Ashley Ronning’s creative endeavors began when she was five and she cut her own hair to complete a picture of a pony. “My parents really encouraged me to be creative, I got art supplies for most birthdays and we’d get into lots of DIY around the house,” said the Melbourne-based illustrator and artist in an interview with The Design Kids.
Now, Ronning can be found in her studio drawing, risograph printing or working on her next zine. “I was so stressed out about finding my style for so many years – it’s hard when there’s so many fantastic and totally unique styles out there,” she admits. “I just kept drawing through it and tried to not let anyone else’s style influence mine, but I soon found that when I drew things I love with mediums I loved to use, a style developed from there. You have to push through the self doubt, draw and draw and draw, try out a whole bunch of tools, and one day you’ll surprise yourself with your own special style!”
Thankfully, she pushed through her self doubt, gathering more than 20k fans on Instagram along the way. Her words of advice to other aspiring artists? “You can totally be an artist if you want to! Don’t listen to all those adults! You can make anything a ‘real job’ if you are ambitious and love what you do.”
“I don’t think people in our industry need to be competitive at all – we can all support each other and build each other up,” she adds. “The more good exposure your peers’ work gets, the more clients who will seek out creative work from everyone.”
Take a look at some of her delightful illustrations in the gallery below.
