Meet Polina Napartovich | Freelance Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Polina Napartovich and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Polina, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
Whenever I’m stuck in my own ways and afraid to try something new and different because I’m afraid I will fail or won’t do well I think of the quote from Alan Arkin’s character from Little Miss Sunshine – “You know what a loser is? A real loser is somebody that’s so afraid of not winning, they don’t even try. Now, you’re trying, right? Well, then, you’re not a loser.“ I feel like this quote has gotten me to do lots of things that I would have not done otherwise. For example I would have never worked on the animated music video. When I was offered the job I had probably about a month worth of animation experience. I thought there was no way I was going to contribute anything to the project. However, after living with an imposter syndrome for 6 months, in the end I did about 70% of work for the project and the result was received very well by the fans of the music band. I would like to add that majority of the time I try I do fail, but most importantly, sometimes I succeed.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I would say the thing I’m most proud of is my personal style. It was an exciting journey developing a unique style that has allowed me to enjoy the process as much as the results. Finding my style was a complex road of trial and error. I had an idea of what an illustrator should do, and what good quality art should look like, but in reality, there was no set idea of what good art is and what it is not. As long as you are expressive and you work hard to be better every day there will be people who will appreciate what you do. When I realized I did not have to comply with the expectations of being an illustrator and have a style that already existed was when my art started growing and evolving until it eventually became a good combination of everything I liked in my favourite artists and my own view of the world.

Today I’m working on different projects I never thought I would work on. I was an animator for about a year, I worked as a storyboard artist, I developed character designs for an animation, I crafted handmade greeting cards and fun stickers, I painted a bedroom mural. All those things were important for me to experience because now I have a better understanding of what I’m capable of and the spectrum of things I can accomplish.

I would say the most difficult aspect of being a freelance artist is finding clients. Most of the jobs I’ve done so far came to me through connections I have made in college. I am hopeful that one day I can develop my social media and find more people who are interested in purchasing my works, whether it would be cards, stickers. or personal commissions.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Orlando, I would love to take a friend to “Cloak and Blaster”. It’s a geek bar. You can play video and board games there and the drinks and the food are great. It’s very a good way to feel cosy and spend a good time with friends. The Orlando Museum of Art has some interesting exhibitions. If it weren’t for the pandemic, I would take them to Disney and Universal, just to experience it, however, I don’t like it myself that much. It’s a bit hectic and there are way too many people. Unfortunately, I don’t go out that much, so I don’t know too many places.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
One of my closest friends, my college roommate and my partner in crime is Jingyun Zhou. She is a wonderful artist and a meticulous animator. Together we worked on the projects like Emo Atom on Instagram and the music video for The Escape Plan & The Midnight bands I mentioned earlier. Without her, I would not have had the opportunities to work on those fun projects. Jingyun is an amazing artist and deserves more attention and opportunities.

Her website: https://jingyunzhooou.myportfolio.com/work

Website: https://napartovich.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polina_napartovich

Other: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/polina-napartovich