Today's MIP Profile goes to my extremely talented cousin all the way from the CHUCK!!! She has been making waves in the illustration and graduation cap game please let me introduce you to Cierra Grant (CG) of Litty Creetionz !
1.What’s your background?
CG • Hey, my name is Cierra Grant, better known as Litty Creetionz, and I am a self-taught Visual Artist and Grad Cap Designer from Charleston, SC. I received my bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and worked in the field for 9 months. After feeling drained and unfulfilled, I took a leap of faith in 2017 and decided to pursue my passion for Art full-time.
2. What does your work aim to say?
CG • My art aims to say to everyone viewing it that anything is possible. As an artist, self-doubt and over-analytical thoughts often creep in, causing mental hinderances, analysis paralysis and much more. This is why I have included the word "Cree" within my name. Cree in Spanish means "to believe" and that is exactly what all creators must do; we must "Believe in the Creations." No matter what my process is, what obstacles or setbacks I may face, as long as I continue to believe in the creations and see it through, I will forever be unstoppable.
3. How do you work or what is your process for a design project ?
CG • Before starting any project, I always like to sit with lo-fi music playing and visualize exactly what it is that I want to create. Sometimes, I may even meditate if the vision doesn't come to my mind immediately. My typical work environment involves music playing softly (lo-fi, neo-soul, r&b) or loudly (hip-hop, jersey club, rap), a tremendous amount of sunlight and a big cup full of lemon crushed ice water. These are the essentials needed to start any project.
4. Who are your biggest influences?
CG • My biggest influences would have to be Chris Brown, Brionya James and Chuck Styles. All of these artists are extremely versatile and create quality art that can be felt on different levels.Viewing their art instantly sparks my creative flame.
5. How have you developed your career?
CG • When I initially took the leap in 2017, I started my career by innocently creating an Instagram and Facebook page by the name of Litty Caps by Pinky. Behind the scenes, I would practice drawing every single day and watch countless YouTube videos. As my muscle memory began to develop and self-confidence grew, I noticed that my skills improved exponentially.
6. How do you seek out opportunities?
CG • Social media has provided us all with opportunities of a lifetime. The best ways I've found to seek out opportunities would be; using effective hashtag searches; following art-related pages; and messaging random artists and/or art pages. Most importantly, being social with my following has presented a great deal of opportunities as well. Because my followers vibe with me not only as an artist, but as a person, they are more likely to share art shows, flyers and other valuable information with me.
7. What role does the artist have in society today ?
CG • Artists are essentially the backbone that keeps society sane. Without art, there would be no color, no imagination and honestly, a lack of overall happiness. No matter where you look, there is always some form of art to be seen. Artists are the voice for the unheard. We convey messages better than any arrangement of words that could come from anyone's mouth.
8. How do you navigate the art world?
CG • Networking is the key to navigating the art world. And this doesn't pertain to only networking with other artists either. Everybody knows somebody and the more people I'm able to connect with, the larger my networking circle becomes. At the end of the day, it's not what you know.. it's who you know.
9. How do you price your work?
CG • Pricing my work has taken quite some time to figure out. Currently, I price according to the complexity of the design, materials and overall creativity needed to bring the vision to life.
10. What are your favorite Kicks ?
CG • Sheesh, this is a tough one but I would have to say, hands down, Nike Prestos are my favorite kicks.
To learn more about Cierra Grant and Litty Creetionz visit her on Instagram @littycreetion or https://linktr.ee/littycreetionz