Artist Cameron Wilson bringing authors’ stories to life with illustrious artwork

WJBF – Professional artist and illustrator Cameron Wilson has been telling stories with his drawings and creations for years, and Wilson chats with WJBF about how he is using his imaginative gift and artistic passion to help bring other people’s stories to life.

Thank you for joining us on Celebrating Black Excellence. Let’s get started with your artistry. How did you get started with illustrating and drawing?

Well, I’ve always had it in me. I’ve been drawing since I was 7/8 years old. By the time I was 12, I realized this is something that I wanted to make a career out of. So, I always had it in me. The illustration portion-career… I kind of fell into that. I was doing a couple of projects for people, and I actually landed a good connection with Janika Bowman-Lewis. She’s actually from Augusta as well too. She’s an author and writer, and she was writing and doing a project. So, she reached out to me to do a project. After it was completed, she got good reviews, and everyone was asking who her illustrator was. So, they reached out to me, and that’s kind of where it began. It was just something that I was working on a project with somebody that I grew up with, who was a good friend, and it’s building upon the success of that book.

Now, you’re originally from Augusta. What high school did you graduate from?

Hephzibah High School.

So you’re now residing in Florida. Can you take us on that journey from Augusta and how you ended up in Florida?

My father was in the military for 27/28 years. So I was an Army brat, which is why how we ended up in Augusta. Soon after he retired, I still stayed in the whole idea of drawing, art, and everything. I went into high school with that. That was my career path. I wanted to be an illustrator and an animator or either a comic book artist. So, I go to college. I headed to Atlanta, Georgia, for a couple of years. I went to Atlanta College of Art before it became a SCAD. Great program there. I ended up finishing up at Bauder College, and I got my degree in graphic design and minored in fashion design. So after you finish college, you’re looking for that job, that opportunity, but things didn’t kind of fall into place like I wanted to. However, I was able to kind of network and meet different companies throughout the city. I did some stuff with Metro Boys. I worked with V-103 with some projects, but nothing was still landing. So, I started my own clothing company called Soul Simplicity Design – my clothing at that time was called the Soul Simplicity – and it was just something to keep my mind on the aspects of just being able to create. I had different jobs and things that I would do, bout Soul Simplicity became my baby because that was something… that’s what the entrepreneurship came from. I wanted to create my own because I was having a hard time trying to get a job in the field. So, eventually I did that in which ended up led me to who I said earlier, Janika Bowman-Lewis, to do her children’s book. That happened being out here in Florida. My wife and I ended up moving. My wife’s job brought us to Florida. When we came to Florida, I was working for a company out here, and I ended up getting laid off the day before Christmas. That hurt because I put a lot into that company. I felt like they liked me. I felt like there’s going to be some opportunities there, but it didn’t work out. It was from that moment on, I was like, “You know what? Never again will I allow my livelihood be in the hands of others.” I went really full steam with that whole illustration process and developed a way where I can actually manufacture my art, gain my own clientele, and work with new, up and coming authors.

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With that, I met you through my aunt, Carlyn G. Morris, and she’s the one that connected me to you because she’s also an author of children’s books. You illustrated one of her books.

Yes. She has some great content too. She has some amazing stories. That’s why I like working with new and up and coming authors because there’s so many people that write. I’ve met people that have written stories on napkins and things and just held on to it because they didn’t know how to get the stories out. Doing this work for a number of years, I’ve met some of the talents in amazing people that just write really good stories, and I’m always happy to be a part of that experience to help them bring their stories to life.

Not only are you working with up and coming authors, but your illustrations have been seen on the national level. You’ve had your book seen on The Jennifer Hudson Show and Way Up With Angela Yee. How was that for you, seeing your drawings, your illustrations, your art on the big platforms?

It’s amazing because it’s always when clients or new, up can coming writers come up to me, it’s always just an idea. It’s something that they’re thinking about. Again, they don’t know how to put these things together. So, it’s always amazing to see it just being an idea to all of a sudden, it blossoming into something amazing, like being on TV, like that, you know? Because I remember the process. I remember how it all started out. Once it gets to that level, you know, is something like that keeps me going just because it’s outside of just doing what I love to do. I get to see how excited the clients are when the project is released, and most importantly, when kids are reading it, they get excited. They’re laughing at certain pages. It’s like, “Man, I remember creating that,” and here we are to something tangible.

