitely think I'm just head in the clouds. Yeah.
00;18;43;23 - 00;18;48;10
Jackie Rivera
Oh my gosh. Yeah, I had that experience for sure.
00;18;48;24 - 00;18;49;24
Fabiola Lara
Give me an example.
00;18;50;22 - 00;19;02;03
Jackie Rivera
Well, so my mom used to she used to help us to clean her house, and she was like a church member, and she's like, she was asking me like, Oh, so what are you studying in college? I was like, Oh, I'm studying graphic design.
00;19;02;04 - 00;19;23;04
Jackie Rivera
You want to be an artist? She's like, Oh, there's really no money in the arts. You should reconsider. And I was like, OK. And I was like, 1920 is like super impressionable. And she was like, So if you try to get me to get into phlebotomy and was like, You should do that on the side, I just
00;19;23;04 - 00;19;35;11
Jackie Rivera
get your phlebotomy license and then go start drawing blood like on the side or do that and then your art can be on the side. I was like, OK. But like, I literally don't want to do that.
00;19;35;21 - 00;19;47;22
Fabiola Lara
Right? Like, great idea if I didn't want to didn't know what I was going to do, if I was asking for any ideas because I don't have any, I don't have an idea. But you have an idea. You have a path.
00;19;47;22 - 00;19;56;27
Fabiola Lara
And also, lady, you don't know. The graphic design is like, so there's so much work, lady you don't even know. You're not aware.
00;19;56;29 - 00;20;03;29
Jackie Rivera
I know if only she knew. I've been slammed with work life for the most of, like the past six months since I joked about it, I realized.
00;20;03;29 - 00;20;17;18
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, she has no clue. Oh, that's so frustrating to especially. I used to work with my mom cleaning houses, and it's always the most bizarre power structure because you're just like, What are you going to say if this is your boss?
00;20;17;18 - 00;20;30;06
Fabiola Lara
You can't say actual response. You just have to be like, you have to swallow your words and be like, OK, yep. Let me let me get out of this house, so I feel you. That's frustrating.
00;20;30;19 - 00;20;40;24
Jackie Rivera
So my mom clean houses when I was a kid and it was so interesting because, like I said, I'm like one of the only brown people in the school, and she used to clean the house of one of my classmates.
00;20;41;03 - 00;20;49;18
Jackie Rivera
So like, her mom would pick me up and her daughter and kind of their house, and I'm already cleaning their house. And it's just like such an interesting dynamic.
00;20;49;21 - 00;20;56;19
Fabiola Lara
I have so much to say because that is horrific. That is like the basis of like a Netflix series.
00;20;57;07 - 00;20;57;20
Jackie Rivera
And it's.
00;20;57;20 - 00;21;14;05
Fabiola Lara
Your life. And I had a close experience, but for me, my my mom cleaned houses. It just so happened. She cleaned everyone's vacation home. So nobody that was that went to my school was ever it's their vacation home and they weren't going to my school.
00;21;14;11 - 00;21;28;18
Fabiola Lara
But everyone at my school was very white and very rich, and I was cleaning houses after school or on the weekends. And then I would go to this rich school and be like, These are the people's houses. I'm probably cleaning 100% or the grandmas, and I could sense that.
00;21;28;18 - 00;21;29;26
Fabiola Lara
And it's just like.
00;21;30;02 - 00;21;32;27
Jackie Rivera
Isn't it such a weird feeling? It's so weird.
00;21;33;12 - 00;21;51;09
Fabiola Lara
I think until you experience that direct level of classism, you don't understand, like the need for corporate America, the need for getting a head. Like, that's why, right? Like, that's why I want to be a professional. So I don't want to clean this house anymore.
00;21;51;09 - 00;21;52;15
Fabiola Lara
I want to live in this house.
00;21;52;26 - 00;22;11;03
Jackie Rivera
Exactly. Oh my god, I cannot explain to you how bizarre it was to be picked up in this cushy Mercedes. And you know, my parents drive a 2001 Honda and know being picked up in this Mercedes with like my classmate and we're going to her house and she has to entertain me while my mom finishes cleaning up
00;22;11;03 - 00;22;15;12
Jackie Rivera
their, like, gigantic, beautiful home because, like her dad's a lawyer.
00;22;15;19 - 00;22;27;01
Fabiola Lara
Yeah. And then it's like, Are they doing you a favor or are you doing them the favor? Like, who's helping who here? Because you're the one doing the cleaning. They're the one doing the paying. But they also need the cleaner.
00;22;27;10 - 00;22;33;00
Jackie Rivera
Yeah. And then, you know, sometimes depending on how she would clean, I would help her going to.
00;22;33;03 - 00;22;49;26
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, no, I would clean houses all the time. And also like, is that such hard work to and it's like, I don't know. That's why I like the older I get, the more proud I am of that. But it's annoying because when you say things like that, people dismiss it as like, yeah, uneducated or something.
00;22;49;26 - 00;23;10;00
Fabiola Lara
But it's like, it's still super hard working. It's such a conflict. It's such a conflict when you speak about it. I don't know about you, but I always feel I identify most as an immigrant. More than. Chilean, American or Latina or anything like if you're not Latina, but you're an immigrant or I feel like we can connect
00;23;10;07 - 00;23;18;24
Fabiola Lara
as opposed to the reverse, if you're a Latina who's not an immigrant at all or like, you know, fifth generation. The connection isn't as there is something.
00;23;19;06 - 00;23;24;16
Jackie Rivera
I know it's such a unique thing. Yeah, like being the kid of any immigrant or like being an immigrant yourself.
00;23;25;00 - 00;23;37;10
Fabiola Lara
The reason that we're talking about this, people for people listening is when you're an immigrant here in the U.S., you don't expect to become an artist. You don't know how to become an artist. And getting to that point seems so random and difficult.
00;23;37;17 - 00;23;50;04
Fabiola Lara
And hopefully anyone listening out there who is currently an immigrant who is currently cleaning houses with their mom but wants to be an artist like you can try, like you can go for it. And I wish I had heard this conversation.
