Melissa Sweeney

Someone recently said to me, "You can't make a living drawing pretty pictures all day". As he was talking about the role of an agency artist, I knew he was using the term "drawing" loosely as everything called art these days is produced on a computer. Still, I thought, personally, I COULD draw pretty pictures all day because I CAN draw, unlike a large majority of art school graduates who have never taken a pencil to sketchbook or held a paintbrush in hand. There is no substitute for knowing first-hand the way the different media behave and how colors and strokes interact to give you the desired effect. A successful artist knows how to recreate that vision using Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, each in its proper function, much as a great golfer chooses the right club at the right time.

My years of agency experience have taught me to meet quick turnarounds and think on my feet. I've learned to work independently but to value team effort. Everyone has his own unique strengths and that they collectively contribute to a company's success. And I've learned that you CAN draw pretty pictures all day. It just depends on your definition of "pretty"...and your ability to draw.