What is your favorite thing to create or draw?

That’s a good question. I guess maybe certain subject matters. I love doing books that’s based on the history because I was born in the early 80s, I’m a child of hip hop. So a lot of books that have that influence. I’m always excited about those books. So, anything along those subject matters really strikes my attention. I love this type of content.

Not only are you creating art for other authors, but you’re also working on something for yourself as well, correct?

Yes. Very excited. I feel like this is probably one of the most important projects that I’ve ever done. It is loosely based off of my life. You know, just being a creative kid and sitting in class, drawing when the teacher is talking, just missing the work, missing assignments, or what I’m supposed to be doing because I get caught up in my thoughts, and I’m always imagining and daydreaming. So that’s what the book is about: a kid that is a very talented, artsy kid that zones out. The teacher is talking, and while he’s zoned out, he finds himself in a fantasy world where he feels like he can control. He’s in charge of his own being and whatnot, and that gets him in trouble because throughout the book, he’s zoning in and out throughout the lesson. So, it’s loosely based off of my life where I just wanted to share. Even adults can read this book to always appreciate the imagination and ability to create because you never know where it takes you and how influential it can be. So essentially, that’s what it’s about.

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Well, we can’t wait to check it out. Now, I want to share that Cameron illustrated my book Titan Warriors: Alignment Of Power and my comic book Chosen. We have Issue 2 on pre-order right now. So I want to say publicly, Cameron, thank you so much for bringing my stories to life. These books are about superheroes and superpowers. What is it like for you to create that type of artistry?

It’s great. I always check the temperature of the author or the person that created the story. I build upon that energy, and it’s always exciting to get something new that I haven’t done before. I particularly love the art stuff that we did for your books because I don’t do a lot of it. I do a lot more of the silly, more cartoony style. I enjoy doing that because that’s what I wanted to go to school for. So, when I get the opportunity to do the type of books we did for you, I’m always excited.

Of course, we’re in the age of X-Men ’97, which is out right now, and I’m sure that’s going to create more of these type of animations and this type of artistry. How does this space that we’re in make you feel as an artist? How does this impact you?

Man, I love it. I mean, you got so many people doing so many different things and so many tools out there. There are so many different opportunities where we don’t even have to rely on a big production house. People can do these things on their own, and I think we’re just in a good place creatively for artists and just for people who love art. I mean, there’s so many different avenues you can get into. Even with some people who don’t like A.I., but it can be an amazing tool if used properly. We’re just in a good time and good space creatively right now. So much is offered to clients; everybody has an opportunity today I feel like, who wants to and likes to create and draw.

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What words of inspiration can you give somebody who may have an idea, but they don’t know how to bring that idea to life?

For the people that follow me on social media and people that I work with, everyone knows that I always say, “Trust the process.” It goes beyond just the craft, right? So I’m an illustrator. I draw, but I also felt like I needed to learn the business. Learn things around what it is that you’re doing because it expands your mind and allows you to potentially get into different mediums in that. So, I wanted to be a cartoonist or an animator, but I didn’t know anything about or I didn’t realize that illustration was a thing. Illustration for books was a thing, you know. We knew that people were drawing people for children’s books, but that was never an avenue that I thought I could go down. Once I realized the business aspects of it, it just became something that I really enjoyed doing. Maybe it should have been something that I would have done years ago if I was in tuned to it. But whatever it is, whatever avenue you decide to go down in art or anything of a craft to you, make sure you learn the business side of it.

If people want to get in contact with you or they want to learn more about you, or they want to work with you, how can they get that information?

You can email me at camwilson@camdaillastrata.com. I’m always looking to work with new people, and I’m always accepting projects. So you can hit me up there, or you can find me on IG @camerontwilson. DM me, and I’ll respond there as well.

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