00;23;50;05 - 00;23;54;13
Fabiola Lara
You know what I'm saying? Like, I feel like, Oh, maybe we're super off topic. I don't know why I'm so emotional today.
00;23;54;26 - 00;23;55;28
Jackie Rivera
But like, how.
00;23;55;28 - 00;24;09;11
Fabiola Lara
Sweet like that would be amazing to have. I think that there's a lot of non, I guess, white people represented in the arts, and I'm I'm fine. I can be like, I want to be that and I can be like, I'm going to try to do that.
00;24;09;11 - 00;24;20;02
Fabiola Lara
But when people see someone like you going for graphic design, going for illustration, going for a creative career that like is encouraging to them, you know, and it's amazing for them to be like, No mom, I'm going to do this.
00;24;20;02 - 00;24;27;19
Fabiola Lara
Look, she's doing this. She's working with these people. It's a real thing, right? And you didn't have that example to give to your parents.
00;24;27;23 - 00;24;45;00
Jackie Rivera
Oh, my gosh, no, I didn't see any Latinx represented in the arts, but were like me. I mean, apart from like Frida Kahlo, you know, it's the only really person I really ever heard of. And it wasn't until I was in college that I actually saw, like a Mexican-American artist, like making it.
00;24;45;09 - 00;25;00;17
Jackie Rivera
And it's actually her name is Marisol Ortega. And we're friends now, and I had reached out to her because she was doing like a postcard project, and I just thought she was so cool because like, she was like a designer at Starbucks and she made like all this beautiful work.
00;25;00;17 - 00;25;11;02
Jackie Rivera
And it just seemed like she was so successful. And she says, and I reached out to her and told her, like, how inspired I was by her. And then we became like internet friends. And then, like real friends.
00;25;11;03 - 00;25;23;22
Fabiola Lara
I love it. You need that. You need that. Like if there's an artist that you look up to that you feel like they really are going for what you want to go for and expanding your world like that, like reach out to them like you did, right?
00;25;23;22 - 00;25;35;00
Fabiola Lara
Like how amazing. And yeah, everything that you do. Jackie is like pushing that needle to, you know, which is necessary for young little immigrant kids who want to make it, you know.
00;25;35;10 - 00;25;55;05
Jackie Rivera
I know. I just think of like, gosh, if there's any teenagers, Mexican-American or just any Latinx teenage girls out there that are interested in the arts and want to do that. But like, they've never really seen anyone. I wish I had this when I was younger, and I hope that people that want to be artists now can
00;25;55;05 - 00;25;57;29
Jackie Rivera
listen to this podcast or just see more representation.
00;25;58;05 - 00;26;09;06
Fabiola Lara
Instagram helps a lot, but it's so hard to find people, so I just want the podcast to be a directory. People can be like, Oh, here's a list of people that are doing it and find each other starting with your education.
00;26;09;06 - 00;26;11;05
Fabiola Lara
What did you end up majoring in in college?
00;26;11;11 - 00;26;15;27
Jackie Rivera
I majored in graphic design, so I got my BFA graphic design.
00;26;16;00 - 00;26;31;17
Fabiola Lara
That's amazing because for me, I moved around a lot and I because I had that immigrant pressure. It wasn't direct, right? It's not like anyone was like, This is what you need to major in. For me, it was just like, I know I'm going into debt for my schooling.
00;26;32;00 - 00;26;47;12
Fabiola Lara
There's no net. I need to get out of school and make money. So I moved around a lot and I was actually pre-med for two years before moving over. And I wish I had done graphic design. I genuinely didn't know it was a major, but was not aware.
00;26;47;24 - 00;26;48;27
Fabiola Lara
Nobody told me.
00;26;49;02 - 00;27;04;25
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, I didn't know until like a few months before I graduated from high school that it was like a real thing because like I was going to do nursing. Like, I was going to college fairs and like I was going in the nursing booths and the like dental hygienist first.
00;27;05;05 - 00;27;11;15
Jackie Rivera
And those were great. But I just feel like those are not for me and a student. They talked to the ones, not your passion.
00;27;11;15 - 00;27;12;10
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, no.
00;27;12;10 - 00;27;20;23
Jackie Rivera
As soon as I talked to the one person who had the graphic design booth, I was like, This is that I'm doing this, and I was like, I never looked back.
00;27;20;24 - 00;27;28;28
Fabiola Lara
That's amazing. I'm so glad you found that once you graduated with your graphic design degree. What did you end up working in after college?
00;27;29;06 - 00;27;46;15
Jackie Rivera
After college didn't quite go how I thought it would. So I graduated from college and. My mom is going through some health issues, so I thought it would be best to move back because she was just by herself, and I just thought it would be best for me to move back and like help her out while she
00;27;46;15 - 00;27;59;19
Jackie Rivera
got back on her feet. So that's what I did. Sometimes I feel like, OK, like, did I shoot myself in the fight because I didn't follow a traditional corporate rule or like I didn't like go the traditional route of like finding a job in my industry.
00;28;00;14 - 00;28;14;29
Jackie Rivera
So I went back home and I freelanced for a few months that went well. But then, like my loans were going to kick in. So I just started freaking out like, OK, you know what? Like, I applied like random design jobs like an hour and a half away, and I don't even know if there are real jobs
00;28;14;29 - 00;28;23;15
Jackie Rivera
. But like, no, I got back to me if I was like, I'm just going to get a job as an Adobe, an assistant. So I did that for like a year, a little over a year and a half.
00;28;23;19 - 00;28;48;10
Jackie Rivera
And that was like a low point for me creatively and especially with COVID happening and everything because I graduated in 2019. And then, you know, six months later, Covid's kind of started happening. So. It was just an interesting time in my life because, you know, I went back home, which is not necessarily what I probably wanted to
00;28;48;10 - 00;29;02;26
Jackie Rivera
do, but I felt like I had to do because I just have massive immigrant kids and feel like I have to take care of my mom. I fiercely care about my mom and like making sure that she's OK.
