Behind the Print with Artimation Studios
Welcome to the latest episode of Behind The Print, where we bring you the creative stories of industry leaders shaping the world of professional printing. In this episode of Behind The Print, we’re joined by Dominique Robinson, the owner of Artimation Studios. With a life long passion for art Dominique shares with us how she combines her art with printing while also fostering her creativity
Connor Shields: Welcome back to Behind the Print Podcast, where we feature industry leaders and uncover the creative minds and their businesses within the world of professional printing. Our mission is to provide you with inspiring actionable resources that elevate your business projects and accelerate your journey to excellence in profit and in print.
Today’s episode is the Face of Fun Behind Artimation Studios. And joining me here today is the Owner and Artist of Artimation Studios, Dominique Robinson. How are you doing today?
Dominique Robinson: Hi, I’m doing well. I hope you’re doing well. Thank you for having me.
Connor Shields: Oh, thank you for joining us. So if you’re ready, let’s jump right into it. Sound good?
Dominique Robinson: Yep, that’s perfect.
Connor Shields: So I saw on your website that you’ve been drawing since you were nine and started selling your art when you were 16. What inspired you to take the big leap and start selling your work?
Dominique Robinson: Honestly, I’d have to say my biggest inspiration was my parents. At first I never really had a real thought behind my work, but then when I found that I could draw for other people. My friends and my family were really in love with a lot of my work. I realized I can actually do this and make a little bit of money off of it.
Connor Shields: Okay, so what can you tell me about your target audience?
Dominique Robinson: My art is open for all of course, but I have a lot of younger viewers who are constantly watching my work. They really like the bright colors and the J-Fashion aesthetic. One of my more recent works I printed with PrintingCenterUSA was my coloring book called Pretty Colors. Stuff like that is popular in those demographics.
“I have a lot of younger viewers who are constantly watching my work. They really like the bright colors and the J-Fashion aesthetic. One of my more recent works I printed with PrintingCenterUSA was my coloring book called Pretty Colors. Stuff like that is popular in those demographics.”
Connor Shields: So on your website and coloring book, it looks like anime has a pretty big influence over your art style. Do you attend conventions and sell your artwork there?
Dominique Robinson: Yes, I definitely do, I’ve been going to conventions for a while. I think once I started selling my work online, I started switching and the coloring book was actually the first thing that I brought to my very first convention, I think back in 2021 maybe, or like right before COVID hit.
Connor Shields: So at these conventions, do you just sell artwork or do you do custom works like portraits of people?
Dominique Robinson: At the conventions, I usually am just selling original artwork that’s done by me. But for the last two or three years I’ve done custom portraits.
It’s usually like a $5 or a $10 sketch, but you can leave me a picture of you or your dog or like a giant robot and I will sit there and I’ll do a quick one for you while all the guests walk around and have a good time.
Connor Shields: So as an artist, how do you avoid burnout?
Dominique Robinson: Honestly, I had to really start working on plotting out my deadlines. I try not to take on more than two or three orders at once. A lot of my recent orders have been more car related, surprisingly enough.
Although I know I said my demographic earlier is like family friendly and everything, I’ve drawn a lot of motorcycles in cars as of late with the bright colors, but I have to make sure that they’re staying on time. I try no to overwhelm myself, I give everybody like a week or so between like each commission that I get. I’m a pretty fast worker, so I know for me, like burnout doesn’t come necessarily as quickly.
Connor Shields: Well that pretty much did answer my next question, but how do you maintain your creativity? Is there some source of inspiration?
Dominique Robinson: Honestly, I’m constantly looking for more niche audiences to inspire me. I was actually in a bit of a rut a few months ago. In terms of creating any kind of work,it wasn’t until I started going to a lot of local car meets. I realized “oh, I can draw this and it will be really fun.” So I’m always constantly looking for new outlets for me to express myself, to put my own flair on something that’s local.
Connor Shields: Okay. So how do you stand out from other artists?
Dominique Robinson: I would probably say my use of color is how I stand out the most. It’s not just like pastel. I know a lot of people will say that they’re super colorful, but they kind of stay within pinks and purples. Not that there’s any problem with that because those are my two favorite colors, but I tend to have a variety of colors in my work and it’s very out there. I always tell people I have work that makes you wanna look twice, as well as having diverse characters.
I focus a lot on the people that I draw and making sure that more diversity is seen. So whether it’s somebody who’s disabled and is in a wheelchair or they have vitiligo. I love creating characters based on people who are not just pretty looking, but also real.
“I focus a lot on the people that I draw and making sure that more diversity is seen. So whether it’s somebody who’s disabled and is in a wheelchair or they have vitiligo. I love creating characters based on people who are not just pretty looking, but also real.”
Connor Shields: You mentioned going to car shows now. I can understand attending anime conventions, but I wasn’t really expecting you to be attending car shows. Do you do the same thing? Do you attend these car shows and people will approach you and say, “Hey, can you draw my car in a certain style?”
Dominique Robinson: Yeah, pretty much. It’s a more recent development, but I realized I was just visiting the car shows just for fun.
And then I started bringing my sketchbook. It’s very small, nothing too major, and the drawings are very quick. It was just a way for me to take my mind off of things. But people slowly started posting it on Instagram and so people started like picking out slots for themselves.
