Zaine Vaun – Leveraging Nature, Success as an Illustrator, and the Value of an Internship – Ep2

Zaine is an independent Illustrator & Graphic Designer located in Austin, TX. She's completed work for Yeti, June Shine, Kammok, and Corvus Coffee. Zaine is also a former student of mine, and I'm proud to feature her as the first guest on the podcast. You can see more of her work on Instagram and her website.---Questions for this interview.Think about what you knew when you graduated vs. what you know today. How much of a gap is there? Is it significant?Is there something you should have learned in school but didn't?How do you use nature for inspiration? Specifically offline inspiration. How do you repurpose what nature has to offer?(Listener Question) What do you think defines success as an illustrator?Can you tell us how you landed the 2024 Parks Project calendar project?Do you share sketches or process work with clients before you show them a finished illustration?Which design application do you use in your workflow for illustrations?(Listener Question) Have you ever felt dissatisfied with a final design that a client approved?How much value did you get from your internship with The Young Jerks? What kind of things did you do during your internship? Do you have any advice for someone looking for an internship?Have you learned any production lessons the hard way?Do you ask clients for a percentage of the total project cost upfront?Were you ever intimidated by typography as a student? What would you say to help someone who is?How is your process for working with clients different today than some of your earliest paid work? ---If you LIKE what you hear, please subscribe and keep listening. Sharing this episode with someone is the best way to support the podcast. If you LOVE what you hear and want to help me keep the interviews coming—consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi.Also, I'm always looking for questions from listeners. If there's a burning question you want to hear answered on the podcast, please email it to me at [email protected] @studentsofdesignpod on Instagram for updates, episode drops, and behind-the-scenes content.The music you hear on the podcast is Accident by Timothy Infinite and PUSH !T by Nbhd Nick.studentsofdesign.simplecast.com