00;29;02;27 - 00;29;15;04
Jackie Rivera
So I ended up getting a job that. Was really soul sucking. But I did it because it had to do it. And while I figured out my next move.
00;29;15;23 - 00;29;30;15
Fabiola Lara
I think that's smart. I think if you're not giving yourself enough credit for having to do what you had to do it like, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. And it's not like necessarily, you know, you try your best, you do everything you can, but right out of college, it's hard for people.
00;29;30;16 - 00;29;45;11
Fabiola Lara
It's the hardest time to get hired because it's so competitive and you have like not a lot of experience. And so it's like cutthroat. It's just crazy. It's a crazy time and it feels very personal because you're just like, Oh, did I do it right?
00;29;45;18 - 00;29;56;12
Fabiola Lara
Did I get hired after college? But it's like, you're going to get a job. It's going to happen. It just feels that is those like six months after college feel like the most intense, job seeking time of your life.
00;29;57;08 - 00;30;07;28
Fabiola Lara
And it's like, ultimately, it's fine, it can be a year later, it can be two years later, you get the job that you actually want and you went to school for. That's fine, too. Like, there's like this really hard standard and pressure.
00;30;08;07 - 00;30;11;03
Fabiola Lara
New graduates put on themselves, but at the same time, you're a new graduate.
00;30;11;03 - 00;30;13;24
Jackie Rivera
So it was definitely an interesting time in my life.
00;30;13;24 - 00;30;22;09
Fabiola Lara
I give you credit for doing that. I really do. I give you credit for going back home and like just being like, I think I just need a stable income right now.
00;30;22;27 - 00;30;34;25
Jackie Rivera
Yeah. And that is what allowed me to make my next move because eventually I wanted to move over to Seattle to be my partner, but I had to stay back and like, figure my stuff out before I did that.
00;30;35;08 - 00;30;52;11
Jackie Rivera
But it was actually really interesting working that job. I feel like what I got out of it the most is that I should not base my whole entire identity on what I do for money because for a long time in that job, I felt like kind of a failure a little bit because I like my art career
00;30;52;11 - 00;31;09;23
Jackie Rivera
. It wasn't like blowing up, and for a moment I kind of just forgot about our and felt really sad and felt like I wasn't even an artist anymore. And you know, this job demanded so much of my time in my life, and I felt like I was like, Am I even going to do it anymore?
00;31;09;24 - 00;31;11;15
Jackie Rivera
Like, Is this my life now?
00;31;11;18 - 00;31;15;20
Fabiola Lara
Just questioning everything. Yeah. And then your family in the background.
00;31;16;04 - 00;31;40;08
Jackie Rivera
Family in the background and COVID is happening. And I was just like, Wow, this, I'm really, really, really miserable right now. It wasn't until later on in that job. I started getting more freelance inquiries and then I realized like, OK, if this is like coming down to like choosing between my job or choosing these like freelance opportunities
00;31;40;23 - 00;31;50;09
Jackie Rivera
that lead to what I actually want to be doing because my ultimate goal was to be freelance. That's what I like. Even besides, like getting a job like I've always wanted to freelance.
00;31;50;20 - 00;31;59;01
Fabiola Lara
Instead of being in house. Yeah. What was that moment for you that was like, this is an option now I can go back to my art career.
00;31;59;25 - 00;32;11;15
Jackie Rivera
So it's funny. I got this inquiry for a job and I didn't really pay attention to it. I kind of like, ignore the email for like two days and my boyfriend was like, What are you doing? Like, respond to that.
00;32;11;20 - 00;32;27;20
Jackie Rivera
Like, I'm not even an artist anymore. Like, living here is like I should. Why should I even do this or whatever? I'll email them back and email them back. And then, like they told me their budget and it was like high five figure budget, like easily a year of salary.
00;32;28;18 - 00;32;44;19
Jackie Rivera
But they are interviewing or reaching out to other illustrators. For the job, so ultimately, I didn't end up getting the job, which is that, but it kind of lit a fire under my ass and I was like, there is money to be made in this industry.
00;32;45;01 - 00;32;58;18
Jackie Rivera
And it kind of reminded me like, OK, if these people from this like big agency wanted to work with me, potentially I should have that same kind of confidence in me. Like, people want what I make and they find my work valuable.
00;32;58;23 - 00;33;06;06
Jackie Rivera
They think it can bring value to their brand, to their work. I can do this. And that was one thing that I was like, OK, even though I didn't get the job.
00;33;06;14 - 00;33;09;04
Fabiola Lara
It was a sign that you could have got the job.
00;33;09;15 - 00;33;22;11
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, it was like, I can do this. I need to start like believing in myself more like, why am I settling for like a sad, unhappy life? Like thinking, I can't be an artist when I can like, I can do this.
00;33;22;11 - 00;33;39;29
Jackie Rivera
I just really believe in myself a little bit. And even when I moved to Seattle and I was like, full I, I had savings and but I hadn't really had that many consistent freelance jobs because I had been working a fulltime job and I got here and I was like, really worried.
00;33;40;03 - 00;33;56;19
Jackie Rivera
I like, I do not know how this is going to go. It could be a massive success or failure or something in between. But then here I am six months later and I like the way I am inquiry after inquiry and I'm like trying to, like, schedule my days.
00;33;57;05 - 00;34;14;10
Jackie Rivera
And I have some really exciting projects that I can't talk about because of other NDAs, but they will hopefully be coming out next year. But they're just like dream clients, dream projects. So basically, they're like bigger and better things that I could have imagined for myself.
00;34;14;13 - 00;34;27;21
Fabiola Lara
Yes. And so it took for you to get that little taste of someone giving you that chance, even though it didn't end up happening, right? But they were interested in you. And you know, it could have not happened for 1,000,000 little reasons, you know, it just doesn't work out for.