Tomorrow I’m actually gonna go right back to a car show and I have to draw somebody’s Ducati or something. They’ll section it off so they get a quick little sketch from me, whatever size.
Connor Shields: So do you just draw the car, do you draw like the owner in the car with like a, a cool pose or in a cool environment like, like you said at the anime conventions like next to a giant robot.
Dominique Robinson: I have yet to do the owner because usually the owners are walking around and like lingering and mingling with their friends. The main selling point for the car sketches is that it’s a live sketch, so I’m not moving from the area that I’m at. They’ll park their motorcycle somewhere where I can sit. I sit right in front of them or I sit right in front of their car and I do it when I’m there, as opposed to like me taking a photo of them in the car and doing it. But if somebody asked me to, I would gladly do that. It’d be a lot of fun.
Connor Shields: What are some of the largest challenges that you faced as an artist?
Dominique Robinson: I would say taking on too many projects at once that has been my biggest challenge sometimes. I have so many ideas in my head, I’ve done custom work for a lot of different things. After working on something for so long, my brain like, dies on me.
Connor Shields: In addition to like taking the big leap to start selling your work, can you tell me about any major milestones you’ve accomplished?
Dominique Robinson: Honestly, my biggest milestone that I actually accomplished recently was getting accepted to do New York ComicCon.
That’s a big one for me. That was a major goal of mine since I started selling my work. I’m gonna be over there in October and it’s a four day convention. That’ll be my first time doing a large four day convention, but I’m super excited to do that.
“My biggest milestone that I actually accomplished recently was getting accepted to do New York ComicCon. That’s a big one for me. That was a major goal of mine since I started selling my work. I’m gonna be over there in October and it’s a four day convention.”
Connor Shields: Do you have your own booth at everything?
Dominique Robinson: Yes, I do. I have my own little artist table in the alley or whatever. I’m just so excited to see all of like the other artists and the other industry professionals there too.
Connor Shields: Absolutely. That sounds very exciting. I’m actually quite jealous of that. So, what kind of advice would you give to someone who’s trying to just start out, their career as an artist?
Dominique Robinson: For me personally, I always tell people “your biggest enemy is yourself”. So obviously like it’s gonna start off rough.I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t start off super botched and crazy.
I think a lot of people are very, very nervous about getting into selling their artwork. And I always just tell them “there’s always gonna be somebody out there who wants to buy it, even if you’re starting off super cheap, don’t be afraid to put your art out there and that price out there for your artwork”. Think about the person who bought that banana duct taped to a wall.
“I think a lot of people are very, very nervous about getting into selling their artwork. And I always just tell them “there’s always gonna be somebody out there who wants to buy it, even if you’re starting off super cheap, don’t be afraid to put your art out there and that price out there for your artwork”. Think about the person who bought that banana duct taped to a wall.”
Connor Shields: Haha I remember that! They sold it for several million dollars too.
Dominique Robinson: Several million. If somebody’s gonna buy a banana taped to a wall, they definitely go buy your artwork.
Connor Shields: So kind of a different question here. If you had a day to spend completely free, however you like, how would you spend it?
Dominique Robinson: Sleeping. Defiantly sleeping. I sleep so much. If I don’t, if I have the free time, I’ll take like a four hour nap if I could.
Connor Shields: Okay. So any ideas after your nap?
Dominique Robinson: Actually I do. I will say I really do enjoy baking and cooking when I have any other free time.
Connor Shields: What’s your favorite dish?
Dominique Robinson: Ooh, hard question. I have a Jamaican background and I love making Ackee and Shellfish. Not something that you can always get in the US, it’s like a breakfast meal. Ackee is like a fruit, but you like sauté it with onions and peppers and you can make fried dumpling. It tastes so good.
Connor Shields: It sounds really good. So it’s like a kind of like a savory sweet type deal?
Dominique Robinson: Yeah, yeah. Very, very, very good. And you can eat it, like I’ll eat it like a week in a row if, if it’s, um, left there for me it’s so just like perfect.
Connor Shields: Okay. Well one last question for you. How can our listeners get in touch with you to collaborate with you on a project, to commission an artwork, or order some of your art?
Dominique Robinson: Well, you can find me. I’m the most active on Instagram artimation_studioss. There’s an extra s at the end. I’m also on TikTok. It’s also the same, , platforms all around ArtimationStudios. You can find me on those, , two platforms the most. But if you just want to reach out ArtimationStudios @Gmail is where you can reach me.
Connor Shields: Well, did you have any other questions for me?
Dominique Robinson: I don’t think so,
Connor Shields: Well, I’d say that’s a wrap on another episode of Behind the Print. Thank you for joining us and good luck at ComicCon.
Dominique Robinson: Thank you so much.
Connor Shields: And thank you to our listeners for joining us as we explore the artistry and innovation of the printing world. Remember, having a strong vision, building the right strategy, and using tools like Print to amplify your message, will make your brand stand out from the crowd.
If you enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to get a sample pack today from PrintingCenterUSA.com and share it with your fellow business enthusiasts. Until next time, keep those creative sparks flying. And remember, there’s always more to discover behind the print.
