Today we’d like to introduce you to Phoenix Rose Hoffman.
Phoenix Rose, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I had never thought I’d be an artist even though I had a clear infatuation with it from preschool. I was born and raised in Oceanside CA, the youngest of 3 siblings. I stood out among my brother and sisters as the non-athletic, bug loving, finger painting, extroverted introvert of the family. I was also incredibly hyper and anxious for my age which was later linked to severe ADHD and Dyslexia. However, despite the hyperactivity and jumbled letters that spill over and under my pages I have always loved stories; so, I considered myself a storyteller. I was always voted “Most Artistic” in every grade, in every school, in every extracurricular but I didn’t consider myself an “artist”. I had never taken art seriously although I had taken every art class offered at school. It wasn’t until I began to fully understand the raw storytelling potential of a pen in motion that I came to the sudden realization ‘this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life’. From that day in my junior year of high school, I put every ounce of me, every second, every smile, into improving myself as an artist.
Already I’m striving to learn as much as I can from anyone (teachers, students, alumni) willing to teach me. I’m making friends and building an assortment of allies to join arms within job market battlefields and raging student debt. My current goal is to learn, to develop, to get high marks in every class and at the end of 4 years graduate with a degree in Animation and minor in Entertainment Design but I’m already preparing for what unfolds next. I’m trying to build a name for myself and resource people with passion because getting a job at Laika or Cartoon Network has its perks but I hope to one day have the resources that will allow me to tell my stories even if that means starting my own animation or comic business after I’ve made some financial leeway for myself. Who I work for exactly matters less to me than the content I am able to produce once I have proven my capabilities. My eventual goal after graduating from Laguna College of Art + Design (though still about 3 and a half years away) is to make my own characters; my own stories and in doing that, create something timeless.
However, even though I’m ambitious, I’m not obsessed. I do stuff besides sit in my room and draw 24/7. I’ve done a lot of community service like the plethora of murals I’ve helped paint throughout San Diego County and my yearly assistance with Artist Alley Art Festival in Vista for the last 3 years. I often help out at Casita Elementary School on Library Nights and do some Deaf Culture events when I can which is why I started ASL Club when coming to LCAD just a few months ago at the beginning of the Spring semester.
In fact since coming to LCAD for my Animation Major I have moved out of my parents’ house, started my own club, applied for and started my minor in Entertainment Design, gotten my first regular job at Dolce Gelato, maintained an A- average overall for all 7 of my classes so far, had no late work and near perfect attendance, started building a website portfolio at ivoxus.weebly.com and made an online store, started actively seeking out art jobs and am being commissioned regularly, and am being an active member of the school community in general! I have really started thriving at LCAD but back home things aren’t doing as well. Just before I came to LCAD my father was in a car accident and broke his neck leaving my family without a breadwinner for 6 months and once he returned to work my mother was forced to leave her job because her lupus had gotten so bad. My sister has moved back home with her baby to escape an abusive relationship meaning I am the only sibling not living with my parents right now and all that combined makes for a very tight budget. I’ve had to take out many loans and my parents have, too, just to be able to go to LCAD to achieve my dreams and I am very grateful for every second of it so I work hard to learn as much as I can and make it worth every cent. I’m ambitious, I’m determined, I’m ready and willing to go the distance however long it may be to make a name for myself. I know I have it in me to do something amazing. This part of my life, is just the first chapter.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I create to tell a story. I mostly draw digitally (2D) but that’s a more recent progression since I was able to save up to get an iPad Pro for my art. I have a few stories and comics I’m working on at the moment, and some that I work on only during certain times of the year. The comics I make are mostly just for fun but some have a pretty decent fanbase building. I’ve gotten some fan art sent to me and I was even asked to autograph a girl’s sketch of my characters at the Strawberry Festival a week ago, because she had started following my Instagram during an art festival I went to and had come to the Strawberry Festival hoping to see her ‘favorite artist’! I was so honored!.