00;34;28;02 - 00;34;43;18
Fabiola Lara
They went with somebody else, but the re-inspired you and you ended up taking that leap. What would you say to someone who was in in that same position now they gave up? And now they're like in that that dark place, what could you say?
00;34;43;27 - 00;34;47;23
Fabiola Lara
Maybe just like Jackie six months ago or Jackie one year ago?
00;34;48;07 - 00;35;07;22
Jackie Rivera
Oh my goodness. It's like you have one life. You could stand it like being sad, working a terrible job that you hate, or you could just make that leap. Like, just try it, be a little bit uncomfortable for a little bit and see where that will be.
00;35;08;08 - 00;35;21;20
Jackie Rivera
Because, oh my goodness, if I had known like the clients that I would be getting last year, I think I would have been a lot more inspired and a lot more like giving it my all right.
00;35;21;21 - 00;35;36;29
Fabiola Lara
Yes. Yes. I love that. I'm so excited to see these projects. I can't wait. And I'm really glad that you took that chance on yourself. It's hard. I'm currently taking that chance on myself after a lot of different like kind of getting off track on accident kind of things.
00;35;36;29 - 00;35;50;07
Fabiola Lara
You know, life kind of takes you one way or another. And now I'm fully freelance again and trying only to focus on illustration. I get a lot of inquiries sometimes or graphic design or social media, and it's hard to not take that carrot.
00;35;50;19 - 00;36;02;02
Fabiola Lara
You know, when they're dangling money on you, you're like, I could do it. But now I'm only focusing on illustration and I'm in that risky time, right? I'm like, But I'm excited. I'm I'm going for it. So anyway, that's just me.
00;36;02;17 - 00;36;04;23
Jackie Rivera
And that's all you can do. You really just have to go for it.
00;36;04;29 - 00;36;16;21
Fabiola Lara
I know that worst case, worst case, Jackie. I will get that admin assistant job if I have to, and it's fine, I'll survive. So that's kind of the mentality that I'm at. And you know what? It's going great.
00;36;16;22 - 00;36;24;18
Fabiola Lara
Even, you know, it's going, I'm feeling the movement. I'm feeling that like pre something's good has to come from. There has to be something good. Yeah.
00;36;24;18 - 00;36;37;11
Jackie Rivera
So and I know that that's exactly how I feel. It's like, you know, I could I have one life. I can work as a job or I can just like, go for it and actually try to do something that I love and that brings me life.
00;36;37;27 - 00;36;52;01
Jackie Rivera
And, you know, live my life on my terms. I experienced that being glued to your nine to five and being at the beck and call of your employer, and that can be great for some people that can be amazing and like some people need that stability.
00;36;53;02 - 00;36;59;20
Jackie Rivera
But for me, like I just I really love being able to work for myself and like the flexibility that it gives me and my life.
00;37;00;19 - 00;37;20;12
Fabiola Lara
Yeah. And the energy that you're able to put into things like I found when I was working a part time creative job in graphic design, I still felt I couldn't also muster up enough creativity outside of that. For my own endeavors, for my own is so hard to kind of it's like you're burning at both ends, right
00;37;20;12 - 00;37;28;22
Fabiola Lara
? You're being creative at work and then you're also being creative outside of work. And it's just like way too much. There's not enough like creativity and like, you can't really feel that way.
00;37;28;27 - 00;37;32;02
Jackie Rivera
No, I get you. That's why I had to, like, get hobbies outside of art.
00;37;32;10 - 00;37;45;12
Fabiola Lara
Focusing back on your artwork and what you're doing now. I noticed that. And this is a big part of your work. So it's not just me noticing, but a lot of your work is anchored in lettering and big, bold words and phrases.
00;37;45;12 - 00;37;49;20
Fabiola Lara
So how do you usually come up with what you want to portray in a piece?
00;37;50;11 - 00;38;10;00
Jackie Rivera
You know, a lot of it. It's like either what I'm feeling at the time, like the inspiration for the actual phrases like how I'm feeling like what I'm going through. I mentioned, like my work is inspired a lot by like kind of existential feelings, sometimes existential dread or is inspired by like conversations I had with my friends
00;38;10;01 - 00;38;27;03
Jackie Rivera
, like one of my friends, Leslie, she's Mexican in Colombia. And so I feel like we have lots of really interesting conversations about our culture and the fact that we're both like immigrant kids. And I feel like, you know, I've been really inspired by her one time, she said, I'm a ho for somebody in there.
00;38;27;14 - 00;38;44;23
Jackie Rivera
And I thought that was so funny and I was like, I'm lettering that immediately or like, you know, like I said, I really connect to my culture through food. So I kind of an obscure dish that like I listen to the Mexican, the other people or the cultures, but we're both going to Weenie like, I know the
00;38;44;24 - 00;39;01;14
Jackie Rivera
proper way to sell to each other. But where I've gotten Weenie is like, hell, my mom would say, and I let her that. And so many people loved and connected to it. And I saw that people, other Latinx were connecting to my work and I was like, OK, I think I have something here.
00;39;01;19 - 00;39;06;19
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, it's not just like, it's not just me, but it's hard to kind of feel that sometimes.
00;39;06;25 - 00;39;21;27
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, I would notice a lot of Latinos would start following me, and I'm like, Oh, my goodness, they like my work. Maybe I should make more work like this. And it was just a really fun way of connecting with people like I made a piece that said fueled by Hollis, because like I always see people say like
00;39;21;28 - 00;39;29;08
Jackie Rivera
fueled by coffee or like lattes or whatever, and I'm like, I'm fueled by free. Hollis free holiday lawyer is where that.
00;39;30;09 - 00;39;42;08
Fabiola Lara
That's so funny. I love it. I love like you grow up thinking these things are just you like. Maybe, especially if you live in a town where like you're the other where you think like, Oh. It's just me and the now you can embrace it finally.
00;39;42;14 - 00;39;57;07
Jackie Rivera
I know, and you like the best thing. You know, Instagram, you know, there's a lot of things about like social media, but like one of the best things is that I was able to connect with so many people like other Latinos who like, connected to my work or just other artists in general.
00;39;57;17 - 00;39;59;12
Fabiola Lara
Yes, like you and me here right now.
00;39;59;23 - 00;40;01;15
Jackie Rivera
I know. I love that.
00;40;01;20 - 00;40;11;06
Fabiola Lara
OK, so I notice that this year you started to experiment with animating your illustrations and lettering pieces. So what motivated you to start moving into motion?
00;40;12;00 - 00;40;33;06
Jackie Rivera
Oh gosh. OK, so in college, I took this class on. It was all on like motion graphics, so our professors taught us how to use after effects, and I was hooked and I was so cool. But one of our our final assignment was making a movie like intro, so I had to like, animate the whole intro.
00;40;33;06 - 00;40;52;02
Jackie Rivera
The movie like a remake it. And I did Dirty Dancing, and it was all neon. And just like, you know, lettering and like sparkly neon, it was. I was still really proud of it. So at the end of the year, there's a film department at my art department, and at the end of the year, they would rent
00;40;52;02 - 00;41;12;12
Jackie Rivera
out the movie theater in town and showcase everyone's like film projects. But they would also showcase like the motion graphics because it's still, you know, it's like, I guess, motion film. It kind of it's all animated. So I submitted my Dirty Dancing movie intro and seeing it on the big screen.
00;41;12;24 - 00;41;28;00
Jackie Rivera
Oh my God, that feeling of pride I had of seeing my work like my animated work, I stayed up all night animating the stuff for such a long time. So, so many hours on it. And like seeing on that big screen was like an incredible feeling.
00;41;28;02 - 00;41;45;03
Jackie Rivera
I was so happy. I was so proud and I kind of lost touch with animating after that class ended. And I thought, You know what? I want to get back into it like I looked. I was like looking at my old old movie intro and like other projects I did for that class.
00;41;45;15 - 00;41;56;04
Jackie Rivera
And I thought that was so much fun. I feel like something's missing from my work, and I just like really when it's like I really want to bring it to life. I thought animating like little elements would be fun.
00;41;56;17 - 00;42;10;17
Jackie Rivera
And like, I don't remember a lot of this stuff. I was much more advanced back then, so I just remembered like little basic, like animating techniques, and I kind of just made them work for me, even though they're simple.
00;42;10;27 - 00;42;13;03
Jackie Rivera
I feel like they still added a lot to my work.
00;42;13;14 - 00;42;17;04
Fabiola Lara
I feel like I agree with that because you're sometimes animating only like.
00;42;17;04 - 00;42;17;19
Jackie Rivera
Small.
00;42;17;27 - 00;42;33;00
Fabiola Lara
Elements or popping in and popping out. And I think, yeah, sure. I guess an animator would say very simple, but it brings it a whole other dimension to the work. So, you know, I think it's amazing. And are you enjoying the animation process?
00;42;33;06 - 00;42;46;02
Jackie Rivera
I love it. It's so much fun and it's so cool because like since I started posting like my animated work, I've had like several work inquiries and projects that are like, We really love your animated posts. Like, Can you make something like that for us?
00;42;46;10 - 00;42;59;08
Jackie Rivera
Like, Heck, yeah, I can. And so it's. Is just really cool, seeing that like something I was just doing to bring life into my Instagram post is now getting the actual projects.
00;42;59;10 - 00;43;07;28
Fabiola Lara
Yes, I love it when that happens, and I feel like that's what always ends up happening to people, though, like I just wanted to make this and now people are hiring me to make this.
00;43;07;28 - 00;43;11;03
Jackie Rivera
So I know people are paying me for this. I love it.
00;43;11;09 - 00;43;21;15
Fabiola Lara
I'm so excited for you. I noticed that a lot of your Adobe ambassador commissions are animated. Can you speak to a little bit more about your Adobe ambassadorship?
00;43;21;26 - 00;43;37;16
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, I'm not sure how much I can say, but I had a great time working with them. And like the agency, there's like an agency and Adobe that I work with, and they basically just gave me creative freedom to do whatever I wanted and within like guidelines.
00;43;38;01 - 00;43;42;27
Jackie Rivera
And they were probably that's probably my favorite project ever at this point.
00;43;43;03 - 00;43;44;17
Fabiola Lara
They're so true to you.
00;43;44;29 - 00;44;01;24
Jackie Rivera
So true to me. And they just wanted to showcase my work and see how I use the products, and I loved it. It was definitely like one of my favorite projects, and it was so cool to have that much creative freedom and that they trusted me to make good work and showcase it.
00;44;02;01 - 00;44;14;19
Fabiola Lara
Definitely. I'm so glad that you're enjoying animation because I feel like a lot of illustrators are tempted by animation. They're like, Oh, I could do it. And then they go, Do it. And they're like, Actually, I didn't like it.
00;44;15;04 - 00;44;32;01
Fabiola Lara
Like, I did it, but I don't love it. And then you're like, in another like gray area, but you love it. And so that makes it so much better for you. Like I've done some animation projects, I'm like, OK, I'm not having the best time in the middle of animation, but I like the final product.
00;44;32;18 - 00;44;37;09
Fabiola Lara
But if given the option, I love to hand it off to an animator.
00;44;38;00 - 00;44;38;20
Jackie Rivera
Like, here's.
00;44;38;20 - 00;44;40;18
Fabiola Lara
What I wanted to do. You go ahead and do that.
00;44;40;29 - 00;44;56;01
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, they make magic. And I want to get to that point being able to progress with my animating skills and I want to get more into like just illustration. Like, I love lettering and type and all that. But I'm really interested in trying out illustration.
00;44;56;01 - 00;45;06;22
Jackie Rivera
I actually just got hired for an illustration job, just illustration. So. And it's for like one of my biggest clients ever. So I'm like, Oh my goodness. No biggie. No pressure.