I do some animations too but I haven’t taken a traditional animation class yet since I just finished my first semester at LCAD and the class was full, so most of my animations are just gifs or sketchy doodles (or unfinished). I’m actually really interested in experimental and stop-motion animation so in high school I got permission from the school to make a 3-minute long original stop-motion animation borrowing part of a classroom in MVHS as my set. Everything was handmade and it was intense work but it only served to further my love for the craft.
My longest ongoing project is for a story I call Apocalyptic Amateurs (Trademark pending). It will either be an animation or comic story and follows 4 main characters with odd superpowers trying to survive against a manipulative dictatorial government 100 year after a bunch of nukes turned the USA into a post-apocalyptic war front. I’ve been working on it for a few years now and have a good part of the script complete (along with some storyboards and comics).
I try to draw every day and I keep myself doing that by forcing myself to post a drawing a day on Instagram. It keeps me busy but I have a schedule to it now so it’s a lot easier than it used to be. At the end of the day, the art I create is left to the interpretation of the public. I hope for them to get some feeling from it or at least find amusement in the characters themselves. I just want to tell stories that entertain or make an impact. I would be perfectly happy if the image/ idea/ story my art leaves to out-live my name.
Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
Being an artist is harder than most people think. People will tell you ‘it’s talent’ and insist you do stuff for free or very cheap but don’t lower yourself to their standards. Instead, improve yourself. Work at your art. Do it every day. Get out of your comfort zone. Use different media and draw from life in order to develop your style. Keep your old art so you can see the slow progress you make as you improve. Make friends who will support you. Make friends who inspire you! Find something that drives you to create and keep working toward it every second you get until it becomes second nature.
You do this because if you have a goal, a real passion, you will find a way to make it a way of life and profit. It might take a while. There will be struggles. There might be times when all seems lost but remember that Selvester Stallone was homeless and sold the script to Rocky for A PENNY under the conditions that he could start and direct it and because of that he’s rich and famous.
My point is, have a dream (no matter how big or small) and put every ounce of you into it to make it a reality. Others will pick up on that and you’ll get far on determination alone. Remember, people love an underdog because they see themselves, their struggles, reflected in them; reflected in you. Don’t let something like money dictate your capability. Just work with all you’ve got and maintain a positive head. All the rest fall into place eventually as long as you keep that passion burning.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
The majority of my art and followers are on Instagram. I started there and post most frequently there. However, I also have a twitter and Tumblr. All of which can be found under the username ivoxus. I have a redbubble where you can buy my art on merchandise and I make 20%. https://www.redbubble.com/people/ivoxus/portfolio?asc=u I’ve also been working on a portfolio site https://ivoxus.weebly.com where people can go to see my art in organized portfolio structure.
For questions or commissions, I can always be contacted by email: ivoxus@gmail.com
I am always open for digital commissions and will take another special art request if able. I am currently being commissioned to design a tattoo but I’m most commonly commissioned for DND Character Drawings (although I don’t know why that specifically is my most popular request).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ivoxus.weebly.com/
- Email: ivoxus@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivoxus/?hl=en
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivoxus?lang=en
- Other: https://www.redbubble.com/people/ivoxus/portfolio?asc=u
Image Credit:
Personal Photo: Picture of me laying with a dog at Oceanside Ale Works while drawing after setting up for a Pancreatic Cancer Fundraiser.
Photos
1) Campfire Fun with The Amateurs by Phoenix Rose
2) My business card
3) A Photo of me and @KarmaTheNightOwl at Artist Alley and a drawing she did of it afterward. (She’s given permission to use her images)
4) A Photo of me at The Strawberry Festival with @someonefromgalifrey who asked me to sign their fan art. I drew the picture afterwards out of appriciation. (She’s given permission to use her images)
5) A Character Ref for an Apocalyptic Amateur Character by Phoenix Rose
6) An UnderSea Amateurs comic (a reoccuring comic series during the month of May and sometimes on random Mondays).
7) Me vending at Artist Alley 2017
8) Me with some Laika Characters at The Liaka Experience last June. (Working for Laika Studios would be a DREAM!)
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