00;45;06;27 - 00;45;23;11
Fabiola Lara
I feel like the lettering and the animation are just extra pizzazz. I notice that your earlier work around 2018 is still really lettering focus, but you went for more tactile lettering compared to now, the more graphic, clean lettering style that you have.
00;45;23;22 - 00;45;27;07
Fabiola Lara
Can you tell me a little bit more about that transition and what inspired it?
00;45;27;14 - 00;45;44;03
Jackie Rivera
So back in, like those were like or like three or four years ago, I was so inspired by other tactile letters. And there is like such a fun community on Instagram of people like sharing their work. And, you know, that inspires you to like, try it out yourself.
00;45;44;03 - 00;45;59;12
Jackie Rivera
And I was just really inspired by these artists, and I wanted to try out tactile lettering for myself. And it just kept snowballing. Like, I tried one piece at all, and I feel like I got like a lot of really great feedback and people were like excited for me, and I was like, Oh, my goodness.
00;45;59;19 - 00;46;17;04
Jackie Rivera
And I just find something, and I just kept on doing it and doing it and doing it and like my pieces got bigger and more intricate and detailed and. Actually ended up getting higher at my very first freelance commission ever for the company.
00;46;17;05 - 00;46;36;24
Jackie Rivera
It was a tactile letter in case actually it was for Typekit lettering pieces, and I must have been like, what, 20? I like software junior, something in college I don't remember. And I was like shitting myself, I was so I was like, so nervous.
00;46;36;24 - 00;46;52;12
Jackie Rivera
I had no idea how any of this worked, and I made these for attack and pieces for them. And my professor is so wonderful here. He's a photography professor, and he helped me set up the camera and lighting and everything.
00;46;52;13 - 00;46;55;27
Jackie Rivera
So I was like, I don't know what I'm doing. I have zero clue.
00;46;56;17 - 00;47;04;21
Fabiola Lara
That's good, though. That's good. That's the part. That's the reason you're in school. And, you know, always nice when a professor like actually helps you out. Real world.
00;47;04;28 - 00;47;18;16
Jackie Rivera
Oh my goodness. Yeah, that professor specifically shout out to Brian. He's helped me so much with so many projects. But anyways, I did that project and I went really well. And then a few years later, I actually got to do some tactile ordering for Facebook.
00;47;19;06 - 00;47;37;22
Jackie Rivera
And that was like straight out of college. So it was like, I couldn't believe at one that like, you know, this big company wanted me to make something for them, and it just really made me level up because they expect a high quality level, like a high level of work of quality.
00;47;37;23 - 00;47;50;27
Jackie Rivera
And I was like, Yeah. So I had to learn how to like my professor, help me to get with the cameras. But like, I had to learn how to shoot it myself. I had to style it. I bought all the props.
00;47;50;27 - 00;48;05;02
Jackie Rivera
I did all the planning for what the image was going to look like. I did the actual lettering styled around it and then like, took the photograph, took 1,000,000 photographs and then edited and post, and there is just so much work that goes into it.
00;48;05;05 - 00;48;09;19
Fabiola Lara
Wow. Yeah, that there's so much work. It's literally so tactile.
00;48;10;15 - 00;48;28;27
Jackie Rivera
Yes. Yes, yes. It's not just like actually making like the lettering, it's like the styling and the editing and person. Yeah. And then I actually got hired again by Facebook the next month, and that was kind of a crazy experience because so I actually went back to my my college.
00;48;29;18 - 00;48;44;05
Jackie Rivera
I asked if they could, if I could use their studio because they have, you know, like the super high quality cameras and like the gigantic tripod, like overheating tripod. All this equipment that like I do not have, nor can I afford my own tiny apartment.
00;48;44;16 - 00;48;54;20
Jackie Rivera
So it was huge that even after I graduated my college and my professors were incredibly supportive and excited for me and allowed me to use the studio.
00;48;54;27 - 00;49;06;04
Fabiola Lara
Oh, that's amazing. That's amazing. It means a lot because it's like otherwise it would have been so hard for you to finish that project. And that was such a, I'm sure, a huge weight off your shoulders.
00;49;06;10 - 00;49;17;24
Jackie Rivera
I don't know if I could have even taken on the project because I was shooting everything on my iPhone and like just editing things on my phone. I would make all these like lettering pieces on my bed.
00;49;17;29 - 00;49;24;10
Fabiola Lara
I love it just for people who think that they don't have the resources to do these things like you could make it happen.
00;49;24;15 - 00;49;34;24
Jackie Rivera
Oh my gosh. You can make it happen. You should've seen how I was. I was like, like, my room is so tiny. There was like no room on the floor to like, do it. I can do it on the bed because like next to the window.
00;49;35;07 - 00;49;47;09
Fabiola Lara
And you made it work. And so you were having a lot of success with these tactile lettering pieces. What made you move into the more graphic style that you have now that, you know, is just vector?
00;49;47;19 - 00;50;13;10
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, I think at one point these projects are they're kind of like physically taxing, like when you're bent over this big piece and you're trying to like push these beams together into like illegible like letter or form. And if you breathe like, you know, like go flying everywhere, it is kind of hard on my body and I
00;50;13;10 - 00;50;26;03
Jackie Rivera
was like, You know, I'm not really enjoying this as much unless I'm being paid for it. And I don't know. I think I just kind of lost interest and I just wanted to explore different things. And I was just, I think we're a long time.
00;50;26;04 - 00;50;46;16
Jackie Rivera
I was like intimidated by illustrator and AfterEffects, and I just kind of like dug in and like, just made myself like, learn these programs. I wasn't as intimidated by them. I think tactile lettering was kind of a way for me to kind of avoid learning the scary programs for a while.
00;50;46;29 - 00;50;51;10
Jackie Rivera
And then I finally like, I don't know, I just really leaned into it, and I just really had a lot of fun with that.
00;50;51;21 - 00;51;06;16
Fabiola Lara
That's amazing. Where did your love for lettering come from? Because that's like the common theme between these two things you went from tactile lettering to more graphic design lettering, including illustration. Now moving into more illustration. But where did that love for lettering come from?
00;51;07;12 - 00;51;24;16
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, I think it goes back to my like middle school days, looking at my brother's magazines and looking at the cool typography and, you know, the stock one side, the stock was so influenced by it because like, I look.
00;51;24;28 - 00;51;41;05
Jackie Rivera
At my old sketches from when I was in middle school, and I have a sketch of the zombies, the band, the zombies album artwork and I like copied it and like bow lettering. It's so funny. I wish I could show you you're.
00;51;41;06 - 00;51;46;09
Fabiola Lara
Just like tracing it. Or are you? Are you copying it separate like as a reference?
00;51;46;17 - 00;51;47;22
Jackie Rivera
As, like a reference?
00;51;47;23 - 00;51;49;08
Fabiola Lara
Oh my gosh.
00;51;49;18 - 00;52;07;05
Jackie Rivera
And I would like do it in like my own style too. And then I would also I was I really like doing these like bubble letters or like do bubble letters and like my binders at school. But it's just so funny because like, I look back at my lettering styles and it's like really curvy, like squashy, like
00;52;07;12 - 00;52;12;05
Jackie Rivera
big letters. And I'm like, I kind of do the same thing, but just like more refined.
00;52;12;09 - 00;52;27;23
Fabiola Lara
Yeah. Like, your taste is still the core of your taste is still there. You've just leveled your taste right to like, you know what makes sense now as a professional? But that was like you showing your taste back that you just didn't have it like, tuned in.
00;52;27;29 - 00;52;43;19
Jackie Rivera
I know it's so funny. I was noticing this like all the way back in my pre-teens middle school, and I would notice signs like signage or logos. I don't know. I was just, like, really drawn to like, I guess, graphic design.
00;52;43;19 - 00;52;46;11
Jackie Rivera
I didn't even know. I didn't know what it was, but I liked it.
00;52;46;24 - 00;52;55;05
Fabiola Lara
Oh, yeah, I guess that's like a sign to to like, follow, follow those natural interests, right? Like, what are those natural and.
00;52;55;12 - 00;53;04;26
Jackie Rivera
Like readily and never know what that will lead you to as a kid? If I knew that I was actually going to be an artist and I was actually going to be able to do all these cool projects for a living and be like, what?
00;53;05;00 - 00;53;12;01
Jackie Rivera
Like, no way. It's just it's so cool. They're like, Oh, my goodness. Like, I found it. I found the thing that I wanted to be doing.
00;53;12;03 - 00;53;19;09
Fabiola Lara
And now you're going to be blowing other kids minds who are thinking way. Hold on. She's doing that. I could do that. You know, it's amazing.
00;53;19;16 - 00;53;25;22
Jackie Rivera
That would be the biggest honor. There's a little girl out there that wants to be an artist and is like inspired by my work. Like, I'm so honored.
00;53;26;07 - 00;53;31;09
Fabiola Lara
Yes, it's definitely gonna happen. Are there any new projects you have coming up that you can share with us?
00;53;31;28 - 00;53;37;29
Jackie Rivera
I don't think so. I'm sorry that I'm under NDA. It's really the big projects and like, No, no.
00;53;37;29 - 00;53;44;10
Fabiola Lara
No sweat, no sweat. I was, I thought, maybe you had something personal or something like that, but don't worry about it personal.
00;53;44;11 - 00;53;55;19
Jackie Rivera
I mean, at some point I know, like I get requests for merch all the time, and I just like, I haven't done it. And I think part of me is like dreading setting up a shop because it just seems like so much work.
00;53;55;21 - 00;53;56;21
Jackie Rivera
It is a lot of work.
00;53;56;21 - 00;53;59;09
Fabiola Lara
You could consider one of those direct to consumer shops.
00;53;59;27 - 00;54;09;22
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, I've thought about doing like five or six, but I'm just not sure. But I feel like that needs to happen the next year. I need to start doing that. So at some point, there will be some Jackie merch.
00;54;10;06 - 00;54;19;14
Fabiola Lara
Aside from your creative career, what do you like to do as a hobby? I know you mentioned that, like your hobbies are really important to you because you don't want to be defined by your work.
00;54;20;02 - 00;54;36;07
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, so I grew up with music. It was a really small school, so we didn't really have the option of like deciding to be in band or choir. We were automatically in it. So I was kind of forced into music, but I was actually really thankful for that because it actually ended up being like a really fun
00;54;36;07 - 00;54;56;14
Jackie Rivera
part of my upbringing and just growing up. I was always involved in my choir or something music related, and I kind of lost touch with that in college when I realized, like, there is people that are like much better singers than me or just whatever better than me, and I don't know why.
00;54;56;14 - 00;55;07;24
Jackie Rivera
I just let that get to me, and I was like, Yeah, I'm just not going to do music anymore. But in the past couple of years, I'm like, OK, that's dumb. I love music. I'm so inspired by musicians.
00;55;08;05 - 00;55;27;13
Jackie Rivera
I want to learn how to, like, play an instrument. So I had got myself a guitar from my 24th birthday in 2020, and I was like, super stoked about it. It did not go very well. I just needed more guidance and it was not going well, like doing on my own.
00;55;27;23 - 00;55;48;08
Jackie Rivera
But I actually ended up buying a bass guitar and that has been so much fun. I ended up enrolling myself in music lessons, and I'm honestly so excited about it. I'm having so much fun, especially now that I'm actually able to play a little better, like I can actually like, start to read music and like play songs
00;55;48;08 - 00;56;06;28
Jackie Rivera
like Pretty OK. And that has been like such a fun thing outside of like other like visual arts creative endeavors I have. It's like, I would love to be in a band someday, and it seems like it feels kind of silly to say it because I like, How are you going to be in a band like you're
00;56;06;28 - 00;56;11;27
Jackie Rivera
you're like almost late twenties. But then it's like, OK, shut up. Don't be that.
00;56;12;11 - 00;56;19;04
Fabiola Lara
No, no. Don't put that pressure on yourself. You can do it if you want to do it. People are in there and bands in their late twenties.
00;56;19;19 - 00;56;37;16
Jackie Rivera
I know I'm like, there's like nothing really stopping me. Like, why not like? I have said before, like I have one lives, I want to play music, I want. I want to find people to like. You know, that are on the same wavelength as me music wise and just like, just have fun.
00;56;37;26 - 00;56;49;04
Fabiola Lara
You can definitely do that. That's so exciting. I'm glad that you're I feel like it's kind of like a big hobby to have outside of Korea. And I feel like most people are like, Oh, I play Animal Crossing or like something more passive, you know?
00;56;49;04 - 00;56;55;26
Fabiola Lara
And that is like, it's like, that takes time and dedication, but it kind of opens up your identity to write like.
00;56;55;26 - 00;57;06;18
Jackie Rivera
Yeah, exactly like, I'm going to. And it's really exciting. It's like learning something new, but it's also really humbling because you have to like, be OK with like being horrible at something like.
00;57;07;10 - 00;57;08;05
Fabiola Lara
That's really hard.
00;57;08;18 - 00;57;22;07
Jackie Rivera
I know, but you just have to like, let yourself be bad, just like, be bad. But like, you just learn through it, you'll get through it, you'll get better. And it's it's really fun. You know, like, I've been playing for, what, four and a half months now.
00;57;22;07 - 00;57;41;29
Jackie Rivera
And it's it's so fencing my progress and seeing that like I could actually do this like I can. I'm capable of like learning new things and. Yeah, it's been really fun. I really love bass. I love playing my bass, and I really inspired by other basics, especially women that are like killing it in the music world as
00;57;41;29 - 00;57;42;16
Jackie Rivera
basses.
00;57;43;03 - 00;57;56;28
Fabiola Lara
Yes, that's so cool. I'm really glad that you found that, and I think you should totally join a band. It's going to happen. 2022, it's I can see it. I can see all the art direction for it and everything.
00;57;56;29 - 00;57;58;00
Fabiola Lara
You got it. You got it.
00;57;58;01 - 00;58;00;28
Jackie Rivera
Oh my gosh. Yeah, I'll make my own posters.
00;58;01;16 - 00;58;03;08
Fabiola Lara
Said set design.
00;58;03;08 - 00;58;08;17
Jackie Rivera
Strategies. I like background visual. I like my animation skills.
00;58;09;04 - 00;58;10;14
Fabiola Lara
It's all coming together.
00;58;10;14 - 00;58;11;28
Jackie Rivera
It's all going to happen.
00;58;13;04 - 00;58;20;17
Fabiola Lara
All right, Jacqui, thank you so much for your time. I know we went over, but I just had to get in everything. There's so much to talk to you about.
00;58;20;17 - 00;58;22;02
Jackie Rivera
This was so much fun.
00;58;22;02 - 00;58;35;24
Fabiola Lara
There's no way to know. You know, it's like an hour is too little or too much. So thank you so much for your time. I really, really appreciate it. And you know, I know we'll stay in touch and I can't wait to see those big projects that you have.
00;58;35;24 - 00;58;39;29
Fabiola Lara
I can't wait for them to come to light. What's one way that people can support you?
00;58;40;07 - 00;58;55;13
Jackie Rivera
I guess just like following on Instagram for now, you know, eventually I will set up my merch shop and, you know, I've been thinking about eventually, like opening or starting a little TikTok, or maybe even like moving into YouTube.
00;58;55;13 - 00;58;56;03
Jackie Rivera
I don't know.
00;58;56;11 - 00;59;04;08
Fabiola Lara
Oh, come be with me on YouTube. Come be with me on YouTube as a newbie YouTuber in our late twenties. Bizarre but amazing.
00;59;04;16 - 00;59;16;15
Jackie Rivera
I feel so old when I'm like on Tik Tok, like, Okay, me too. Yeah. Like there's like teens on here. I'm probably like ancient to them. Like, do they want to hear what I have to say? But I don't know.
00;59;16;15 - 00;59;29;07
Jackie Rivera
I think, you know, sometimes they get kind of frustrated with Instagram, so I'm excited to see what there is outside of that and like, how am I work? And I guess content will evolve when I move and expand.
00;59;29;15 - 00;59;39;26
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, and you can translate. I can totally see that for you. Amazing. OK. Thank you so much. Once again, Jacki, for all your time, your band and your YouTube channel. I'm there for it.
00;59;41;00 - 00;59;44;19
Jackie Rivera
Thank you. This is so much fun. Thank you so much. Fabulous.
00;59;47;27 - 01;00;02;07
Fabiola Lara
OK, everyone, that's a wrap for another incredible draws and Spanish episode. If you want to see more of Jackie's work, go ahead and follow her on Instagram at Jackie Rivera. All her info will be linked in the show notes, because, you know, I want you to be able to easily access it.
01;00;02;13 - 01;00;14;27
Fabiola Lara
And you should definitely go check it out because her work is beautiful. Just a little reminder that listeners of the podcast can get a free on data at a weekly and monthly planner inspired by the show. By using the link in her show, notes are going to drawers in Spanish dot com.
01;00;15;11 - 01;00;28;20
Fabiola Lara
If there's a Latin X visual artist space here in the U.S. that you think I should speak to on the show. Go ahead and nominate them by going to drawers in Spanish dot com slash nominee. I am always looking for new talent to invite.
01;00;28;27 - 01;00;40;04
Fabiola Lara
So please, if there's a name in your head right now, just send it my way. Get it off your chest. Let me know. I'll look into it. And remember to hit subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of drawers in Spanish.
01;00;40;15 - 01;00;43;16
Fabiola Lara
Thank you. E la proxima cargile.
